Children in our Catbirds, Cardinals and Owls delighted in their visit with author/illustrator Zachariah Ohora on Tuesday morning, December 8th. They listened with rapt attention as Zachariah read from his books and shared the inspiration he used as he wrote and or illustrated a particular book. Zachariah revealed that his wife, two sons and other family members often inspire him to develop a character or theme for a book in a certain way. He also showed the children the map of his town, Narberth, a picture of his home office with one of his cats that keeps him company while he is working, and a picture of his family.
He shared tips for creating the characters and animals used in his books. As he drew Momo the flying squirrel from My Cousin Momo, he revealed why he drew the body in a way that would enable Momo to fly. He also shared that Momo was nocturnal and often flew during the night. After hearing this, one boy shared that giraffes were not nocturnal. Zachary connected to this fact immediately, and drew a giraffe for the students. The Owls came prepared, bringing a list of questions for Zachary that he earnestly answered. They were also very excited as he shared the draft of a book that will be published next year!
Each class had their own session with Zachariah. As the students left the library, Zachariah gave them a few stickers to remember their time with him and more importantly, he gave each class the pictures he drew for them during his session.
As Zachariah toured our EC and Lower School, he remarked on the wonderful artwork and signs of literacy that he saw on our walls. He even stopped to photograph a drawing outside one of our first grade classrooms to keep for inspiration. Zachariah ate lunch with our teachers, and signed some books as well. A few days later the rest of the books arrived and as he was signing books at his favorite cafe in Narberth, he shared that he had tweeted the photo from one of our first graders about "My Inner Light" and expressed to his family and friends how impressed he was with our students and teachers.
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