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Schools

Illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky Visits Harrison Elementary Schools

Children's book Illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky finishes out the school years Visiting Author Series with visits to Harrison's first-graders, second graders and kindergarteners.

Students in kindergarten through second grade were given a glimpse into the world of children's book illustrations this week with Illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky visiting this week.

Zelinsky is the illustrator of numerous books, including "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Shivers in the Fridge." He also retold and illustrated "Rapunzel" and "Rumpelstiltskin."

"I make books, and that is a wonderful thing," Zelinsky said as he introduced himself to a group of second grade students Tuesday morning at Parsons Memorial School.

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He showed the students a brief slide show that featured several of his most well known books to show them the different drawing styles he has.

"One thing I love to do is try to do things I haven't done before. Different kinds of stories need different kinds of pictures," Zelinsky said.

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He artfully weaved a lesson about his job as an illustrator with the story of how how book "Rumpelstiltskin" went from start to finish. He told the students about his difficulties painting straw, and made them laugh at the solution; dragging a toothpick through the paint.

Later Zelinsky drew several figures and the students yelled out in excitement after seeing how realistic one example was compared to the first cartoonish drawing.

Zelinsky said he enjoys speaking to students because it's a kind of contact he doesn't typically have in his work as an artist.

"It's incredible to have the kids respond to the finished book," he said.

Each year the Elementary Education Committee hosts an author for every grade in every elementary school in the Harrison Central School District.

Earlier in the year, Ron Roy, author of the "A to Z Mysteries" series visited the third and fourth grade students and Doreen Rappaport, a juvenile fiction writer, visited fifth grade students.

"Writing is huge here, even our math has a literary component to it. Since there's so much of a focus on writing, we think it's nice for the kids to be able to see a real writer," said Jennifer DiLorenzo, co-chair of the Elementary Enrichment Committee.

The EEC hosts the Visiting Author Series every year with author selection input from the schools' library media specialists.

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