Young Author's Conference....

Audrey Futrelle, Leigh Hjelmseth, Kailey Kabo and myself (Mitchell Coglizer) all went to the Young Author's Conference at Skagit Valley College. With the help of Audrey's mom, Holly Futrelle, we had a great time! We saw authors, Lara McGee Kvasnosky, Rosanna Porter and illustrator Pierr Morgan. When we got there we shared our stories then we went to these authors...  
We met an illustrator named Pierr Morgan. She read us a book she illustrated called "The Squiggle." Then she also told us how the book started. She was on a trip to China when she saw a class of children walking in a line. One of the kids was looking behind her at something on the road. Peirr took a picture of the class. When she got home she painted pictures of what the girl could be doing with a streamer that she thought the girl was looking at. She did not have any words to go with it but with the help of an author she was able to come up with the words for the book. She helped us make little books and we put things from magaazines in them. My mom made one for her preschool and I didn one for my dad. I hope to go back next year and see her again. She was very fun and creative! 
Rosanna Porter was an author of Tofu, Ling, Princess, Naughty and others but she wasn't the illustrator. When we got to her room, we made characters out of ordinary objects. We had to name them, giving them an age, gender, distinguishing features, we had to write down the colors, interests and attributes, special skills, pets, friends, parents, siblings, nemisis, and reason why. Also, we talked about how to make a sory by making at first one character, and then the others.
I knew it would be fun, if only I could pick which object we would've used. Liegh picked a tape measure. We also had to write about it on a piece of paper.
Rosanna made four Tofu Ling books, and one Princess Naughty book. 
Laura McGee taught us about how she used her actual family and made a book called "Summer Memories."  She took it to the publishers but they didn't publish it. So she wrote a few other books over a few years. Then she was trying to come up with another book by drawing pictures. She came up with two fox characters and she wondered what they were doing? That is when she formed Zelda and Ivy. She took her life expereinces and mashed them together to make Zelda and Ivy. Some of the changes she made as an auther were; instead of using five sisters like she had she only used two. Instead of using people in her stories she used foxes.

by Kaily Kabo, Audrey Futrelle, Mitchell Coglizer and Leigh Hjelmseth