Kinzie Elementary School Visit

A couple of snaps from a school visit I did on Tuesday at Kinzie Elementary School in Chicago.

Photos of School Visits

As mentioned earlier, Mike Knudson, the author of the Raymond and Graham chapter book series and I teamed up and visited three elementary schools in Naperville, Illinois this week. We had a blast meeting the kids, librarians and teachers at the schools and we are so glad they loved "Raymond and Graham Rule the School" and "Raymond and Graham Dancing Dudes."

Here are a few pictures (courtesy of the schools) of our visits:

At Ellsworth Elementary School: Mike Knudson (left) brainstorms with the kids, while my BIG, GIANT HAND is drawing things that happened in the book up on the screen.

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At Ellsworth Elementary School, Mike reads a scene from "Raymond and Graham Rule the School," while I draw it.

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Drawing for the kids at Naper School.

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At Naper School, deciding which events in the books are fact and which are fiction.

Thanks again to the folks at Naper School, Ellsworth Elementary School and Ranch View Elementary School for having us visit!

Stacks of Books

The author of the famed "Raymond and Graham" chapter book series, Marvelous Mike Knudson and I are teaming up over the next couple of days and taking our dog and pony show to the deserving children at Ellsworth Elementary School, Ranch View Elementary School and Naper Elementary School in Naperville, IL.

In the picture above are some of the books I've been signing for the past couple of days. Mike signs his name and I sign and doodle a little drawing in each book.

My usually drawing process consists of pencilling a drawing, then tracing over my pencil lines in ink and then erasing the pencil lines. But when I have to sign books, I don't have time for all that. The first time I did a LIVE booksigning I nearly pissed my pants. I just couldn't draw in someone's book without pencilling first! And even worse, I couldn't do it FAST enough to accomodate a line of kids waiting to get their book signed. Hundreds of thousands of books later, I dive right in. When I get "in the zone," I can do some pretty nifty drawings without worry.

Go buy:

Raymond and Graham Rule the School

Raymond and Graham Dancing Dudes

School Visit

As mentioned earlier, Mike Knudson, the author of the Raymond and Graham chapter book series and I teamed up and visited three elementary schools in Naperville, Illinois this week. We had a blast meeting the kids, librarians and teachers at the schools and we are so glad they loved "Raymond and Graham Rule the School" and "Raymond and Graham Dancing Dudes."

Here are a few pictures (courtesy of the schools) of our visits:

At Ellsworth Elementary School: Mike Knudson (left) brainstorms with the kids, while my BIG, GIANT HAND is drawing things that happened in the book up on the screen.

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At Ellsworth Elementary School, Mike reads a scene from "Raymond and Graham Rule the School," while I draw it.

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Drawing for the kids at Naper School.

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At Naper School, deciding which events in the books are fact and which are fiction.

Thanks again to the folks at Naper School, Ellsworth Elementary School and Ranch View Elementary School for having us visit!

School Visits

Mike Knudson, the author of the Raymond and Graham series, and I teamed up for a couple of school visits to Kingsley Elementary School and River Woods Elementary School in Naperville, IL.

We had a blast!
The kids were absolutely terrific and it was uplifting to meet fans of the Raymond and Graham books face-to-face, entertain them and sign and draw in their books.

A special thanks to the fine folks at both these schools for allowing us to come visit your schools!
We appreciate your support!

Here are a few photos:

The awesome set up that the school folks made for us:


Answering questions...me (on the left) and Mike (on the right):


Mike's doing the talking and I'm drawing, which is projected up on that screen between the Raymond and Graham banners.
Technology sure has come a long way since overhead projectors and transparencies:


Looking at the drawings:


Two student volunteers help Mike make a point about the writing process:


Photos courtesy of Marcia Bean, Kingsley Elementary School