The rustling of paper and the scratching of pencils filled two of our three fourth-grade classrooms as a familiar face appeared on the big screen: Raina Telgemeier. Telgemeier, an American cartoonist and New York Times bestselling author, visited the classrooms of Allison Antolik and Donna Waters simultaneously via Zoom as part of a special Scholastic Books program.
Telgemeier is the author/illustrator of the popular graphic novels Smile, Drama, Sisters, Ghosts, and Guts, as well as four graphic novels adapted from The Baby-Sitters Club stories by Ann M. Martin. Telgemeier’s books explore feelings and emotions, with art that matches, showcasing expressive faces and a sense of movement within the characters’ bodies.
As a child, Telgemeier clipped her favorite comic strips from the newspaper and taped them on the wall and the fridge. Her favorite was Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. She noted, “Sometimes Calvin is sad and sometimes angry, but I think we all have a little Calvin inside of us.”
Telgemeier has loved scribbling her whole life, showing the students photos of her drawings from when she was a young child, including a drawing of her favorite teddy bear, Smoky. Readers meet a series of her teddy bears in her books, and she shared that she still sleeps with a plush bear for comfort.
Another inspiration for her early work was Ranger Rick magazine. Her little sister loved it, so Telgemeier made storybooks about animals for her. The stories were simple: a stray kitten needs a home, a girl adopts him, and they live happily ever after. She didn’t realize she was making the equivalent of a minicomic at the time, but she was officially making them at 20 and noted that the early self-publishing efforts count!
Telgemeier was also obsessed with the Ready Set Grow book series, which focused on what we now call social-emotional learning, such as how to treat others, resolve conflict, communicate, and navigate interpersonal dynamics. She said, “I saw the expressions on their faces, then I started drawing images of kids with emotion on their faces. I had no idea this would be so close to what I’m doing now.”
For the drawing exercise, she noted that emotions are complicated, nuanced, and messy. “Sometimes they are internal, and no one else can know what we are feeling, thinking, and expressing unless we communicate it. Facial expression can give you a clue,” she said. Telgemeier explained that her art relies on a ‘universal vocabulary.’ She shared how psychologists identify six core emotions: happiness, disgust, sadness, fear, anger, and surprise, before leading students through drawing specific facial expressions.
Much of it comes down to the shape of the eyebrows, eyes, mouth, and teeth, with the shape or design of the nose, hair, ears, and clothes being less critical. Student heads were bent low over desks and laps as they mimicked Telgemeier’s pencil strokes, experimenting with the arch of a surprised eyebrow or the jagged line of an angry mouth.
Waters said, “The kids love Raina Telgemeier’s books! They were excited to hear about her process and development as a writer. It was impactful for the kids to see this because it made her very relatable. She started writing in elementary school, just like they are! The kids enjoyed trying to follow along with her and copy her drawing style.”
The inspiration didn’t end with the Zoom call. Telgemeier will visit the students in Jen Van Dyken‘s fourth-grade classroom at a later date, and students can continue exploring her journey through her new book, Facing Feelings, and a graphic novel, The Cartoonists Club, co-created with Scott McCloud.
Thank you, Ms Telgemeier, for inspiring our fourth graders through your work!