Friday 4 May 2012

An Interruption...

We interrupt our normally scheduled blog for this important message:

I met Toronto-based author/illustrator extraodinaire Kevin Sylvester today!!!
Wooo-Hoooo!!!

The first two books in the Neil Flambe series by Kevin Sylvester. 

    The third installment (Neil Flambe and the Crusader's Curse) hit bookstores only yesterday unbeknownst to me - I didn't know when it was going to be published seeing as I had heard that the publishing company handling the first two books went bankrupt.  Luckily for all fans of the Neil Flambe series Simon & Shuster Canada picked it up and is running with it!! Yeah!!
    
    I went with my oldest daughter to a DSBN sponsored Silver Birch Book Conference today in Niagara-on-the-Lake. It was a day full of workshops, key-note speakers and lots of kids - everywhere!!  The first workshop I attended was 'Cartooning with Kevin' in which Kevin Sylvester took students through the "inner workings" of creating a doodle - brilliant!  He is a crazy-talented artist who encouraged the kids to just relax and draw - keep your hand loose and moving - who cares if there are "a million extra lines" in the drawing, that's what gives it energy - keeps the eye moving!  Another great point he made was to layer up with unexpected 'jokes' and add interest to your drawings. Basically, he encouraged the kids to not ever give up on a drawing - just keep addig to it!  AWESOME!!  
   
     Before finishing the workshop he went around the room and drew and autographed an original doodle for each student. He gave them the choice between a dog, cat, dragon, and a penguin with a mohawk. Yep, you read that correctly!  
 
    My daughter choose a dog (it was before the penguin came into play!)...
  
Dog Doodle, signed

    Okay, my geek is showing now because I stood in line to get the first two Neil Flambe books signed and doodled by Mr. Sylvester - and yes, I photographed them to post here - see below!
    I am quick to forgive him for spelling my name incorrectly each time because he is an extremely generous man to sit for well over an hour and not just sign his name in his books but to personalize, doodle, and sign each book for everyone in line! 
   
 
       I got two li'l Neil doodles!! 

     The teacher I attended the conference with is going to seriously look into getting Mr. Sylvester to bring his wit and talent to our school for a presentation sometime very soon!  Yeah!!

    All in all a great and inspiring day!!

♥ Cath-

P.S. My regualar scheduled blog (which was written to post today) will be posted on Monday.
After meeting such an amazingly talented author and illustrator who is also very down-to-earth and
funny I couldn't help but be inspired to dedicate today's blogspot to him! : ) 



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