Drawing Dude!

Inspiring kids to dream and create is a tough job and John Steven Gurney did it with panache!

John is an illustrator who has produced a copious number of covers and drawings. He is best known for his series: A-Z Mysteries, the Calendar Mysteries, The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids, the Bailey City Monsters and the Palace Puppies. As a librarian, this was a dream come true since we had over 75 books featuring his work. His work has also appeared in many magazines and even the board game 'Guess Who'. 

Dinosaur Train is a wonderful picture book featuring John's son Jesse as the main character. Not only did he draw the illustrations but he is also the author. His presentations were varied according to the students ages and he establishes a good rapport with his audience. And he had a great number of tricks up his sleeve that he shared with the kids during his drawing workshops. The kids were excited and realized that they too can be illustrators.

His presentation was a great way to finish up my unit on award winners and illustrators. It was so much fun to read quality picture books, use wordless books to focus on illustrations and then have the kids meet a real life illustrator.

Book sales have been fairly steady, with over 50 books sold in a few days. Kids love having a memento and a book with their name signed in it by someone they've met is a pretty special thing. 

If any other school is looking for a brilliant guest speaker, email John johnsgurney@comcast.net. 

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