Visits
M.O. Yuksel offers both in-person and virtual school visits, workshops, and presentations for book festivals and conferences.
Her visits are designed to be developmentally appropriate for different age groups and tailored to your audience needs.
GRADES K-1
Interactive sessions focus on story-elements and brainstorming ideas for stories.
GRADES 2-3
Sessions focus on the writing process and the research she does for her picture books.
GRADES 4-5
Sessions focus on the different elements of the writing process such as researching, drafting, revising, and critiquing.
GRADES 6-12
Sessions include an in-depth look at the writing and publishing process.
Schedule a Visit
These sessions are available to all schools and home-school groups.
Students and staff have the option to order personalized, signed books through M.O. Yuksel’s local independent bookstore. She’ll provide order forms.
Aspiring Author Consultation
Have questions about the publishing industry? M.O. Yuksel, award-winning author of children’s books, can help guide aspiring authors like you. She offers a 50-minute personalized consultation. Her “Ask Me Anything” publishing-related calls or meetings may include:
- How to get started
- Submitting to publishers
- How to find an agent
- Querying agents
TESTIMONIALS
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The students in my Children’s Literature class loved M.O. Yuksel’s engaging and informative presentation on writing picture books! She not only presented valuable information about picture books, but also spoke movingly about the importance of diverse books and Muslim representation. Yuksel was also generous in answering student questions and providing thoughtful responses. Afterwards, many students commented on how important Yuksel’s presentation was in expanding their understanding of diverse representation. Her presentation beautifully underscored one of our main course topics–how necessary it is for children to see themselves reflected in books and for children to learn about cultures other than their own through books. We loved In My Mosque, her beautiful picture book, and we can’t wait to read her upcoming books!
— Dr. Diana Ma, North Seattle College, Seattle, WA
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We really enjoyed our time with M.O. Yuksel and her book, RAMADAN KAREEM! I also really enjoyed IN MY MOSQUE. I am so happy that there is more representation in our literature and that we can see ourselves through the stories we read!
— Farzana Kassam, Teacher, École Laura Secord Elementary School, Vancouver BC
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There were some Magical Reading moments at Rising Star Academy on Monday! Our students were captivated by author M.O Yuksel’s read aloud session! They were completely engaged in her story and couldn’t wait to dive into activities inspired by the book! Thank you for sharing your talents with us, M.O. Yuksel!
— Rising Star Academy, Union City, NJ
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As a Grade 4/5 class, we first read “In My Mosque” in April 2021. The students fell in-love with the text, the visuals, and the message of celebrating Islam. A Muslim student came forward and stated that “they felt seen” when engaging with the book; they were represented in a positive, welcoming, and celebratory way. I then invited M.O. Yuksel to come and visit my Grade 4/5 class in June 2021. A week prior to Yuksel’s visit, there was a terrorist attack in a community close by; a Muslim family was murdered in London, Ontario for simply existing as Muslims. As a teacher of Muslim students, my priority was to ensure their mental-health and well-being were placed at the forefront. For this reason, I wanted to strictly celebrate Islam during Yuksel’s visit.
Yuksel entered the virtual space promptly centring the needs of students. Yuksel led an art activity that encouraged the students to draw/paint/virtually design a mosque of their own. Conversations were then held about what we see within a mosque, what we know about mosques, and what we wonder about mosques. Students’ learning was validated by Yuksel as she acknowledged that many were coming from different learning journeys and experiences.
Thank you, M.O. Yuksel, for centring students’ needs and the voices of Muslim students. Thank you for writing a beautiful story about Islam and its beautiful places of worship.
— Sara Savoia, Classroom Teacher, Simcoe County District School Board, Canada
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Growing up I enjoyed reading books; however, never did I have a book that related to me. A book that relates to my culture and or religion as a character or setting. As a mother of two, I am beyond pleased to have authors like M.O. Yuksel to have books out for children to connect to. It’s important to have books that young children can relate to as they grow.
I was asked by my son’s teacher to read to his class about our culture. I was skeptical at first since it is a public school however, when I came across M.O. Yuksel’s book, IN MY MOSQUE, I knew this was the one. It not only showed our own culture, but it represented the importance of diversity in each culture. Also, that Muslims are united in a setting of a mosque no matter where they are from or what culture they follow. The illustrations are beyond powerful. The students and I were excited to turn the page to see what is next.
Now, as an educator in a Muslim school, I had the honor to meet M.O. Yuksel. She shared her journey and how she came about publishing her first book. I find my students relate and talk about her in their writing prompts. Her connection and engagement with the students of all ages was very inspiring. She shared a template of the pigeons that are in her book. As soon as my students came back to class, they wanted to color one. Her visit and the student’s engagement has inspired me to create a bulletin board with the template of her pigeons from the book. “Your wings already exist; all you have to do is FLY!” M.O. Yuksel’s passion and talent for book writing existed, she flew and flew until she has reached to be a well-known author that inspires not only children but mothers and educators as well. I look forward to reading her upcoming books!