A/I/P thoughts

For my author/illustrator/poet presentation I chose to research Mercer Mayer (as you could probably tell). I really enjoyed this project because I learned so much about one of my favorite author/illustrators and I was surprised at how much I didn't know about him. In regards to using a project like this in my classroom I see many benefits and would definitely implement this into my class. What I found interesting is that Mercer Mayer went to school for art and knew he wanted to try to illustrate children's books. However, when he showed his first portfolio to an art director he was told to throw it away and start over...so he did! I thought that was unbelievable because even as an adult I have a misconception that authors and illustrators know what they want to do and are good at it right away. I think that doing a study like this with a class would be a great way for them to see that even authors don't start out making books. Along with this, it will also show students different ideas that they can use in their writing. I think studies like this are perfect to get students engaged in their reading and writing because they understand what writers do and by learning more about the author it might create more of an interest when they are reading.