Play,+Pretend,+and+Dream+-+Caldecott+Medal+and+Honor+Books,+2010-2013

=Teacher Workshop: Play, Pretend, and Dream - Caldecott Medal and Honor Books, 2010-2013= October 26, 2013 9:00AM–3:00PM Ryan Education Center



The Randolph Caldecott Medal is one of the most prestigious children’s book awards and it is given annually as recognition to the artist of the “most distinguished American picture book for children.” Now on view in the Ryan Education Center until December 11, 2013, //Play, Pretend, and Dream: Caldecott Medal and Honor Books, 2010-2013// celebrates the 75th anniversary of the award by exhibiting an illustration from each of the 16 books that have won the distinguished medal or honor award over the past four years.

Today’s workshop is inspired by this stunning exhibition and will focus upon the artist’s role in children’s picture book development. Participants will reflect on the value of visual storytelling while making connections to the Common Core Reading Standards’ emphasis on analyzing the structure of texts and evaluating content from diverse formats. After a tour of the exhibition with the curator and an in-depth engagement in the museum galleries, participating educators will finish the workshop with a hands-on studio experience, exploring materials and techniques to create their own illustrations.

The workshop's gallery experience portion was designed to demonstrate some of the crucial steps crucial in picture book illustration. Through modeled conversations and hands-on activities, participating teachers explored several factors that picture book authors and illustrators consider while in the creative process. Activities engaged teachers in dialogue around elements of teaching with the “whole book,” allowing both writing and illustrating to be seen as powerful and effective meaning-making systems.
 * Gallery Activities**

After conducting a close read of Frederic Remington's //The Advance-Guard, or The Military Sacrifice (The Ambush)//, we discussed sequencing and the development of storyboards. Participants used the "Sequencing Boxes" worksheet to imagine the painting as part of a series of images detailing a story. Placing //The Advance Guard// in the middle, teachers then illustrated what they believed happened before and after this image.



At Eastman Johnson's // Husking Bee, Island of Nantucket //, we engaged with the painting by describing what other senses might be present or engaged in the image. Participants worked in small groups to fill out the "Whats in a Scene?" worksheet based on their focusing sense of smell, taste, touch, or sound.



With Grant Wood's iconic //American Gothic,// we did two activities. First, we created a two-voice poem from the painting, connecting voice and emotion to the "characters" in the painting. Secondly, we investigated the impact of character development from illustration. This was demonstrated through the "American Gothic Exercise" worksheet, where participants were invited to create new expressions for the two figures.



Ellsworth Kelly's //East River// was the perfect example to use when discussing composition. Teachers were given a blank piece of paper and small reproduction of this painting. After placing the reproduction on the paper, they used colored pencil to extend the lines of the image and imagine that the painting was only part of a much larger picture.



Remington, Frederic, //T he Advance-Guard, or The Military Sacrifice (The Ambush) //, 1890 (1982.802) Johnson, Eastman, // Husking Bee, Island of Nantucket //, 1876 (1922.444) Wood, Grant, //American Gothic//, 1930 (1930.934) Kelly, Ellsworth, //East River//, 1959 (1968.606)
 * Image Credits**

Everyone tried on their illustrator's "hat" with an afternoon studio experience. Inspired by the fact that the majority of the illustrators in the "Play, Pretend, and Dream" exhibition created their works using digital technology or tools, we experimented in Photoshop with Peter Brown's illustrations from Caldecott Honor-winning picture book, __Creepy Carrots__ (written by Aaron Reynolds). Brown himself used Photoshop with his illustrations.
 * Highlights and Photos from the Studio**

Here is a link to an inside look of Brown's work for the book: [|Peter Brown in The Creepy Carrots Zone]

Below are some examples of participants' finished products. They were creepy, creative, and charming! An excellent way to end the day!