Flying Turtles and Floating Chickens
Giving Voices to our Choices
(A story construction workshop)
Children's Book Author and Illustrator John Himmelman shares with the children some of the writing techniques he has gathered in creating over 65 books for children.
Every writer of every story makes choices for their characters. Those choices give life to those characters and allow them to take us along on their journeys.
In this program, the children will be introduced to some of the author's work and will learn how he often takes a simple sketch, or a newspaper headline, and turns it into a story.
Then the fun really begins! The children guide Himmelman through a story as he illustrates it in front of them. Throughout the process, they are asked to make choices for their
characters regarding personalities, problems and solutions. In the end,
the character will become three dimensional with a big surprise for the whole class (sssshhhh, though, it's a secret....). Each group is left with an interesting souvenir of the visit (in addition to the illustrations created that day)
In the end, the kids (and teachers) will have had some laughs, gained some confidence in storycrafting, and will hopefully be inspired to come up with stories of their own to share.
There are stories taking place every day and night in every yard, park, forest and field. Nature IS a story, encompassing the the victories and struggles of an endless cast of characters. In the lives of animals we have our main characters, supporting characters, setting, problems, solutions and conclusions (sound familiar?).
When creating a story and illustrations, it is important for writers and artists to attempt to know their main character as well as they know themselves. While that's a given in tales of fiction, it is often overlooked in non fiction. This program is a fun way to remedy this problem.
The children will learn how to learn about the living things in their own back yards (or schoolyard), and how to relate their keen observations with words and pictures. They will be encouraged to encompass all five senses in their story telling: Sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound. This is a highly interactive workshop and the children will participate guessing games, brainstorming, and a identifying wild animal sounds. On-the-spot drawings by Himmelman will accompany the presentation.
Some areas covered:
- Choosing a way to tell/illustrate your story (non fiction, fiction based on facts, anthropomorphism)
- Incorporating story elements
- Incorporating all of your senses
- Stalking and observing animals in the wild
- Individuals' uniqueness in perception
- Length of program: 60 minutes
- For grades: 1-4 (Kindergartners, if mixed with older group)
- Number of programs per day: Up to 2
- Number of students per presentation: Up to 100
- Fee: $750 within Connecticut, travel expenses added for out of state
- Materials/Preparation: Author will supply all materials. Please familiarize the children with some of his books. See below.
- Booksigning: Yes. Arrangements can be made for schools and libraries to order books at a discount. Unsold books can be returned.
About the presenter
John Himmelman has written and illustrated over 65 books for children, many of them having won a variety of awards and honors. He has been visiting schools and libraries with his programs throughout the country for over 20 years.
Books explored in this presentation:
Tudley Didn't Know (Sylvan Dell)
Chickens to the Rescue (Henry Holt)
Talester the Lizard (Dell) - Good luck finding it (my first book)!
