Yes, David Shannon!
ISB welcomed American author and illustrator, David Shannon to the Library, where we celebrated the 25th “birthday” of his super popular children’s book, No David! Before David read from the new 25th Anniversary Edition of his modern classic, he told our Pre-K 3, Pre-K 4, and 1st Grade students that he got the idea for No, David! from a little book he made as a 5 year old. David said he “always liked to draw, since I could hold a crayon,” and his mom had saved the book and showed it to him as an adult. And the rest is history. He advised our students to “Make sure your parents save your work!”
Then, David started to read, and our students couldn’t stop laughing at the highly-relatable trouble the fictional David gets himself into. They thought it was hilarious when David got into a really big mess causing his mom to call him by his full name, and the author shared that, “That’s what middle names are for, to know that you’re in trouble!”
David also shared about his writing process, explaining, “Even though David and I have the same name, the mischief that he gets into is based on things my brother did, my friends did, my nephew did.” He also said he likes writing because “You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? Sometimes a word is worth a thousand pictures.” Then, he gave a pretty gross example that made our students really crack up!
Finally, David gave a mini-lesson on how to draw David. First, he said, “you have to draw a circle, but not a perfect circle,” and he showed how shadowing can “turn a circle into a ball.” Then, he drew a not-perfect triangle for David’s nose, with one nostril larger than the other — from the left-handed David’s lopsided picking! He drew David’s ears, “with no holes, because he doesn’t listen!” Then, there were David’s eyebrows, which have their own separate personalities, David’s “surprised/ ‘I didn’t know!’” eyebrow on the left, and David’s “naughty” eyebrow on the right. In the end, our students were pretty quick to admit that, just like David, they have a “naughty” eyebrow too!
Our Preschoolers, Lower Schoolers, Faculty and Staff who got to hear David Shannon read were all smiles throughout his presentation. Later in the day, one Pre-K 4 student reflected on David’s visit, saying “It was so funny. I couldn’t stop laughing the whole time.”
