Author Tom Watson Visits Solvay Elementary

Author Tom Watson recently stopped by Solvay Elementary School for a visit, bringing with him not only humor and fun, but also his famous “Stick Dog” series.
 
Watson is the author and original illustrator for the “Stick Dog” series. The idea for the “Stick Dog” series came about many years ago, when Watson began writing and illustrating picture books for his children. Soon after, the "Stick Dog" series was born.
 
During his visit to SES on Jan. 17, Watson was introduced and met with a great round of applause from students. He greeted the crowd and noted, “I see a lot of kids here missing teeth!” Watson then launched into a comical story about the time his daughter tried to get rid of a loose tooth during school, delighting the students in the audience.
 
Watson asked that all students draw with him, showing them on the screen how to draw stick dog. As he drew Stick Dog on the screen, students followed along, drawing their own versions of Stick Dog using Watson’s instructions and examples. Once he was done drawing Stick Dog, he moved on to show students how to draw some of the other characters in the books, asking questions and telling them more about Stick Dog as he did so.
 
“We want this one to sound like he’s snarling,” said Watson while drawing one of the characters. “Can you all tell me, how do you draw the snarl?”
 
Students in the audience were thrilled to draw along with Watson and laughed as he shared jokes from his books.
 
“Why do you think my first book was about burgers,” asked Watson, unbuttoning his shirt to reveal a t-shirt with a picture of a hamburger on it. “I love burgers.”
 
Once finished with drawing the Stick Dog characters, Watson began drawing Stick Cat. When all of the drawings were complete, Watson asked the students to hold up their pictures for him to see. He then walked around, looking at the students work and telling them what a great job they did.
 
Before ending the presentation, Watson asked the students of SES for their help with his next book. After listing off seven books in the “Stick Dog” series – all of which are based on a food item – Watson asked the students what food the dogs should go on a quest for next. Students answered with a variety of foods, including pizza, popcorn, bananas, eggs, chicken nuggets, oranges, meatballs, and bacon. 

“Everything’s better with bacon!” Watson replied, causing the students to laugh even more.
 
Watson thanked everyone for their ideas, saying he would keep them in mind for the next three books. He then mentioned that he is working on another book that he would like to run by the group of students. He asked the students that if they thought it was a good idea to raise their hand.
 
“I think my next book will be titled ‘Stick Dog Gets a Girlfriend,’” said Watson.
 
The title was met with much more laughter and giggles from students than hands raised.