Celebrate May 11 through May 17! Children’s Book Week is a time to celebrate books and reading in classrooms, libraries, bookstores, and homes. Interested in writing and drawing your own stories? Learn the techniques of the trade in our two summer courses listed below.
Writing Children’s Picture Books
NEW Let the rumpus begin! Do you dream of imaginary lands and mythical creatures? Learn how to inspire a child’s imagination by giving them the tools necessary to explore the world around them. The well-written picture book entertains the child while developing their reading skills. In this course you’ll learn about writing for children and you’ll be asked to write and revise five or six picture book manuscripts. There will be an opportunity to read your work in class and to discuss and critique the work of other students. We will discuss the needs of the illustrator, how to approach potential publishers and the adventure of the manuscript once it’s been accepted for publication.
Instructor: Diane D’Andrade, B.A., was an editor of children’s books with Harcourt Brace. She has worked with Eve Bunting, Richard Wilbur, Nancy Willard, Bernard Most, David Diaz and many other well-known authors and illustrators. Books she acquired and edited have won awards such as the Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Award. She has recently taught writing children’s books courses at UCSD.
Illustrating Books for Children
In this introductory course, students will learn to make a story come alive through image-making. You will explore techniques for transforming text into images and discover methods for illustrating poems, articles, and parts of stories using different media. The course will help students develop their own styles as it explores popular children’s book art, samples a variety of media and techniques, introduces basic book structure and format, and reviews strategies for navigating the relationship between artists and editor. Note: Elective for Art and the Creative Process Certificate. Prerequisite: Drawing: Focus on Perception (ART 40166) or equivalent experience. For more information or materials list, see course listing at extension.ucsd.edu or call (858) 964-1051.
Instructor: Joy Chu, BFA in painting, is a graphic designer & consultant whose work has been cited by the AIGA, BookBuilders West, the Society of Illustrators, the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, the National Book Awards, Print, Step-by-Step, and Publishers Weekly. Prior to running her own studio, she was art director at Harcourt, and designer at Holt, T.Y. Crowell and Knopf.
Read more about Children’s Book Week.
