Arts & Entertainment
Encouraging Kids to Pick Up Writing
Children's book author holds interactive workshop at Levi Yitzchak Library.
An author and illustrator of more than 20 books taught local kids all about writing and illustrating children’s books at a recent presentation at the in Cedarhurst.
Ann Koffsky described the process of getting a book published — starting from the initial story idea, right through to the finished product.
She used her latest book, Noah's Swim-A-Thon, to demonstrate. She explained how she came up with the concept for the story and showed the audience her original manuscript.
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The book is about a boy who loves going to summer camp, but hates to swim. All that changes when he realizes that he can help needy children by participating in the camp’s swim-a-thon fundraiser. Koffsky knows a thing or two about the subject — besides being an artist and author, she is also a swim instructor at Rauch Day Camp in Uniondale.
The kids enjoyed her sketching demonstration of the book’s main character, Noah, where she compared her style to that of illustrators of popular characters like Dora and Calliou. Koffsky talked about several different types of illustration techniques, stating that her favorite medium is acrylic paints.
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She said that a lot of research goes into writing her stories to insure that the portrayal of characters, era and setting are accurate. She brought along some props that she uses to inspire and assist her in illustrating, such as a mirror, which helps her get the character’s facial expressions just right.
The presentation was capped off with the author reading her book, followed by a brief discussion period, where participants asked several questions about writing and books.
She has given similar presentations at dozens of local schools and events, tailoring her discussions to all grade levels. Besides writing and illustrating books, her artwork has appeared on toys, calendars and murals, as well as greeting cards for Hallmark, she said.
Koffsky had some advice for young aspiring writers and artists.
“Continue to keep writing, because the more you put into it, the better you will get," she said. "Don’t be afraid of mistakes. A lot of people get stressed out about that, but that’s how you learn.”
