Chris Gall IN PERSON

LOVE OF READING was this week, and our school librarian always brings a wonderful author or illustrator (or both, as in this case) to speak to the kids.

Chris Gall lives in the Tucson area, and gave our kids a wonderful presentation, beginning with a Powerpoint that showed some of his early interests and drawings. He ended with having the kids call out different ideas and he drew a picture before our very eyes. He did three presentations, and all three pictures are now sitting proudly in the library. He took us through the creation of Dinotrux, his most recent picture book, which is being made into a movie by Dreamworks! How exciting that must be for an illustrator.

Dinotrux is his fourth published book. Previous to that he had There's Nothing to Do on Mars, Dear Fish, and America the Beautiful. He said he got the job to illustrate America the Beautiful because he's related to Katharine Lee Bates, the song's author. That's how he got his "foot in the door."

If you ever have a chance to hear Chris Gall speak, don't pass it up!

He, of course, has his own website.