Author/illustrator Mark Teague joined us at school this afternoon for a reading of his latest book and a drawing demonstration. The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf offers a slightly different version of the traditional tale, and he says it evolved through numerous retellings as his daughters prepared for bed in their younger years. Mark and the second graders (and later the first graders) talked about things they knew for certain in various versions of the story (three houses), things that made them uncomfortable (like the wolf ending up in the stew pot), and things they noticed in his story. They also discussed improbabilities, like a wolf being able to blow down a house - straw, stick, or brick.
As he drew the third pig for the audience, our school nurse leaned over and said, "It is just a few lines. Why can't I do that?" Practice, of course. Mark encouraged the children to draw again and again, just like he did to create consistent characters for the story. Thanks to the Red Balloon for facilitating this visit!
Oh my, another wonderful visit from a fantastic artist! I still remember that one time I saw the artist giving the chalk talk in my childhood, I think I mentioned it to you before. I never knew if he was famous or not, what I knew was that I was enthralled to see the art process come so alive! After I first read this I looked up some Three Little Pig versions. I think there are literally hundreds in Amazon. I guess it's a tale that stirkes us humans very deeply, the fear of losing our homes. Bravo for you for bringing such incredible guests to your school!
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