Calliope Cavendish, a third-grader at Bowdoinham Community School, draws a unicorn fox discovering a candy land. Darcie Moore / The Times Record
BOWDOINHAM — New York Times best-selling children’s book author and illustrator Matt Tavares visited Bowdoinham Community School Monday.
Tavares, of Ogunquit, showed students how he researches his books and creates the characters in his illustrations. He demonstrated how to draw a reindeer like those in “Dasher,” the origin story of the first of Santa’s reindeer. Last month, the book made The New York Times’ bestsellers list and the IndieBound National Bestsellers List.
He explained how in order to draw a reindeer, he had to see one himself and showed students photos he took of the animal. He also had a Santa model that helped with his illustrations for “Dasher.”
Tavares even visited the Dominican Republican for his book “Growing Up Pedro” where Red Sox baseball pitcher Pedro Martinez grew up long before he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Then it was students’ turn to use a line from one of his books to create their own illustration.
“Those are your words and you’re the illustrator,” he said. “You guys can decide who or what your character is.”
Author visits to the school are coordinated through the school’s teacher-parent partnership. An Onion Foundation grant helped bring Tavares to the school.
Bowdoinham Community School students get instructions on what they will be drawing from children’s book author and illustrator Matt Tavares. Darcie Moore / The Times Record
New York Times best-selling children’s book author and illustrator Matt Tavares show students how to draw a reindeer like those in his newest book “Dasher.” Darcie Moore / The Times Record
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