Inspiring Young Authors at the University School of Milwaukee
On May 29, 2024, Tribus Press authors had the privilege of visiting the University School of Milwaukee (USM) to celebrate the launch of our debut children’s book, Winnie-the-Pooh and the Honey Jar Mishap. The event featured a special reading and illustration presentation for the four kindergarten classes at USM.
It also happened to be Sports Day at the school. So while most author visits don’t involve hockey jerseys, this one did: Christopher wore his Chicago Blackhawks sweater, and his daughter Simone proudly represented the new Minnesota PWHL (Professional Women's Hockey League) team in their inaugural-season jersey. It was the perfect pairing of literacy and sport, creation and play.
During the visit, Christopher and Simone took turns reading aloud from the book while the pages were projected for all the students to see. Then, they walked the kids through how they illustrated the book using Procreate on the iPad with the Apple Pencil. To make the digital process more tactile and understandable, they created dozens of transparent sheets to show how illustration layering works—similar to how the Procreate illustration program works and how illustrators for Disney created for decades. The kindergarteners loved seeing how a digital tool could become a medium for creativity and storytelling.
Their goal was to show that technology can be used not just to consume, but to create. It is the message at the heart of the Tribus mission—to inspire kids, teens, and adults to develop a love of reading while encouraging mindful and creative engagement with digital media. Our hope is that we inspire kids and adults to use tools like tablets and digital software for storytelling, reading, visual expression, and collaboration.
Christopher and Simone were also honored to have the cover of their Pooh book featured on the USM author train—a train featuring the children's book covers of past visiting writers showcased in the lower school library. As a father-daughter creative team, it was a joy for them to encourage students to see themselves as readers, writers, and artists.
You can read the original USM article here.
Tools Christopher and Simone use to illustrate their children's books:
The authors share these tools in case you're inspired to start your own creative journey. They love using the Apple Pencil, iPad, and Procreate for everything from children's book illustration to digital concept art.
Want Christopher and Simone to visit your school or library for a book reading or illustration and bookmaking workshop?
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