Mazza Museum Summer Conference Day 2

The conference today began with James Dean, who is famous for illustrating Pete the Cat. James was humble, warm, and funny. “I have 5 cats and 4 litter boxes. Those are my credentials for doing what I do.” If it were only that easy!

James’s talk resonated with me. He grew up drawing, but worried that trying to find his way in art was “irresponsible,” so he quit sketching and studied engineering.  He picked up his art materials again at age 35, and quit his engineering position four years later. After self-publishing his 2 picture books, a friend sent Pete the Cat Loves his White Shoes to New York where it was picked up. And the rest, my friends, is history!

A few other interesting comments:

                “Give your kids a vision of being something—even if it’s the wrong thing.”

                “You are never too old for a fresh start.”

                “Last night I felt really old. I got to spend about an hour and a half with Jon Klassen.” 

James is a quiet man who exudes gratitude for what life has brought him. It felt like an honor to hear his story.

Following James, Julie Paschkis spoke.  Julie has written and/or illustrated so many exquisite books!  When illustrating someone else’s story, she says she reads a manuscript several times, but does not sketch. First, she waits and lets her unconscious mind work on it.

She shared her process, showing sketches and final art.

An interesting thing about her process is this: While I believe that most illustrators would tell you that they sketch out an entire book before doing anything else, Julie completes one finished illustration and lets that piece “ set the tone” for all the coming pages. Sometimes, she says, that final piece doesn’t get used, because it somehow doesn’t work and must be redone, but that’s okay. It’s a good reminder to creatives  to “respect the process.”  The process is working for Julie!

A few other interesting comments:

                “I’m a crossword puzzle fanatic.”

                “Starting something is the hardest part.”

                “Make mistakes, make false starts and good starts.”

                “Everything leads to something else—even the projects that don’t work out.”

Another great day!

Mazza Museum Summer Conference, Day 1

If you don't know about the Mazza Museum, at the University of Findlay, Ohio, it's a beautifully curated museum of picture book art. For the last 20+ years, they've been holding a summer conference and today was day 1, 2013.

Starting off the day was Walter Wick, whose I SPY books held my

boys' attention many long hours when they were kids. Not only that, they held the attention of many an adult with their beautiful photography and challenging rhymes. Walter, a photographer, has gone on to author another series called Can You See What I See? Picture Puzzles to Search and Solve. The Can You See books are very similar to the I SPYs in that they involve pages of intricate photos coupled with a rhyme that prompts kids to find things. One cool thing about them, though, is that they actually involve visual puzzles to solve, making them that much more cognitively stimulating for the reader.  (Puzzles also utilize higher-order thinking skills too--thinking "outside of the box"--so hooray for that too!) Walter went on to show pictures of his "studio"--an old, brick firehouse he bought and transformed, and where he employs staff members to build many of the "props" that end up as part of his books. It reminded me a bit of looking into Santa's workshop!

Best of all, Walter has promised to let me interview him in the near future so he can be featured author/illustrator here on the AIIS blog. Yay!

The second author/illustrator of the day was Jon Klassen. Jon told the hilarious story of how he

received two phone calls the day he won two Caldecott awards (only the second person in history to have done so). He woke up to a call from his taxi waiting downstairs to take him to the airport. As he was jumping out of bed, the Caldecott committee called and told him he had won the award. As he hung up the phone, the taxi driver called again--anxious for him to get downstairs. As he hung up from that phone call, the phone rang again--the Caldecott committee again. They they then told him that another of his books won the Caldecott honor.

Jon, a warm and very funny speaker, shared with us his background in animation, even sharing a short film he completed in school (very cute and very funny!). He also told us a lot about the books he wrote and/or illustrated, This Is Not My Hat;  I Want My Hat Back, and Extra Yarn, to name a few (and those few are all Caldecott Award or Honor winners!). He, too, has promised an featured author/illustrator interview with us here at the AIIS blog--yay!

It was an awesome kick-off for the summer conference! Stay tuned for more as the week progresses!

The Next Big Thing blog tour

My thanks to Alex Clark for tagging me in The Next Big Thing blog tour! This blog tour began in Australia and features authors' and illustrators' current book projects. Here we go.

1) What is the working title of your next book?

My current book project is a historical fiction picture book titled Bent Tree and the Serpent of Earth. It is a story about the building of the premiere effigy mound in North America, Serpent Mound, in Peebles, Ohio.

 

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

Growing up in Ohio, I've known about the prehistoric Native American mound builders most of my life. I took a trip to see this mound many years ago and was amazed to learn that it was not just a ceremonial mound as I had always thought, but that it is actually a solar calendar, much like Stone Henge. As a teacher, this is my kind of thing, and I wanted to share that information with kids. In order to hook my readers, I decided to put a human story behind the mound.

