(C) Sleeping Bear Press, 2020
Animal artwork by Lerato from Malawi
OH MY! Kid Interviewer: |  |
Hi, Madeline! So nice of you to join us.
Thank you, Mrs. Mann, for having me!
The pleasure is all mine! Do tell about the interview you had with Moira Donohue, coauthor of LIONS & CHEETAHS & RHINOS! OH MY!
I did a Zoom interview with Ms. Moira Donohue. I liked being on Zoom with her because she is so friendly and paid attention to me when I talked. It makes me know she’s listening to my question and not taking it lightly. I learned a lot from her about animals, good sources, and about her work. I found out we put some of the same information in both our books!
That's cool! So I heard that Moira's publisher mailed you a review copy of LION, CHEETAHS & RHINOS! OH MY!, and that Moira sent you a signed bookplate. Did you enjoy reading the book?
LION, CHEETAHS & RHINOS! OH MY!, her newest book, was AWESOME!!! The writing was well said and I wouldn't change anything. But what really caught my eye was the illustrations. Were those really made by kids!?! Those pictures look professionally done. The artwork is so realistic and the illustrations capture the actions and behaviors of the animals.
So would you recommend the book to your classmates?
I would recommend the book to my classmates because It tells interesting facts about the animals and the pictures are impressive because they are made by kids, just like us.
Thank you, Mrs. Mann, for having me!
The pleasure is all mine! Do tell about the interview you had with Moira Donohue, coauthor of LIONS & CHEETAHS & RHINOS! OH MY!
I did a Zoom interview with Ms. Moira Donohue. I liked being on Zoom with her because she is so friendly and paid attention to me when I talked. It makes me know she’s listening to my question and not taking it lightly. I learned a lot from her about animals, good sources, and about her work. I found out we put some of the same information in both our books!
That's cool! So I heard that Moira's publisher mailed you a review copy of LION, CHEETAHS & RHINOS! OH MY!, and that Moira sent you a signed bookplate. Did you enjoy reading the book?
LION, CHEETAHS & RHINOS! OH MY!, her newest book, was AWESOME!!! The writing was well said and I wouldn't change anything. But what really caught my eye was the illustrations. Were those really made by kids!?! Those pictures look professionally done. The artwork is so realistic and the illustrations capture the actions and behaviors of the animals.
So would you recommend the book to your classmates?
I would recommend the book to my classmates because It tells interesting facts about the animals and the pictures are impressive because they are made by kids, just like us.
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Pages from Madeline's book, her third-grade school project
I heard you wrote a book for a school project that is similar in scope to John and Moira's book. Do tell a little about it, why you chose African animals as your research area, and what you enjoyed about the process.
This past year at school, I got to make a digital book on any topic as an individual project. I chose to write about African animals because I really like animals and almost all of my favorite animals live in Africa. The research I did about the 11 animals I chose was the hardest part of making my book. It took a long time, but it was neat to find out some facts I didn’t know. As part of my project, I was supposed to illustrate the book because I love art. Since we missed so much school in the spring [because of COVID-19], I ran out of time to do all the artwork for so many animals. I used digital photographs instead. It was still really fun to choose the photos, design the layout of the book and pick lots of different colors. So it was still a big art project and that was my favorite part.
Do you think you might like to be a writer or illustrator of books for younger readers when you grow up? If so, why?
I might like to become a writer and illustrator of books for young readers when I grow up because I enjoy listening to stories and making up new stories and I love to draw and paint. I also like to research and learn about things that happened in history. That would be fun to write about.
You're on your way, Madeline! Thanks again for stopping by. It was great having you!
It was fun!
This past year at school, I got to make a digital book on any topic as an individual project. I chose to write about African animals because I really like animals and almost all of my favorite animals live in Africa. The research I did about the 11 animals I chose was the hardest part of making my book. It took a long time, but it was neat to find out some facts I didn’t know. As part of my project, I was supposed to illustrate the book because I love art. Since we missed so much school in the spring [because of COVID-19], I ran out of time to do all the artwork for so many animals. I used digital photographs instead. It was still really fun to choose the photos, design the layout of the book and pick lots of different colors. So it was still a big art project and that was my favorite part.
Do you think you might like to be a writer or illustrator of books for younger readers when you grow up? If so, why?
I might like to become a writer and illustrator of books for young readers when I grow up because I enjoy listening to stories and making up new stories and I love to draw and paint. I also like to research and learn about things that happened in history. That would be fun to write about.
You're on your way, Madeline! Thanks again for stopping by. It was great having you!
It was fun!
Madeline is 9 years old and will be in the fourth grade when school starts in the fall. She enjoys learning about many subjects in school. Madeline loves reading, drawing, painting, making crafts, playing soccer, dancing, making I-Movies, and playing with her friends!
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Ten African animals, including lions, zebras, giraffes, and elephants, are brought to life in colorful artwork, accompanied by fun nature facts. Written by John Platt and Moira Rose Donohue, each animal portrait is painted by a student from the How to Draw a Lion program. Established in 2018 by New York artist John Platt, How to Draw a Lion is a nonprofit art education program that provides art classes for children in sub-Saharan Africa (Sleeping Bear Press, August 15, 2020).
"A successful combination of factual prose and appealing artwork."
School Library Journal
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All images used with permission from Madeline's mom and Sleeping Bear Press.
