If a Monkey Has a Release Party!

If a Monkey Jumps Onto Your School Bus
Written by Jean Cochran
Illustrated by me

"If a Monkey Jumps Onto Your School Bus" has been out for a few weeks now. But I never had a chance to share the great book release party we had back in December at the Lunenburg Public Library. Even though it was a very cold and blustery day, there were lots of kids, lots (and lots) of cookies and lots of fun.



Of course we read the book, "If a Monkey Jumps Onto Your School Bus," and looked for the monkey on each page. Then we learned how to draw monkeys. Yes, everyone can draw monkeys!



Then came my favorite part. We discussed character design and how characters can be great launching points for new story ideas. I challenged the kids to come up with new characters. By asking them some questions and combining lots of great ideas, the kids came up with some pretty wacky new characters. It was a blast illustrating their creations. Then I challenged them to go home and write a story about their new characters.

To all of you that were there - I'm still waiting for the story of Henrietta the Hula dancing leprechaun (shown below)!



Thanks everyone for making it a great book release party! For those of you that couldn't make it, visit my website to download the coloring pages and other handouts from the event.