Authors’ Booking Service is pleased to announce that children’s book illustrator Joe Weissmann is now scheduling visits to Ontario schools for the coming school year.   

Joe would love to plan a visit to your school or library.  His rate is $250 plus HST per session plus travel from Millbrook, Ontario (58k NE of Oshawa). 

Joe is taking bookings within a 150 kilometer radius of Millbrook, which includes all of the GTA.  For distances exceeding 150 kilometers, two or more sessions would be necessary 

Joe is an award winning illustrator who has done work for many publishers (books and magazines) in Canada and the United States. His work leans towards cartoon and humour. He has also taught an illustration course for 6 years at Sheridan College. He was commissioned to paint a mural for Women’s College hospital in Toronto which won him a Gold Award from CAPIC.  Joe just completed the poster and web site for the TD Summer Reading Club.  His latest book, Mom The School Flooded is out this fall. 

When not illustrating, you’ll find Joe cycling in the Kawartha hills. He lives in the country with his wife, his 2 dogs and 3 cats. 

Here’s what librarian Deborah Jestin of Ramer Wood Public School, Ontario has to say about this illustrator:   

  Joe's workshop with the children exceeded expectation.  The students were in

Books

Mom, the School Flooded, Annick Press (2007)
The Research Virtuoso, Annick Press (2006)
Three Tales of Adventure, Kids Can Press, 2004
Magic, Maple Tree Press, 2003
Monsters, Maple Tree Press, 2001
Mummies, Owl, 2001

Ghosts, Owl, 2001
Truly Scary Stories, Key Porter, 1998also:

The Bug Book & Bottle, The Bird Book & Feeder, The Garden Book, The Beach Book, The Pond Book, The Wild Flower Field Guide & Press Book, The Paper Maker Book, Grow a Salad Book, Grow a Butterfly Garden Book

all Somerville House/Workman Publishing, 1987 – 1998 

Educational 

Illustrations in several readers from kindergarden to grade 6 including:

Scholastic: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? (2005), Magic Kettle (2004) Travel Bingo (2004), The Three Bears (2002), The Boat (2002) 

Nelson Thomson Learning: Miss Messier’s Mess (2005), The Candy Store (2004), The Clean Up Team (2003), A Map To Fun (2002) 

Gage Learning: The Singing Skateboard (2003), Sari’s Steel Pans (2003), What a Machine (2003) 

Prentice Hall Ginn Canada: Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (1996) 

Awards 

Joe has received a Gold Award from CAPIC for his mural/poster A Star is Born, a Silver Award from CAPIC for Joseph had a Little Overcoat, an Award for Excellence from Applied Arts also for his mural/poster A Star is Born. The Bug Book and Bottle and Wild Flower Field Guide both received the “Highest Rating” and “Best Bet” award  from the Canadian Toy Council. Mummies was nominated for the Silver Birch Award and the Red Cedar Award

Presentation Details

My presentation is a workshop on how to tell a story with pictures. With chalk and paper, we create characters, we turn them around and draw them from different positions. We light them and shade them. We crop them and use them to create exciting pictures. 

With grades 1 to 3, I draw funny characters and try to simplify my presentation. 

I will present drawing workshops to grades 1 to 6 to a maximum of 80.  

I will also do workshops with high school students on drawing and creative thinking,  focusing on editorial drawings. 

I am comfortable presenting in a classroom or library. 

For these workshops, the students will need to have paper, crayons or markers and should be seated at tables or a hard surface.