Today we welcomed Jeff Mack, author and illustrator of many, many books.
He had 5th grade completely engaged and quieter than I have ever seen them for an ENTIRE hour!
He showed them in a real video (sped up) how his illustrations come about from taping the paper down to his drawing board to taking a thumb drive of the illustrations to the copy shop so he can see how the "book" will turn out. He also discussed how illustrators have to be sure to match the style of the drawing to the characters. The students brought notebooks and pencils and he showed them how to draw Clueless McGee. We are not sure if this Clueless McGee is ready for Halloween or in some kind of show...
Since 4th graders in Texas have to take a state writing test, his presentaiton to them was more about the writing process and his steps for writing. He was sure to draw with them also... a Steph-Curry-loving-hippo.
With K,1st, 2nd and 3rd, he talked about practicing and not giving up when you don;t get it right the first time. Then he read a book with each group. You can definitely tell that these drawing came from the lower grades... only random thought came from a 3rd grader who wanted bear to hold a "cup of hot chocolate that smells like broccoli"? I know... I'm sure there is a reason for that, but we didn't go there.
All in all, it was a great day. Students and teachers enjoyed his visit. I highly recommend Jeff if you are looking for an author to visit your school.
