The days after Barack Obama was elected to the presidency were an interesting time to hang out with urban students in Roanoke, Virginia. I had to design an Obama caricature in a hurry!!! Made me wistful for my political cartooning days . . .
But it felt good to add that breath of fresh air. Drawing Frederick Douglass endorsing Obama was just plain FUN (the contrast in their hair was the best!). I do tweak my presentation over the years — I’ve added new words, new ideas and new twists to the standard drawings I do in my “chalk talks.” But it’s all built on a simple idea that has been around since vaudeville days: the magic that appears as a guy brainstorms ideas with an audience and brings those ideas to form.
Plus the silly hat . . .
During my talk at Fairview Elementary in Roanoke, the 200 students brought pencils and paper to the cafeteria. I think it’s cool that they drew as I drew and we brainstormed together. I got some great renditions of Chester at the end of my talk. I don’t ask them to draw him, but Chester has proven the test of time to be an appealing and simply-formed character — like Snoopy or Mickey Mouse. I love seeing the variations that kids come up with!
This entry was posted on Friday, November 14th, 2008 at 5:21 pm and is filed under Historical Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Bought some of your comix last year and was very impressed. I think you do a first rate job of telling US history stories. Can you tell me how successful you are at selling these comix to schools vs. recreational readers? Just wondering who buys these…
Thanks for choosing Chester! Schools have always been the main target for Chester’s history stories — this mission began when a school official suggested it to my editor back in 1999. But in the past three years I’ve also worked hard to get Chester’s adventures into all the museum gift shops I can, and he has sold well there. Vacationing teachers and dedicated parents find him there! Interestingly, when Chester’s books are in a store in a more general marketplace, he doesn’t sell as well.
Well, I’m fascinated by your “mission.” I am taking grad school courses in publishing this spring, inspired by the potential of projects like yours, so I’m curious: broadly speaking, has the publishing business been a help or hindrance to your efforts? What has the business done best? Lastly, why don’t you put the whole books online? (The artwork looks brighter and sharper on the screen than in print.)
Is there a way to make money putting the books online?? I’d need to sell a LOT of banner ads to get that to work. Or charge a fee for access. Is there another model I’m missing?
The publishing house model didn’t work for me, either. Couldn’t get anyone interested, and I tried big, small and in between. I still try from time to time, hoping that my strong regional sales over 5 years will show them what they’re missing. Nope. So I have thrived in the self-publishing and web marketing world that blossomed 15 years ago. I love the freedom and control I get from publishing my own works. It takes a lot of energy and determination and some ice water in the veins, but I’m very proud to have made 5 years fighting a rear-guard action to keep kids reading SOMETHING on paper!
When a child is curled up on a couch, glued to a book, they seem more focused than when they are reading/browsing online. So I can see why you would like to see kids read the printed books.
And no, I don’t have another model that would generate cash. It would, I think, get the comix more widely read-that would develop the “brand.” At best, putting the books online might get you enough “buzz” to get publishers interested in future “product.” Perhaps it is something to do if regional sales drop?
I am rambling on about this because I believe your approach to teaching history is terrific and should be developed to the fullest. It often seems to me that elementary school history texts make the personalities and events as dull as possible. So it will take efforts like yours to breathe some life into the subject.