Jennifer O'Connell Author Visit Kit

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  Jennifer O'Connell is the author illustrator of the best-selling picture book Ten Timid Ghosts and a two-time winner of The Christopher Award for illustration. She also wrote and illustrated Ten Timid Ghosts on a Christmas Night which is most recently featured in Scholastic's Merry Christmas: A Storybook Collection and illustrated the popular A Garden of Whales, among others.

For the past 16 years, Jennifer has visited schools and libraries to share her love of creating picture books with children, teachers and parents. She shows her audience the exciting process of creating a book and instills in them the idea that real people do this and that they can do it themselves.

Presentations:

"How Ten Timid Ghosts Came To Be"

In her interactive and lively presentation, Jennifer discusses the creation of the Ten Timid Ghosts counting books from the first spark of an idea to selling the idea to a publisher and working with the editor and art director to produce the final text and art. She shows her beginning sketches, dummy books, revisions, final sketches and paintings. Jennifer also explains the color separation process used in printing by showing a set of four one-color transparencies; when held one on top of the other, they magically form a full-color picture. Toward the end of the talk, the children direct Jennifer as she draws a (humorous) scary character and setting. A lively brainstorming session follows to create a story about the new character. The drawing is left with the school and the children are often inspired to later finish the story or create new ones about their unique character!

Workshop:  "Let's Create A Picture Book!" - For all ages

Jennifer begins by explaining her process of creating stories and characters. She also discusses the key elements found in good picture books. Then each participant is invited to play an "idea grab-bag" game and in no time everyone is writing and illustrating their own books! The participants put together their books with decorative fasteners and hole-punched blank pages, then the works-in-progress can be finished in class or at home.

Adult Presentations

Jennifer presents programs to adult audiences as well. Venues have included The Smithsonian Residents Program, The Corcoran Museum Lecture Series, Montgomery College's Celebration of Children's Literature and The Children's Literature Center at Frostburg State University.

For more information, please visit  http://www.jenniferoconnellart.com/  

Author's home: Bethesda, MD
Suggested Audience: Grades pre-K - 6 and Adult
Honorarium:  $1,300 per day plus expenses for presentations to children.
For adult programs and workshops, fees are negotiable.

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