SOMERSWORTH—
On March 8, author and illustrator, Lita Judge, shared the story behind her book, One Thousand Tracings. She captured the attention and sparked the imagination of the 5th grade students at Somersworth Middle School. Lita shared her background experiences and inspiration as she traced her growth as a writer from childhood to adulthood as a published author and illustrator.
Lita said, “My mom gave me my first journal when I was 5 years old. I was a horrible speller. Keep your journals. My stories have come from my journals. Write about things that you really care about.” After earning a degree in geology and working on a dinosaur dig in Canada Lita said, I yearned to draw. Lita was inspired by her grandmother who was an ornithologist; she also wrote 14 books. Lita realized, “I’m going to want to share the events from my grandmother and mother’s lives.”
“All of a sudden my fear of writing vanished,” she said. She became a writer detective as she stepped into the tracings that she had discovered in a box in her grandmother’s attic. Lita said, “It took a lot of research to figure out the truth. One Thousand Tracings is about sharing, healing, forgiveness, and hope after World War II. I wanted to get to the core of what that hope meant for the German families [who were left starving and homeless]. It’s important to record your family stories. Tell your story through drawings. I used a picture book format. Pictures are symbolic of the story.”
After being inspired by Lita’s presentation, the 5th grade students crafted their original poems. Lita said, “Poetry is a great way of distilling the truth. Writing is layers and layers of telling a good story. Tell your story through drawings. Like a play director make them as authentic as possible. Use your imagination and look at things. Part of being an artist is allowing yourself to explore.”
The 5th grade students cut tracings out from their own feet. They wrote their final drafts of their original poems on them. In June, the student’s tracings and poems will be displayed at the Somersworth International Children’s Festival. The Children’s Festival Grant provided financial assistance for Lita Judge’s visit to Somersworth Middle School. Article submitted by Kathleen Patten.
On March 8, author and illustrator, Lita Judge, shared the story behind her book, One Thousand Tracings. She captured the attention and sparked the imagination of the 5th grade students at Somersworth Middle School. Lita shared her background experiences and inspiration as she traced her growth as a writer from childhood to adulthood as a published author and illustrator.
Lita said, “My mom gave me my first journal when I was 5 years old. I was a horrible speller. Keep your journals. My stories have come from my journals. Write about things that you really care about.” After earning a degree in geology and working on a dinosaur dig in Canada Lita said, I yearned to draw. Lita was inspired by her grandmother who was an ornithologist; she also wrote 14 books. Lita realized, “I’m going to want to share the events from my grandmother and mother’s lives.”
“All of a sudden my fear of writing vanished,” she said. She became a writer detective as she stepped into the tracings that she had discovered in a box in her grandmother’s attic. Lita said, “It took a lot of research to figure out the truth. One Thousand Tracings is about sharing, healing, forgiveness, and hope after World War II. I wanted to get to the core of what that hope meant for the German families [who were left starving and homeless]. It’s important to record your family stories. Tell your story through drawings. I used a picture book format. Pictures are symbolic of the story.”
After being inspired by Lita’s presentation, the 5th grade students crafted their original poems. Lita said, “Poetry is a great way of distilling the truth. Writing is layers and layers of telling a good story. Tell your story through drawings. Like a play director make them as authentic as possible. Use your imagination and look at things. Part of being an artist is allowing yourself to explore.”
The 5th grade students cut tracings out from their own feet. They wrote their final drafts of their original poems on them. In June, the student’s tracings and poems will be displayed at the Somersworth International Children’s Festival. The Children’s Festival Grant provided financial assistance for Lita Judge’s visit to Somersworth Middle School. Article submitted by Kathleen Patten.
