Adam McCauley - Ghosts Reading

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Ghosts Reading

posted:October 31, 2006

spread from the book

Well with all of the Halloween posting going on, I'll post what we did yesterday.

A field trip for the kids, in Petaluma, California, to Copperfield's book store. A field trip for the illustrator and designer, in Petaluma, California, to read their newest book "Oh No Not Ghosts" by Richard Michelson.

the restless natives

This bookstore Copperfield's is really great. They have a fabulous program with the local schools, and the kids were out and ready to be spooked. They also have the best selection of children's books I've seen anywhere in quite some time.

The youngsters were primed and ready for some spookiness, and we gave them our best. Aided by my "assistant" (better half) Wig on musical saw and percussion - and a black top-hat, I did my best to read Richard Michelson's poem in a spooktacular way. It worked for the most part, barring the occasional smart-aleck. Most of the time the kids were looking at Wig with bulging eyes, but occasionally they'd look my way, likely thinking "who is this odd man, and when will he give us the candy?".

Later I drew random stuff, based on what they requested. I've found this works well in front of kids. For some reason, drawing a horse on the spot seemed to impress the young'uns the most. That, and Wig's musical saw. They thought my chicken looked like a duck however - it being a chicken farming town with many a chicken farmer's kid in attendance.