On May 13th, author/illustrator, David Catrow visited OSD. David gave three presentations: elementary, middle, and high school to a combined audience of OSD and OSSB students. For the first time, two OSD preschool classes attended with their teachers. Fifteen student s and staff members ate a pizza lunch with David and his son, D.J., in the Garden Gallery.
David Catrow has illustrated more than thirty books and one film, _Horton Hears a Who_. He was a long time cartoonist for the Springfield News Sun. He now focuses entirely on his books for children and movies and has a series of readers which will be for sale in the fall of 2009. He left a signed Advanced Reader’s Copy of his first reader, _Dinosaur Hunt_as a gift to OSD’s Library.
During his visit, David drew constantly while telling about his life as an artist. After the presentations, he signed books. He drew and donated a large colored pencil rendition of “Cinderella Skeleton” which will be a permanent display in the Library. He also donated a signed poster of _I A’int Gonna Paint No More_which was presented to ACC Preschool. He brought a copy of _The Fungus That Ate My School_ signed by both author, Arthur Dorris and by David for the Library as well as bookmarks encouraging reading.
In preparation for his visit, OSD and OSSB students took part in a number of educational activities. Each OSD student who attended was required to read at least one Catrow book and take an Accelerated Reading test. Elementary and preschool classes lined the halls with welcoming signs and projects related to David’s books.
Chris Smelley expressed an opinion that was shared by just about everyone who attended the author’s presentation. Chris said to David at lunch “I am fascinated by your art.” We were very fortunate to have the fascinating David Catrow as this year’s author/illustrator.