Author Visit: Derek Anderson
Enjoy access to a bestselling illustrator
-Be inspired to express themselves creatively
-Learn more about the creative process
-Learn how real life experiences can be put into books and illustrations
*Students and teachers were able to take pictures with Derek Anderson and ask him questions about his work and life.
*Students expressed themselves creatively by decorating the halls and classrooms of their school with artwork inspired by Derek Anderson's books.
*Derek Anderson talked with the students about the creative process. He explained that artists have to get used to hearing "No". He encouraged the students to stay determined in the face of rejection and failure and to keep practicing. He also quoted Henry David Thoreau, "It's not what you look at that matters, but what you see." One student asked him if he ever gets writer's or illustrator's block and he said "No, if you stay curious about the world and keep asking questions, you'll never get writer's block."
*He showed how characters from his own life, like his dogs, his parents, and himself are put into his books. Often they are hidden in the background of pictures. He also showed a picture of himself as a boy wearing a duck hat. In the picture were four other little boys. The Little Quack series is about a duckling and his four siblings.
Derek Anderson presented the programs. Madelia Elementary School hosted the program. Teachers and the school librarian at Madelia Elementary School prepared the students for the program by reading Derek Anderson's books to the students and having the st