Bits and BOBS at Linton Children's Book Festival Festival 2014

On Sunday I was invited to do a workshop at Linton Children's Book Festival.
Valerie, the organiser was there to make sure I had everything I needed, alongside a beehive of volunteers, who made sure everything was in place and all authors were well fed and watered, in the right place and ready for our events.  David and Kathryn assisted me before, during and after my workshop and they made my job really easy.

35 Children and a few of their parents took part in making a wonderful wall of rainforest featuring frogs, butterflies, toucans and Bobs.  Following a reading of my book Niente Principe Ranocchio (No Frog Prince) published by Donzelli Editore, we explored some shapes of the plants and animals that live in the rainforests.

Rainforest of Frogs, Bobs, Toucans and Butterfies by the children of Linton.

Well you might be thinking, what is a Bob then? But the crucial question on the day was "Where is he?" Well you had to be there, and the answers where exciting and intriguing. The Children were engaged and were eager to participate and interact, so that at the end the wall was covered in specific character frogs and toucans with specific needs, fears, grudges and dreams.

On the tables more trees and characters where created.

We talked about the setting of the story in the jungle and about the skill of observing real trees and branches an leaves to draw them, or rather to draw the idea of them. 

Amazing structures of the rain forest.

It isn't enough to draw an anatomically correct frog, we need a frog to tell us a story. A frog that we can care for as a character will need a personality. We take from observation an "essential frogginess of the frog" as we see it,  and apply to it human attitudes and gestures. Children at Linton were super at this!

Is there anything as perfect as a frog that wants their own spaceship?

I hope by next festival the book is available in english, but if you can't wait you can get the italian version here or here.

http://www.lintonbookfest.org/