Children’s author brings fun message to Jones students

March 24, 2006  

This story ran on post-trib.com on Friday, March 24, 2006 

By Diane Majeske
Post-Tribune correspondent

PORTAGE — In the beginning, the easel was blank.

But 30 minutes later, under the skilled hands of author and illustrator Peter Welling, Tiffany the Turtle emerged, followed by Triston the Elephant, two cartoon characters fueled by the imagination of kindergartners at Jones Elementary.

Welling, a guest at the school recently for Read Across America Day, showed the students how their ideas could become fodder for not only illustrations, but short stories.

“Look at that,’’ he said, gesturing at the completed picture and accompanying tale. '’From nothing to something in 30 minutes. Not bad.’’

Welling, a resident of Indianapolis , is the author and illustrator of five children’s books. Throughout the day, he gave presentations to the different grades at the school, tailoring his approach for each.

“Here, we showed them the creative process,’’ he said, “how you can come up with ideas that aren’t necessarily normal; those are sometimes the best ideas.

“For the older grades, we’ll discuss the opening sentence and the ending sentence. We talk about narration; we talk about dialogue. We talk about how it’s a fun thing; you don’t have to write, you get to write.’’

Showing children that reading and writing can be fun is important to Welling, who admits he thought of reading as a chore when he was in school. His books, which feature friendly animals in often-historic settings (like Shawn O’Hisser, the last snake in Ireland ), are written with children in mind.

“I want (children) to know that reading is enjoyable,’’ he said. “A lot of educational institutions focus on ’something should be learned,’ and that’s fine, but there was a time when people read for fun. I want them to know that, that reading — and writing — can be fun.’’

The author’s visit kicks off the school’s Young Authors Month, where students will be encouraged to create their own books. Some of the books will be showcased at the school’s book fair at the Valparaiso Barnes & Noble on April 8.

“The children are always reading; they’re always writing,’’ said Pam Carpenter, home/school adviser and one of the organizers of the presentation. “But this is a special program to inspire some enthusiasm for writing.

“Writing is hard for many kids. It’s hard for them to get their ideas down; they don’t want to make a mistake. We want to inspire them to go ahead and try it.’’

During the presentation to the kindergarten classes, Welling stood ready with a marker at a large easel, taking ideas from the children. They shouted out their suggestions, creating Tiffany the Turtle wearing a flowered hat and pajamas and carrying a spiked ball.

Her cohort, Triston the elephant, was given a striped T-shirt and a distinctive snake hat.

The short story the children created consisted of a short conversation between the two.

For Welling, hearing the children’s ideas is the most fun part.

“This brings out their creativity,’’ he said. '’Too often, people don’t realize how talented and creative kids are. When you give them the chance to cut loose, it’s just amazing.’’