F-READ-OM

Our photo with Bullseye, the Target dog!

Authors we saw at the Decatur Book Festival.

We had a great time at the Decatur Book Festival yesterday. "FREADOM" was one of the cute t-shirts that we saw someone wearing, with the "READ" part in red. I thought it was clever!

We got to hear two great authors speak - Patrick McDonnell, who is the creator of Mutts, and Andy Runton, creator of Owly. Both spoke and showed us how to draw their main comic strip characters. McDonnell "read" (there are no words, only images) from his new book, South, and donated his sketches to the local animal shelter. Runton spent a good deal of time showing kids how to draw animals using simple shapes and encouraging them to explore their dreams if they liked to draw. He also gave out old "Free Comic Book Day" comic books of Owly, and showed everyone how to read Owly's emotions, since his strip is images only. It was really fantastic to hear these authors speak about the characters they created, especially after I have only read them in print all these years. It was neat to hear them come alive through the creators' mouths and to learn that my perception of the characters are pretty spot on!

We enjoyed a late lunch at one of our favorite Decatur watering holes - Brick Store Pub - and lo and behold, Owly made an appearance in my hummus plate! (See bottom right photo above.) Okay, so we moved around a few cucumber slices, but still, I thought it was a great likeness!