Authors and Illustrators of October

oct2 October is the month of skeletons, goblins, and all things spooky as everyone knows. But did you know that these children’s authors and illustrators were born in October? And judging by some of their works, it seems to be an eerie coincidence….

5- David Shannon wrote and illustrated his first book at age 5- pictures of things he shouldn’t do with the words “No, David” on each page …His mother later sent him this early work which resulted in him writing and illustrating his popular book No, David!

The illustrations in the Jon Sieszka Trucktown series are Shannon’s work.

People and things from his real life help him develop story ideas- He really has a dog named Fergus, that looks like the dog in his book Good Boy, Fergus! You can see Fergus in the video below:

Check out more about David Shannon at his website:

or find these books by the tree:

No, David E SHA

A Bad Case of Stripes E SHA

Pirates Don’t Change Diapers E SHA

8th- R.L. Stine started writing at the age of 9 when he found an old typewriter in the attic…his first works were jokes!

In the 1970’s, he created a children’s humor magazine called Bananas! He even wrote jokes for the Bazooka Joe Bubble Gum comics. (Ask mom or dad if they remember that!)

His first Goosebumps book was written in 1992 and has since been translated into 32 different languages.

R.L.Stine’s website below has some really cool games and activities:

Here’s a peek at a few titles…

Attack of the Jack-o-Lanterns JP STI

The Ghost Next Door Playaway J F STI

Halloween Night II JP STI

but we have many, many more… including DVD’s!

19- Ed Emberley has written and illustrated close to 100 books, including books with “how to draw” lessons.

emberley

Go Away, Big Green Monster E EMB

Ten Little Beasties E EMB

Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Weirdos J 743 EMB

Listen to Ed talk about his work here and try your hand at drawing:

19- Dan Gutman wrote Honus and Me in 1994, but was rejected by 10 publishers before his work was finally printed. He then went on to write 12 books in the Baseball Card Adventure Series.

There are over 50 titles in the My Weird School, My Weird School Daze, My Weirder School, and My Weirdest School collections. He has recently branched out into non fiction writing using his My Weird School characters in My Weird School Fast Facts.

His newest series, The Genius Files, is about a set of twins named Pepsi and Coke MacDonald. This guy is a writing machine!!