Two authors talk about their books during visits to Hopkins
March 2, 2015
Talking cats, a big green monster and the word “moo” were just some of the topics discussed when Ellen Hopkins Elementary hosted two authors in late January. Jacqueline West, author of The Books of Elsewhere, spoke to grades 3-5 students, while illustrator/author Mike Wohnoutka spoke to grades K-2 students.
West shared a chapter from the first book in The Books of Elsewhere series and then provided answers to some common questions she frequently hears from students.
West grew up loving to make up stories and act them out, but she didn’t think she could be a writer because her life is so normal. West shared titles of her favorite books with the students, noting that all are fantasy books, which are her favorite thing to read and her favorite thing to write.
She compared her early writing to learning to play a musical instrument – the first story may sound more like noise than music. “After years of practicing I started to write things I thought others would read,” she said.
Her ideas for her books come from everywhere. The Books of Elsewhere series began with an old house she saw through the school bus window when she was growing up. “Ideas can come from memories,” West said. She also talked about ideas coming from people you know and from questions you ask yourself.
Wohnoutka explained to Hopkins grades K-2 students that an illustrator uses pictures to tell stories, and he shared the titles of some books he loved as a child. He was inspired to become an illustrator after hearing David Shannon, who writes of the “No, David” books, speak about how he illustrated his first book.
“I always feel fortunate that I still get to draw every day,” Wohnoutka said.
Wohnoutka shared the process for illustrating “Moo,” which was written by David LaRochelle. In “Moo,” the cow’s car ride adventure is told using variations on one word: “Moo!” Wohnoutka explained how he needed to figure out how to show different emotions by changing the cow’s eyes and using different colors in the illustrations.
He also drew the monster from “Little Puppy and the Big Green Monster,” which is the first book he has both written and illustrated.
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