Best Selling Authors Visit Demarest School

Demarest School was visited by two best-selling authors recently. 

On October 18th, Robert Scotton, author and illustrator of Russell the Sheep, Splat the Cat, and many other picture books, paid a visit to the delight of a group of first-graders.  Scotton, who was born and raised in England, describes the inspiration for his Russell stories on his blog: “I was riding my bike through a field in Rutland, near to where I live, playing my usual game of ‘Dodge the Sheep’, when it occurred to me - again - that there must surely be a story to be gleaned from this flock of woolly critters staring disdainfully at my progress.”

Scotton, who was accompanied by his wife, not only read to the group, he also provided illustration instruction, allowing two of the students to come up to the easel and draw his characters.  Scotto autographed the illustrations and they will ultimately be displayed in the school.

“The kids loved him!  Especially his accent,” said Rosemary Vetrano, Demarest Media Specialist, who coordinates the visiting author program.

This past Thursday, Phillip Margolin came to speak to the Demarest fourth graders.  Margolin has written over 16 adult mysteries and is currently promoting a new book – his first for young readers – that he wrote with his daughter, Ami Margolin Rome.

Vanishing Acts: A Madison Kincaid Mystery, is a mystery/legal thriller for children 9-12.  In his former life, Margolin was a criminal defense lawyer.  He and his daughter spoke to the students about writing, focusing on some of the things that make a good writer.  They told the kids to write about what they know and to map or plan out their stories in outline form so they know exactly what will happen before they even begin. 

Afterward, they took questions from their audience.  One girl asked "How many days does it take to write a book?"   (Margolin shared that a book usually takes him one-and-a-half to two years.)

A fourth-grade boy asked, "How many paragraphs do you have to write to have a book published?"   (The answer:  Vanishing Acts was approximately 600 paragraphs – information that was met with a group gasp!)

Vetrano works with Margot Sage-EL at Watchung Booksellers in Montclair to find authors.  “Margot sent me an email a couple weeks ago saying that the authors wanted to visit a school as part of their book promotion tour for Harper Collins.  The visit was free, so we jumped at the chance,” said Vetrano.  She also said that in addition to the approximately 75 students who attended, the principal, several teachers and “five parents who are avid fans of Phillip Margolin” filled the room.

Vetrano said that, usually, the school needs to pay for author visits, which will be the case with their next scheduled visit in December.  “Those funds come out of the Home and School funding,” she said “and it’s usually very expensive.  We typically can get one per year.  We were so fortunate to have these authors come as part of their promotional tours.”