Chappaqua Author Reveals Inner Secrets of Pop-Up Books

Children’s book author/illustrator and Chappaqua resident Matthew Van Fleet visited Robert E. Bell Middle School recently to take students inside his books. Literally.

Mr. Van Fleet, who specializes in tactile novelty books for the pre-school set, showed the Bell students the mechanics of how his books are built to withstand repeated handling and allow readers to push, pull, touch and tug. Demonstrating the construction of the gears nestled in between book pages, Mr. Van Fleet showed students how the physical complexity of his books has evolved.

“I’ve become a little better over time,” he said.

Mr. Van Fleet’s books, several of which have made the top of the New York Times bestseller list, introduce children to basic concepts like color, shapes, numbers, and letters. One of the children’s favorites, DOG, features neighborhood dogs photographed in Mr. Van Fleet's Chappaqua living room.

The author will be one of about 20 literary figures conducting workshops at the annual Young Writers’ Conference for Chappaqua School District students in grades four through six on Saturday, March 17. The Young Writers Conference will feature a range of presenters, who will conduct one-hour workshops on a variety of topics from poetry writing, storytelling and fantasy to technical writing.

Workshop presenters, most of whom are Chappaqua residents, include two Emmy-award-winners – an investigative reporter and a producer – a professional sports writer, a playwright and a travel writer. Joe Klein, former president of CNN/US will be conducting a workshop on documentaries. Each student will participate in two workshops.