3) What genre does your book fall under? 

Historical fiction picture book.

 

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Goodness! I'm so much more a book person than a movie person, I couldn't answer that. That question would be much better answered by my son Elliott Stanek who has worked on the production end of films.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? 

Bent Tree, a differently-abled boy, prevails in his struggle to find a way to make a meaningful contribution to his tribe's building of Serpent Mound.

6) Who is publishing your book?

I am in talks with a regional publisher, but don't have a contract on it yet.

7) How long did it take you to create the illustrations?

I have not yet begun the illustrations for this, but expect it to take several months. Once school begins again, my school visits will dramatically slow me down!

 

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

It has been compared, by one reviewer, to The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush.

 

 

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Seeing the mound could be inspiration enough, but learning that it was a solar calendar, and understanding its importance for these early agriculturalists topped that off!

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?

It might interest readers to know that, tragically, these prehistoric Americans all died off, presumably from diseases that were introduced by early explorers from Europe.

Thanks again, Alex, for tagging me! Up next, Agy Wilson at her blog:
http://agyart.blogspot.com/

Exciting Illustration Conference Next Week!

I skipped my Friday post last week as I saw my brilliant-blogger sister, Rebecca Blood, off to the airport after a wonderful extended visit. Following that, I hustled around my house, catching up on

"must-dos" as I prepare for a week of illustration fun and learning at the Mazza Museum's summer conference. Here are the featured illustrators:

Monday: Walter Wick and Jon Klassen
Tuesday: James Dean, Julie Paschkis, and Sheila McGraw
Wednesday: Michael Hall and Ed Young
Thursday: Tom Lichtenheld and author Sherri Duskey Rinker
Friday: Roger Roth and Chris Raschka.

I'll be tweeting from the event @AIISblog, and will be posting here in the evenings. Can you say "EXCITED!"? That's what I am!

Ten Ways to Find an Author or Illustrator to Visit Your School

In many schools, a visit from an author or illustrator is part of the yearly schedule. But just where should schools look to find appropriate candidates? To begin with, try to determine what type of visitor you would like; if you had an author last year, maybe an illustrator this year. This of visitors based on the kinds of books they have published—do they books that will appeal to only one segment (age group) of your school, or do they have books that span your ages? Do they have fiction books, nonfiction, graphic novels, or poetry, and how does that compare or build upon last year’s visitor? Are they local or close to it? Travel expenses can drive up the cost of visits, so determine up front if it’s realistic to bring in an out of state visitor. Once you’ve narrowed down your “dream visitor”, it’s time to begin the search.

1)  Ask other schools. One great way to connect with a visitor is by asking other schools in your district and surrounding area if they have had a great visit in the last couple years. Schools will be candid with you about what the students and teachers thought, and will probably be willing to share with you what the visit cost. (Unfortunately, many author and illustrators’ sites do not have costs listed—you have to contact the individual to learn of their fees. While fees can change from year to year, you can usually get a pretty close “ball park” figure by asking a school who has recently hosted them.)

2)      Ask your public librarian. Your public librarian may have a slightly wider “net” cast of authors who have provided visits in your area.

3)      Google.  

• a.       Google authors and illustrators and go directly to their sites. You can either choose favorites of your own and search them by name, or google “children’s author” or “children’s illustrator”, adding your state to the search if you need to keep the search close to home. Carefully read their visit descriptions to see what kinds of programs they do. Some are presentation only, while others do workshops with kids as well. (Bear in mind that if you want a visitor to do workshops with the majority of the school, you will likely have to retain them for more than one day.
• b.      Google publisher’s websites. Many of them have links to their authors and illustrators who do school visits.
• c.       Google sites that help schools connect with an author or illustrator. You needn’t pay for this—look for a free service. Do be aware, however, that most of these sites charge the author,  so many authors won’t be found on them.

4)      Blogs. Search teacher and librarian blogs for posts about their visitors. These ladies and gentlemen are all about passing on valuable information, so see what they have to say.

5)      Twitter. And speaking of social media, if you follow teachers and librarians on Twitter, send out a tweet asking for help. The broad scope of your network might turn up just what you’re looking for.

6)      Book Festivals. Attend book festivals to meet possible candidates. I’ve known schools who have researched the authors and illustrators who will be in attendance and gone to a book festival and have arranged their visit on the spot!

7)      Local Bookstores. Ask your local bookstore for recommendations. I know, this is becoming easier said than done, but if you’re lucky enough to have a good little Indy Bookstore nearby, the workers there can be a wealth of knowledge.

