Students at Wiscasset Elementary School were delighted to visit with New York Times best selling author-illustrator Matt Tavares on Friday, May 27. This visit was a Pawsitive celebration to recognize students’ safe, responsible and respectful behavior.

Tavares is a Maine author and illustrator, having graduated from Bates College in Lewiston. He has illustrated more than 20 books and authored nine. His artwork has been featured at the Eric Carle museum, and two of his books have been recognized by ALA notable books.

Tavares explained the process of writing and illustrating books to the students. He talked about the numerous times he would reread his own stories or revisit his own illustrations before sending it to an editor. He talked about how he and his editor would send suggestions and revisions back and forth several times before publishing. In this explanation, he advised students to be open to revising their own work, to make it the best it can be.

Tavares also talked about the research that goes into his writing and illustrating. He showed the students slides from his trip to Haiti to research his book “Growing Up Pedro.” He talked about reading old newspapers to learn more about Pedro Martinez. Tavares also showed students how he would draft sketches of his illustrations on the computer so he could determine the size and placement of the important pictures.

The students were excited to ask Tavares questions about his illustrations. Evie Herrick asked for tips about drawing landscapes and fellow fifth grader Chris Lincoln asked how Tavares was able to draw so quickly. The students were given answers to their specific questions, but Tavares was sure to include the theme of practicing your craft over and over to improve.

Another highlight for the students was when Taveres sketched student Levi Stinson Freeman, to whom Tavares had dedicated his book “Dasher.” The fourth grader posed as Tavares sketched him and showed the students how to represent objects that are close and far away. After their visit with Tavares, many students went back to class to practice using the drawing tips they had learned.