So, I will admit that I was a little nervous about this workshop.  Usually, I have a pretty good idea of how the projects will turn out.  With this workshop, I really wasn’t sure.  Could all the kids write their own story, fit it into 12 pages, illustrate, outline, and add color all in four days?  To be honest, I wasn’t sure.  So, to be safe, I brought in some copyright free stories already broken down into 12 pages.  Then all they would have to do is cut, paste, and illustrate.  I encouraged students to write their own stories, but in the back of my mind was pretty sure some would use the pre-written ones.

I am so impressed with these kids.  Not one of them used my stories.  They all wrote their own amazing stories and created beautiful illustrations to go with them.  It really was an intense four days.  We first developed our characters and plot, did a rough outline, decided on the pagination to fit the predetermined number of pages.  Some wrote our their stories by hand, some typed them at home.  Once the stories were complete, we began doing thumbnail sketches on our layout worksheet.  Then we drew the illustrations in our books, outlined them in Sharpie and added color.  Students used a variety of mediums, watercolor, marker, gel crayons, etc…

They all worked so hard.  Completing this project took a lot of endurance.  They came in each day, excited to get to work.  Their finished projects are amazing!  Several were brave enough to read their books to the class on the last day.  You could really see the pride on their faces as they read.

I wish I could share every story.  They were all so wonderful.  Here are a few highlights…