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Where: Eighth and Eight Creative Spaces, 735 8th Ave., New Westminster
Registration: $115 (includes one child’s ticket for Dog-Man: The Musical)
Know a young one who loves graphic novels?
The inaugural Children’s Graphic Novel Writing and Illustration Festival features workshops presented by artists Jeff Chiba Stearns and Lucas Green for ages 6-12, a children’s book fair and market, and touring company performances of Dog Man: The Musical. The latter is based on the bestselling series from Dav Pilkey, the creator of Captain Underpants and Cat Kid Comic Club. We talked to Stearns, an award-winning animator and the co-creator of the graphic novel On Being Yukiko, about the festival.
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Q: Based on your past experiences talking to kids about graphic novels, what’s their level of interest?
A: I do a lot of talks, author talks, in the primary and intermediate grades up until middle school. And there’s a great interest in graphic novels, which is really exciting. There’s so much talk about kids being locked onto iPads and playing video games but now that graphic novels are popular, you’re seeing kids excited about reading again. My daughter, who is turning eight, goes to the library and brings back mounds of graphic novels and then powers through them.
Q: You wrote and illustrated two kids’ books before doing your own graphic novel, On Being Yukiko. What was different in your approach?
A: I co-authored it with another Japanese Canadian artist, Lillian Michiko Blakey. We wanted to create a story for the preteen generation to learn about Japanese Canadian history, especially when it comes to the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War Two. We’re both former educators so we wanted to make sure that we created a story that was digestible for that audience but make it relatable. So the protagonist is a 12-year-old girl who is learning about her own family history. She herself is mixed Japanese and doesn’t feel as Japanese she would like. The book is about her discovering her history and heritage, helping her form her identity.
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Q: What can people expect from the workshops?
A: Students are going to learn character development, composing for graphic novels, how to write a script and thumbnail and storyboard out the graphic novel. At the end, we’re hoping that the students will create a three-page story. Lucas Green is going to handle the overflow of the Sunday classes. It’s so popular we’ve already sold out some of the workshops.
Q: So there’ll be no room for parents?
A: I think it’s going to be pretty tight. The parents might want to drop the kids off and have a coffee somewhere and enjoy the three hours of solitude. But the parents are encouraged to join the kids for the musical.
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