Author/Illustrator T.L. McBeth Draws Kids’ Attention with Wordy “Stegothesaurus" and "Randy, the Badly Drawn Horse"
All of Wescott School's first and second-graders had the special opportunity to Zoom with New York children’s author and illustrator T.L. McBeth on September 25. Although he said that while no student has ever asked, he told the audience that the “T.L.” stands for Trenton Lee.
Librarian Margaret Janavicius with The Book Stall coordinated this visit, and she and Principal Dr. Chris Brown welcomed him, the children, and their teachers to a lively presentation, and question-and-answer session.
"Our first and second-graders were so excited to meet the author of 'Randy, the Badly Drawn Horse,' which is his latest book,” said Ms. Janavicius.
Students were able to order the books with a 10% discount through The Book Stall.
They discovered that Mr. McBeth has been an author and illustrator for five years, he has written two books, illustrated eight books, and has four more on the way in 2021!
He related that as a child, he loved drawing, cartoons, and candy! He grew up reading Dr. Seuss and H. A. and Margret Rey. He studied illustration in college where he developed a love for expressive and minimal characters. In 2015, he moved to New York City to pursue an illustration career and he is currently lucky enough to illustrate picture books full time.
Some other books he has illustrated and/or authored include "Randy, the Badly Drawn Horse" (which is dedicated “For Mom”), "Ogilvy," "Ducks!" the "Big Words Small Stories" series, "Robot in Love," "The Missing Donut," "The Traveling Dustball," "Smell the Daisies, Ducks," and more!
"Stegothesaurus" was his first “big book” as an illustrator, and he said that to him illustrating is "solving the challenges presented in a book."
“What I like best about being an author/illustrator is sharing my profession and passion with children, teachers, and librarians!” said Mr. McBeth.
"It takes me about two months to illustrate or write a book, which includes about 15 drafts, fourth months until final art approval, and two years before the published book hits the stores,” he added.
He displayed and outlined via PowerPoint, the process of creating, and engaged the children by having them participate in an illustration exercise using "Randy, the Badly Drawn Horse" for an example.
He encouraged them by stating, "There are 'a million' ways to illustrate a sentence!"
He then enthusiastically answered the students' questions.
To learn more about this prolific author/illustrator, go to http://www.tlmcbeth.com/contact
