By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
The final exam for Amanda McGuire Rzicznek’s English 343 class at Bowling Green State University was not a written essay or a multiple-choice test.
The testing authorities for the final project in the Picture Book Workshop course were two rooms full of bright-eyed, inquisitive, hand-raising Crim Elementary School second graders.
The big test for the BGSU students was reading their self-written and illustrated children’s books to the elementary students in Stacey Higgins’ and September Killey’s classrooms.
Brandon Moll seemed to get good marks from the children when he read his book, “Leave No Trace.” The children eagerly answered his questions.
”What would you put in your backpack if you were going on a camping trip?” he asked.
They answered as quickly as he pointed to them and nodded: “Food.” “A blanket.” “Matches.” And when he closed the last page of the book, they understood the message: It’s up to each of us to take care of the Earth whether that means picking up trash or putting out a campfire before leaving.
Abigail Shaw’s book, “Franky the Lonely Ghost,” talked about feeling lonely when no one at school wanted to play with him.
“Social anxiety is personal for me. I wanted to help encourage kids to find ways to go out of their way to make friends,” she said.
While some of the students are digital arts majors and utilized their computer skills to create the artwork in their books, Shaw knew she didn’t have time to learn to illustrate on a computer. Instead, the film studies major pulled out her watercolors to put her ghostly characters on paper. “I knew if I kept it simple, it would go quicker than if I tried to do the illustrations on the computer,” she said. She borrowed the ghost concept from a graphic novel she had created in a previous class, which also simplified the process, though it was still an intensive assignment, she admitted.
Rzicznek, a self-professed picture book fan, designed the community-based, experiential-learning course to help students understand “textual and visual storytelling and critical analysis of how words and images work together,” she said.
Their class time was spent pouring over the minutest of details in picture books by some of her favorite authors and illustrators. They listened to guest speakers who shared views about social issues. A visit to the University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum opened their eyes to the world’s largest collection of original artwork by children’s book illustrators. And they spent time reflecting on social issues that second graders might relate to and refining their ideas, words and pictures.
Rena Petrucelli, a digital art student who is passionate about telling stories through art, shared her talents in “Beautiful Butterflies.” She loves the outdoors and nature and wanted “to empower kids and show them what they can do to protect and save the animals,” she said. Initially, she debated whether to feature amazing bees or beautiful butterflies. The butterflies won out, in part because they are so visually appealing, she said.
Because the students come from a variety of disciplines from creative writing and digital arts to film studies and biology, Rzicznek didn’t grade the books on the art itself. She looked at the artistic elements to see if they made the lines or the color important and if they varied their perspectives. She studied the creative writing elements and the story to see if it is highly evolved.
“The grade is not about the art, but about applying the principles we studied throughout the course,” she said. Also important for Rzicznek is imparting the lesson that giving back feels good and is the right thing to do. “We create public good that lives on as educators, graphic designers, scientists, or whatever field they choose to pursue.”
