Here's a link to a nice article written about my recent visit to Ayer!
http://nashobapublishing.com/schools/ci_3443922
Page Hilltop visited by illustrator Shennen Bersani
By Katrina Folger Correspondent
Nashoba Publishing
AYER -- This fall, the Parent Teacher Organization at Ayer's Page Hilltop School decided to fund and organize a school visit from an author or illustrator. After much searching and refining of a list of possibilities, the organization's members decided on Shennen Bersani, an illustrator from Brockton.
Bersani was an interesting choice because she has illustrated three books written by Jerry Pallota, who visited Page Hilltop last year as an author. By having Bersani visit, the children would get to see all aspects of how a book is created.
Shennen Bersani, who did five one-hour presentations for each grade level, told the children that she has always known that she wanted to be an illustrator. Her grandmother was her first “art teacher,” and taught her how to draw “juicy red apples” onto cardboard. Bersani attended the Art Institute of Boston, and has been a freelance artist since 1989. She has illustrated for the Discovery Channel, the Norman Rockwell Museum and Jerry Pallota. Pallota and Bersani have paired up for “Icky Bug Shapes,” “Ocean Counting Odd Numbers,” and “Sharks! Big, Bigger, Biggest.” They also have a few more books in the works.
Bersani told the children how she came to know Jerry Pallota, who, because of his school visit last year, is somewhat of a celebrity at Page Hilltop. Her son, Ryan, was at a Career Day at his high school in Boston, when Jerry Pallota, who graduated from that same high school, came to speak about being an author. Bersani's son happened to be using one of his mother's brochures as a bookmark, and showed it to Pallota and said, “You should give my mom a job!” Within two weeks, Bersani was hard at work illustrating Pallota's book, “Icky Bug Shapes.”
The presentation by Bersani heavily used technology and allowed the children to see movies showing exactly how she creates a picture for a book. She showed them how she first photographs the snakes, sharks or bugs she is going to draw. Then, she sketches them, colors them and scans them into her computer to put finishing touches onto her illustrations. The children were very attentive and loved seeing the photos of huge sharks and tiny snakes!
“She had a necklace on with a real shark's tooth,” said first-grader Kate Blood.
The preschool through fourth-graders who listened and watched the presentations seemed to leave happy, some of them with books signed by Bersani under their arms.
“We just really want to thank Shennen for coming out here and exposing the children to her creative abilities. She was a wonderful presenter and kept her audiences very engaged,” Page Hilltop PTO communications coordinator Lisa Arrigo said.