8)      Local Arts Organizations. If you have a local arts organization, see if they have any affiliation with authors and illustrators. Some do.

9)      Author/Illustrator recommendations. Each year, ask your visitor recommendations for other visitors and find out why they recommend them. Like all professionals, most people are fairly networked in with others in their industry. Find out what they know.

10)   SCBWI. Check out the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators—nearly everyone in this industry is a member of this international trade organization and on the National site, they list authors and illustrators who make school visits. If you want to look on a more localized scale, check online by googling  SCBWI followed by the state where you live to find a local chapter. (There are often more than one chapter per state.) These often have links to their members who visit school, and if there aren’t, email the regional adviser, asking for help.

Five Authors (Some Illustrators) to Engage Your Students

Elementary classrooms tend to be havens for books (as they should be!) And teachers are pros at making good use of them. But every now and then I peruse author and illustrator websites looking for teaching materials that are ready to go. Today I bring you five.

April Pulley Sayre, nonfiction-author-extraordinaire heads up the list with literally hundreds of activity ideas for teachers. Her Educator Resource page is divided into the categories of: Author Study, Book Links, Book-Related Activities (tons of these!), Birds, Fish, Geography and Biomes, Insects, Mammals, Math, Other, Physical Science, Reptiles and Amphibians, Seeds, Vegetables and Fruits, Writing Process, Featured Resource, Miscellaneous, Standards and Curriculum, Story Plans, and Worksheets. Wow April! We can't ask for more than that!

Patricia Polocco, author/illustrator has a tab at the top of her page that says Fun Stuff. There you will find Color-Ins, Postcards, Puzzles, Bookmarks, Portrait Downloads, Mini-Posters, Video Gallery, and Audio. Check it out!

Author/Illustrator Jan Brett is known for her finely detailed illustrations. Here, you can find Activities. Coloring Pages, Murals, Cards, Hedge-a-Grams (audio), and Games. Nice stuff!

Author and Illustrator combo, Don and Audrey Wood. Audrey's activities page can be found by clicking the Activities box at the top of the page. In the drop down menu, you will find printables for eight of Audrey's books. Everyone will love the secret pages found by clicking the tab at the top, which show photos that were used as models for Don's fantastic illustrations as well as other books-in-the-making info.

And finally, check out everyone's favorite poet, Jack Prelutski's page. Personally, I find the creature on the landing page a bit creepy, but Jack's a poet, not an illustrator, so I'll let it slide. Jack doesn't have printables, but he has a number of activities there.

With some authors, connecting kids to books is as easy as going to their websites!

Seven Literacy Strategies That Work!

Hoover was a troubled school, performing the lowest in the county and among the lowest in
California. Of the 2,200 students, 100% qualified for free or reduced lunch, 46% were ELL students, and 96% were members of minority groups. One consultant suggested that those students could not be expected to perform better. But the teachers thought otherwise. They formed a staff development committee and worked with colleagues at the San Diego State University. Together they developed the following seven strategies that helped bring their school's average reading level up two grade levels in three years. These strategies were developed for High Schoolers, but all could be used in upper elementary on up.

1.  Read-Alouds. Yes, even at the High School level. Read-alouds give students the chance to hear varied vocabulary, as well as a variety of different text types. It also gives students the opportunity to hear fluent reading.

2. K-W-L Charts. Teachers report that this is a great way to hook students into learning about a topic. Write out what you know, what you want to know, and at the end, what you learned. In addition to hooking them into the learning at the time, K-W-L Charts also prove to students that they have, indeed, gained something from their study.

3. Graphic Organizers. Graphic organizers help more visual students record what they are learning. Student-created graphic organizers benefit kinesthetic learners. Students at Hoover consistently reported that graphic organizers were the most helpful strategy they used.

4. Vocabulary Instruction. Across all content areas. 'Nuff said.

5. Writing to Learn. Some teachers reported success with opening a lesson with writing about the subject to focus students. Some used writing in the middle of the lesson to help students process the topic. Some used it at the of a lesson to summarize and solidify the new material.

6. Structured Note-taking. Let's face it, we aren't born knowing how to take good notes. In this school, students made a vertical line two inches in from the left side of the page. Here, they wrote topics and keywords. To the right of the line, students wrote detailed information. At the bottom of the page, they wrote a summary of the lesson. Brilliant!

7. Teaching Each Other, otherwise known as reciprocal teaching. While teachers found this the most difficult part to implement, they said it was also the most effective way to engage students with text.

Read more about this school, this study, and these strategies here.

What do you consider the most successful literacy strategies that you use?