By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The spirit of Dr. Seuss and other masters of the picture book was alive in the Bowling Green State University’s Technology and Resource Center in the Education Building.
The students in the Literature for Young Children course taught by Elizabeth Zemanski and Amanda Rzicznek were busy writing, cutting, and drawing as they created their own picture books.
They draw inspiration from the needs of the children they’ll be teaching, from their own favorite books, and from a talk given by published children’s author Lindsay Ward. The goal is to give them insight into the way picture books come to be.
Their work will be exhibited for all to see at the Picture Book Showcase Thursday, Nov. 29 from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Pallister Room of the Jerome Library.
Samantha Aukerman at work
Samantha Aukerman, an early childhood major, was a little nervous about the prospect of having her work on display. Still the project was fun, she said.
Her book is about a shy cactus’ efforts to find a friend. Because of the cactus’ limited mobility, that’s difficult, until he meets a hedgehog.
All this stems from the landscape of Aukerman’s life. She has cacti in her room, and her roommate collects stuffed hedgehogs.
That was one of the lessons students took away from a talk in October from Ward. She spoke about all the odd places she found inspiration for her books. Her series on the neurotic dinosaur named Dexter came from her husband’s discovery of a toy dinosaur abandoned in a doctor’s office.
Lindsay Ward near a display of her artwork in Jerome Library.
In her talk Ward quipped that speaking to the college students was a rare treat. She usually didn’t speak to audiences who were her size and who could read their own books.
Aukerman is also drawing Ward’s attention to material. Ward, who works in cut paper, talked about collecting various types paper. For “Please Bring Balloons” she used vintage paper that had discolored around the edges because of oxidation to create the landscape of New York City.
Aukerman is using sponged paints for her minor characters and the landscape, but is using cut paper for the cactus, Calvin, and his hedgehog friend.
The art is in service of her message, Aukerman said.
“What people say about you really changes how you think about yourself,” she said. That sense of self-image is not talked about, she said. And it should be.
Rebecca Armstrong, also an early childhood major, said working on her own book “helps me understand how children read the books. … The pictures are really important.”
Growing up she loved hearing her mother read the Junie B. Jones books to her. She loved the main character. “She was kind of sassy and funny and passionate about what she was doing.”
The project also gave Armstrong a new appreciation for the difficulty of putting together a book. “It’s hard, but fun.”
Lydia Zickert, who is studying to work with children with special needs, said the project also gave her a new appreciation of how books were put together.
The writer, she said, must be know just what language to use to get the story across to children.
Ward, she said, is “an amazing person.”
She was impressed with the flexibility of her method. “You can start with from an idea or from pictures.”
Every book takes shape in its own way. The distinctive results of the students’ individual approaches will be evident at the Nov. 29 showcase.
