School Visits

Service Description

Below are the sessions I offer in my author visits. E-mail me at jonathantoddbooks (at) gmail.com to check my availability. Schools can choose up to 4 of the following sessions:  1) From Kid Cartoonist to Graphic Novelist and Q&A: I share my creative journey in a slide show that explains how I discovered cartooning as an 8-year-old and the types of comics and cartoons I drew in elementary, middle and high school. I also discuss how I transformed myself from a political cartoonist to a graphic novelist. This session works for a large audience or a smaller one.   2) How to Make a Graphic Novel and Q&A: In this session, I explain each step of creating my graphic novel, Timid: 1) Writing the first draft, 2) Revising the story about 10 times 3) Working with two editors and revising the book more 4) Thumbnailing the entire book and revising the blueprint for the book two times 5) Drawing the 261-page book in pencil 6) Drawing and lettering the book in ink 7) Scanning the book and cleaning up the digital files for the colorist.   3) Autobiographical Comics Workshop: Graphic memoirs are huge among middle-grade and tween readers. I share my approach to creating graphic narratives rooted in personal experiences, asking students to reflect upon meaningful moments in their lives and think of precise ways to express these memories—and their significance—in comics form.   4)    Create a Graphic Novel Page Workshop: I explain the elements of a story, panel planning/creating thumbnail sketches, penciling and inking a graphic novel, and I coach students through creating their own graphic novel page.   5) Cartoon Fun/Build Your Own Session: I lead kindergarten through second-graders through step-by-step drawing lessons of fun characters, such as unicorns or dragons, or I can design a session around a topic related to a school/camp/summer reading area of interest: e.g. finding your voice, informational comics, writing story plots, exploring cultural differences in stories, creating a sense of place in stories.