CAS Presents Ralph Masiello

On Tuesday, October 31st author and illustrator, Ralph Masiello (a.k.a. Ralph "Messy Jello") visited the 1st grade! Check out his visit here:

Ralph shared that he never wanted to be an artist despite his Kindergarten teacher telling him that he was very good at drawing. When Ralph was older, he would go scuba diving and draw what he would see. Someone told him he should pursue drawing and Ralph took his first art class at the age of 20! Ralph attended Rhode Island School of Design and even took classes with Chris Van Allsburg (author and illustrator of children's favorites Jumanji and The Polar Express). Ralph told the children that you'll never know when you get an idea...always keep paper or a journal with you so you won't forget it. He walked us through a hilarious and outrageous story of "The Diaper Tree." Ask your child about this insanely funny and imaginative story!

Ralph walked us through the process of creating a children’s book. Did you know that children’s books are typically 32 pages long and all the pages get printed on a giant piece of paper. The paper is then folded, stapled or sewn together, and the edges cut to create the children’s book you see in the store or library.

Then came the moment we were all waiting for...drawing! Ralph has created a "How To" draw book series and showed us some of his most popular books. They are even available in other languages. Ralph showed 1st Graders how to draw a Scarecrow, Robot, and a Sea Creature!

Be sure to check out Ralph's website for more information!

1st Grade welcomes author and illustrator, Ralph Masiello!

Ralph is an engaging story teller! Here he is telling us about "The Diaper Tree"! An idea given to him on one of his school visits!

"What if diapers grew on trees?!"

His first alphabet book, The Icky Bug Alphabet Book!

With some help from some kids, Ralph was able to convince the publishers to change the font and coloring of the Icky Bug Alphabet Book. It became more popular after the change!