Children's Picture Book Author and Illustrator Daniel Kirk Visits HCSD

The four Harrison elementary schools were treated to a day of drawing, writing, and music with renowned children’s picture book author and illustrator Daniel Kirk. Mr. Kirk visited with students ranging from kindergartners to third graders and explored how writers develop ideas and images for books. The author’s visit was made possible through a grant from the HCSD’s Elementary Enrichment Committee (EEC) and was moderated by Harrison’s elementary school library specialists Deborah Goldstein, Elizabeth Heller, Thomasine Mastrantoni, and Mark Sandor.

Mr. Kirk’s lessons carried over into other disciplines such as art and music. Preston art teacher, Melissa Sgrulletta’s first graders created Library Mouse masks of Sam, while the second and third graders studied the lines and shapes of architecture of the various kinds of homes found in the world. Students then created their own dream houses like Mr. Kirk’s characters Sam and Sarah in Library Mouse Home Sweet Home.

A Midwesterner at heart, Daniel Kirk grew up in Columbus, Ohio where he began drawing at an early age. As he said in an interview with his two characters Chuck and T-Bone for his website, “Even when I was very young, I loved to draw, paint and play with modeling clay. I didn’t really feel complete without a pencil in my hand and a piece of paper to draw on.”

In his visit with the elementary school students, Mr. Kirk focused on drawing from one’s own imagination and explained how he drew inspiration from authors like Dr. Suess, whose penchant for drawing enveloped the uniqueness of characters and stories that had really not been seen before. After college, Mr. Kirk felt the pull of New York City and moved to follow his dream. His illustrations appeared on the covers of Newsweek, Business Week, Sports Illustrated and New York Magazine to name a few. After marrying and having children, Mr. Kirk felt that he wanted to create children’s picture books. His works evolved into a compilation of the outrageous characters he preferred from the likes of Suess, Sendak, and Dahl and were merged with the dainty characters his young daughter preferred.