[Note- Here are the notes I took that day, edited for clarity]
Notes – Day 2 Session 3
Elephant & Piggie Like Reading!
Language & Literacy
1 1/2-hour session — limit 4 presenters
Kindergartners
11/3/2016 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM Concourse Hall 152
Los Angeles Convention Center
Dina Sherman, School & Library Marketing Director, Disney Publishing Worldwide; Mo Willems, author, Disney Publishing Worldwide; Dan Santat, author, Disney Publishing Worldwide; Laurie Keller, author, Disney Publishing Worldwide
Award-winning and celebrated authors Dan Santat and Laurie Keller team up with Mo Willems to kickoff the brand new early-reader series, ELEPHANT & PIGGIE LIKE READING! Elephant & Piggie introduce kids to the books they like to read in this exciting series, featuring original stories and all new characters. Plus, Elephant & Piggie story bumpers from Mo.
I sat right in front. It began with Mo Willems, writer of the Elephant and Piggie series. He asked us to put away our cameras, but before we did they were going to pose for one photo. Here he is “interviewing Dan Santat”.
He told us that after 25 Elephant and Piggie books, now they are retired.. kind of.
Easy readers books have:
About 50 distinct words – no contractions initially
64 pages with cover
Elephant Gerald (favorite singer)
he chose it because it is also one of those hard to spell words
He held a ‘casting session’ for Elephant and Piggie where he tried out different combos.
Books are in quadrants – text on top, image below
there is a jump from image to image
enough variety
no background
no props
could flip through like an animation
Not “what the writers think the audience wants, rather .. “what they don’t know they want yet”
Then Laurie Keller begins
Shows photos of how she did doodles – blades of grass
You own that inanimate object (no one was writing about pigeons with the pigeon and bus book – and no one was writing about grass)
Sketches – block it in color
Book read by authors: “We are growing” – Laurie Keller, Mo Willems
Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! We Are Growing!
Dan takes the microphone.
He starts his stories with a single word
one single idea
Form Follows Function
applied to writing
nothing just one emotion
sculptures of characters (photoshopped expressions in)
Their imagination was 3D and they are 2D
Don’t know the word FIASCO, but after they read the book they do
Book read by authors: “The Cookie Fiasco” Dan Santat, Mo Willems
Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! The Cookie Fiasco
Final Thoughts by authors
Keep it simple
If you write enough you’ll know if it isn’t funny
Sound like yourself
publishers are looking for new voices
can be influenced [a bit]
tell the story your way
“Every book isn’t meant to be read – it’s meant to be played” – Mo Willems
Dan – Influenced by
Donald J Sobol – Encyclopedia Brown– they made you think
Dinosaur Bob by William Joyce
Maurice Syndak
??Engs winas?? [unsure what was said]
William Chase
Cloudy with a chance of meatballs
Mrs Nelson is missing
Laurie Keller – Influenced by
Always help a bird with a broken wing [maybe she meant this?]
Ernest Pina
My father’s dragon
-comics like: nancy, little lulu, richie rich
Mo Willems – Influenced by
Peanuts
Spiderman
Ronald Suro – circles
Alexander Calder – artist new art form (mobile)
Question asked to Mo Willems: “How old are Elephant & Piggie?”
Answer: “They are fully Adult. They Pay taxes and went to high school with Grover”