Do you like drawing comics? Have you ever wondered what a surfing whale looks like? Check out my latest ‘how to’ video produced by the Ontario Library Association for the 2021 Forest of Reading Illustrator Series! You can find it here on BiblioVideo’s YouTube channel.
WHAT?! During the pandemic?! How??? Why???!!!
Well, thanks to the magic of the internet and the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, I will be joining a crew of amazing Canadian creators touring around Canada (virtually) for Canadian Children’s Book Week 2021, visiting schools, libraries, community centres and bookstores to share our love of creating books!
Usually, this amazing week is a physical tour for authors, illustrators and storytellers but since we are living in strange times, the Canadian Children's Book Centre has taken it completely online. This allows for all of those involved to visit several provinces and territories during their travels. A task that would be quite difficult to pull off in normal times!
From May 3rd to 7th, I will be stopping in New Brunswick, Quebec and the Northwest Territories to talk to kids about being an illustrator. We will discuss all things doodles, including comics and how they can use the medium to write stories of their own.
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#CCBCBookWeek2021 / #liretoutvent
Organizers:
The Canadian Children's Book Centre / Communication-Jeunesse
Funders:
The Canada Council for the Arts #BringingTheArtsToLife
The Government of the Northwest Territories
Sponsors:
First Book Canada (these great folks not only sponsored one of my events but also provided a copy of my latest book, Trending, to every kid taking part in that particular presentation!)
WHERE I’M GOING:
Forest Glen Elementary School, Moncton, NB
LP Fisher Public Library,
Woodstock, NB
Joliette Elementary School,
Saint-Charles-Borromée, QC
Pierre Elliott Trudeau
Elementary School,
Blainville, QC
Laurentian Elementary School, Lachute, QC
Belle Anse Elementary School, Gaspé, QC
Líídlįį Kúę Elementary School
Fort Simpson, NWT
Paul William Kaeser High School
Fort Smith, NWT
Click here for a google map of all the schools & libraries I’ll be visiting.
Over the past number of years, I’ve had the honour to illustrate several of Kira Vermond’s amazingly written books. For our latest collaboration, we have put together a really fun, online Zoom-based presentation for kids 8-13 yrs old. Kira discusses fads and trends while I facilitate the concepts using fun, quick doodles through the Zoom whiteboard tool!
It’s a brave new world out there, so please know that we are available to present this program, plus our usual creator visits & workshops all online via Zoom! (This means you also get to peak into our studios where all the magic happens…)
Check out our latest presentations below. If you don’t see something you like, we can also create a custom program tailored to the needs of your classroom or group:
What’s up with fads and trends?
Would you ever swallow a live goldfish? Pour a bucket of ice water over your head? Wear seriously ugly shoes? Who would do that? And — more importantly — why? Trends may seem trivial on the surface, but they have the power to make regular people do pretty irregular things! Jump into the frenzied world of viral videos and songs, faddish food and clothes, and even dangerous crazes! Coming together online, Trending: How and Why Stuff Gets Popular (Owlkids, 2020) author Kira Vermond and illustrator Clayton Hanmer tell (and draw!) stories about how fads take off and spread, how they can be crafted to lure you in — and how to recognize bandwagon behaviour the minute you see it. (The pandemic toilet paper craze, anyone?)
Length 45 minutes
For ages 8-13
Create your own comics with CTON
Write and illustrate your own personal comic stories with 2019’s TD Summer Reading Club artist, Clayton Hanmer. Learn about the basic structure of comic creation and be encouraged to get silly (aka creative) while developing unique characters based on these concepts. Then jump right into writing and drawing a comic together around these characters. The workshop builds on children’s individual creativity and helps them gain confidence in their drawing and writing skills. Attendees will need access to a mic via Zoom, or a facilitator at their end with full access to Zoom. This program is always different and changes depending on the input from the attendees.
Length 45 minutes
For ages 6-12
I was honoured to be chosen as the official artist for the 2019 TD Summer Reading Club which included working with the super-amazing team from the Toronto Public Library and Archives Canada to build an awesome batch of fun material for the 2019 Summer Reading Club program. I was also lucky enough to attend the Indigenous launch party in northern Saskatchewan with the Montreal Lake Cree Nation, and visit Alberta for the English launch party in Lethbridge. Later in the summer, I had a blast touring to local libraries around the Toronto and Ottawa regions while conducting my workshop, Creating Your Own Comics with CTON! Thanks again to all the great kids, parents and librarians I met on my travels!
For those who aren’t familiar with the TD Summer Reading Club, it is a national, bilingual program co-created and delivered by over 2,200 public libraries across Canada. The program is developed by Toronto Public Library in partnership with Library and Archives Canada.
For more info about the TD Summer Reading Club, visit your local library today!
