On the drawing table: MANY bears and a tortoise!

SPEEDY TORTILLA COMING SOON!

Harts Pass No. 206

A little vacation back to the heartland... and then back to work just as summer really gets rolling :) More breaks to come, but more to do in the mean time. Happy first official week of summer, and keep it simple people!

Harts Pass No. 205

To the Liberty Bell High School class of 2014 -- and graduates everywhere -- CONGRATULATIONS!

Harts Pass No. 204

A couple of years ago, my now 11 year old daughter did this fine Bigfoot comic. In the tradition of Bill Keene (Family Circus) and in honor of this week's Young Writers Conference at MVES, the writing credit for this week's strip goes most assuredly to the 9 year old author of "Quiet Comics." Thanks much kiddo! And I look forward to teaching another session or two of "Making Comics" on Friday afternoon.

This Week: The Methow Valley Elementary Young Writers Celebration & Conference!

An EXCITING week ahead with the annual Methow Valley Elementary Young Writers Conference - ALL day Friday at MVES - and I am pleased to say that our keynote speaker/special guest for 2014 is the award winning and very excellent David LaRochelle -- all the way from the great state of Minnesota!

 David (left) pictured here with equally excellent illustrator Mike Whonoutka and their MN Book Award winning hardware for MOO!

David's voice and sense of humor offer just the right mix, and his experience of becoming a writer -- of the work and dedication to his craft -- will be a terrific compliment to the writing and illustrating that our students have been doing in their classrooms throughout the year. 

In addition, MANY 15-20 if I remember correctly, writers, illustrators, actors, musicians and cartoonists from the local community will be sharing their styles of writing and communication in a variety of kid-centric workshops and breakout sessions throughout the day. AWESOME!

And please don't miss the Celebration on Thursday night (5:30-7:00pm) where student work is on display and students get a chance to read from stories of their own. Its a really great night  and the kids love it!