Lindsey Stoddard

We were so lucky to have author Lindsey Stoddard visit DBS yesterday!  She is the author of Just Like Jackie (a Dorothy Canfield Fisher book award nominee) and Right as Rain, both excellent YA novels based (in whole or in part) in Vermont. Lindsey spoke with 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. She told them how she finds inspiration, how she has fed and watered "seeds" from her past that then grew into novels, and how they should look to their own experiences for inspiration as well.  We even got a sneak peek at her newest book, coming out this summer. The kids were super excited. They had great questions and I now have a long reserve list for her books in the library. :) 

Thank you Lindsey for signing everything they threw at you and inspiring our budding authors!

Book Awards and Celebrations

The Red Clover and Dorothy Canfield Fisher book awards have been decided for the 2018/19 school year.

Students at DBS were on the mark with both awards!  For the Red Clover book award, The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors, by Drew Daywalt, won the vote at DBS and went on to win the state-wide vote as well.

This funny book explains the back story of these three great warriors and without fail every child starts playing the game as soon as the book is over.

The older kids were busy reading Dorothy Canfield Fisher book award nominees all year and when they got the chance to vote the results were a tie: Refugee and Ban This Book, both written by Alan Gratz!  When the votes were tallied across the state, Refugee took the win.

Refugee is a powerful story of three separate children, in three separate periods of time, escaping their dangerous homelands and seeking refuge in a safer place.

Sadly we can't go to the award ceremony this year, but I hosted a little celebration in the library for those who read and voted in the Dorothy Canfield Fisher award.  We had brownies, ice cream, and a fun Skype session with Terry Lynn Johnson, author of Falcon Wild!  She talked about falconing, mushing (dog sleds!), and her new book.  The kids had lots of great questions for her.

The 2019/20 list is out for both awards and the books are in.  I'm looking forward to sharing them with students next fall.

Kid quotes

Two of my favorite quotes from kids this week:

"That's even better than I can draw!" said a kindergartner.

"Wow!!  Did he make that?!" said a 3rd grader. 

Their enthusiasm was outstanding!

Visiting Author - Day 2

By day two word had gotten around and the kids were excited to meet our visiting author! I was hoping they would still be surprised by the surprises in the drawings, and they were! It was only the very last class of the day that was guessing ahead of time.

This is an interesting animal!

Old man or grumpy baby?  Depends on how you hold the clipboard!  :)

Mr. D made a surprise appearance with the 5th graders.

Mr. Burns stopped by and the 3rd graders LOVED it!  Many of them chose to draw along.

Mr. Burns was a good sport! :)

A great caricature of Mr. D!

Mr. Gurney was kind enough to host a special lunch group for some of the kids who were interested in learning more.  We had lunch, chatted, and then he led them in a fun drawing activity.

The kids were excited for the opportunity to talk with Mr. Gurney and get tips on how to improve their illustrations.

Adding color to the disco ball.

A monster of some sort, running a race.

I'm so pleased that we got this opportunity to invite John Steven Gurney to DBS.  The feedback from the students and teachers was outstanding!  I hope to do this again in the future.  I have several author/illustrators in mind. :)

Mr. D's Circus

Visiting Author

We had a fun day in library today! Author and illustrator John Steven Gurney came by to talk to the kids about the illustration process and do draw some funny pictures with them. Each class gets a turn (today or tomorrow!) to talk to Mr. Gurney and see the cool work he does. Mr. Gurney has written and illustrated books of his own, such as Dinosaur Train and Fuzzy Baseball, and he's also the author of several popular series, including the A to Z Mysteries, and the Bailey School Kids.

Mr. Gurney had a series of drawings showing his progress as an illustrator.  This is him in college, as a machine!  Metal face and wires for hair.  Very cool!

With each class he asked for five animals and then drew a compilation "animal" on the spot.  The older grades had pencil and paper and were encouraged to draw along.

Second grade enjoying the presentation.

Some classes got an extra bonus and Mr. Gurney drew a caricature of a student (whoever had the next birthday coming up!)  Everyone enjoyed that and some kids even drew along on their papers!

An impromptu owl.

A 4th grade caricature. 

Hmm... what should we call this crazy character?! 

I love how excited the younger kids got about the mixed up animals!  :) 

If your kiddo didn't get a chance to meet John Steven Gurney today, don't worry, we have him for another whole day!  We are hoping to get a caricature of Mr. D too! 

A big thanks to our art teacher, Ms. Weigand, for co-sponsoring this "artist in residence" with me.  As an author AND illustrator he very nicely fits both our programs and we are thrilled to bring him to Dothan Brook School!