On Tuesday, April 28, approximately 200 students from the Baldwin, Graham & Parks, Morse, and Tobin Schools were treated to a presentation by author/illustrator George O’Connor. This event was sponsored by
Cambridge Public Library and
Porter Square Books. George O’Connor is best known for
The Olympians, a series of graphic novels about Greek mythology.
Approximately 200 students listened with rapt attention as the author/illustrator spoke about how he first became interested in mythology after an assignment in 3rd grade. He loved to draw and when his teacher said they were going to learn about and draw gods/goddesses and monsters, George was hooked. He read everything he could find about Greek Mythology and then moved on to Roman, Norse, and Egyptian myths. It is obvious that our CPS students share this interest because when a picture of the main characters from Greek Mythology was displayed, students were able to name every god and goddess as they were pointed out!
George engaged the students with exciting stories about Zeus, Hera, Athena, and others and even gave an entertaining performance as a crazy Poseidon character. He told students that the first thing he does when starting a new book is research. He reads, reads, and reads. Then he starts sketching his ideas. His advice to aspiring writers/illustrators is to keep a sketchbook with them at all times like he does, in case they need to write or sketch an idea.
Thanks to funding from Porter Square Books, each student in attendance received a copy of George’s newest book
Ares (
The Olympians #7). Students were excited to see that George took the time to sign and draw a little sketch of Ares in each book!