VERSAILLES — David Catrow fully endorses accidents.
Not the type that cause injury, but the kind that grow into great ideas.
“If I’m looking for a story, I start moving my pencil,” he said. “I have found that this process works.”
Catrow, of Springfield, Ohio, is a famous writer and illustrator, who visited Versailles Elementary School and the Worch Memorial Public Library (WMPL) recently. According to his website, he has more than 70 published works in print. His scholastic book series “Max Spaniel” has sold over one million copies. He has several New York Times best sellers and two New York Times Best Illustrated Books. He continues developing projects with Simon and Schuster, Penguin Putnam, Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin, Harper — Collins and others.
Catrow gave a presentation to children and their parents, explaining his process of writing and illustrating books. As he spoke, he drew two illustrations.
“I can really get lost in this. It’s a multi-sensoral thing,” he said.
One illustration was a portrait of his Aunt Olive. It was not an exact portrait, but an impression. She was always at every family reunion, he said. She had a lot of sisters and was very short.
“She always wanted us to sit on her lap, but since she was so short, her form never looked seated. She didn’t always wear green dresses and her hair wasn’t quite that shade of cadmium red, but I drew her that way. She was a character, for me, who went on living.”
Catrow is a story teller, he explained. “Everyone has a different sense of where they can find a story. For me, one of the best and most reliable ways is to draw. Just operate from your heart, and be yourself,” he said.
WMPL Director Meme Marlow was thrilled to have him.
“I invited him here, so the kids can bring their parents,” Marlow said. “The kids really love to show their parents what they learn in school. I just love his art work and his humorous drawings. His books make me laugh.”
For more information on WMPL programs, visit www.worch.lib.oh.us.
