Guest Author: Mary Ryan, Children's Book Writer
Local children's book writer Mary Ryan and ACGC Visual Arts Instructor Jenna Tanttila collaborated to run a book writing/illustrating class for the 5th and 6th graders signed up for the after school 21st Century Grant Program. The approximately 20 students who have signed up for this free after school program for this particular class got to listen to a lecture from Ryan on the journey a writer goes through when creating a story. The creative process of writing was explained and students were encouraged to sequence an event from their minds, either non-fictional or completely made up, and turn it into a story. Ryan spoke of her own experiences as a writer and an excited buzz was in the air as the students began to generate their own ideas they were so anxious to get written down. Tanttila worked closely with the students as they began thinking of their stories and helped them to complete their books with illustrations to visually make the pages more interesting as well as teach them the possibilities of storytelling through the use of an image alone.
Each student got to create a hardcover book. The students learned a method on how to bind a spine of a book together and attach the pages so it is a sturdy object which can be handled and used in the book form. They learned about creating a cover, a title page, and chapters or sections within their books to organize their thoughts and stories better. This class was intended to be a way to bring english class concepts into an art based project.
Each student got to create a hardcover book. The students learned a method on how to bind a spine of a book together and attach the pages so it is a sturdy object which can be handled and used in the book form. They learned about creating a cover, a title page, and chapters or sections within their books to organize their thoughts and stories better. This class was intended to be a way to bring english class concepts into an art based project.