By Jerri Brouse
For The Daily Item
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LEWISBURG — Bruce Van Patter, 51, has been working as a freelance writer, illustrator and educational presenter for nearly three decades. And though children in this area might know him best as that guy who comes to their school and gives an exciting, interactive lesson in writing, he’s also enchanting young readers across the nation with his latest book, “Tucker Took It.”
“Tucker Took It” is a follow-up to Van Patter’s 2006 book, “Farley Found It,” which was Van Patter’s first solo book as an author and illustrator.
The books are geared for ages 4 to 8 and require readers to do a little thinking, even though they might not realize it.
“I like to put in little extras,” Van Patter said. “This book (“Tucker Took It”) requires ‘reversible’ thinking.’” Reversible thinking, he explained, is “when one reaches the end of a joke and realized he’s made a false assumption. At that point, you have to go back through the joke to find the point where you’ve made the wrong assumption and make the correction and come back up the right path.”
In both books, readers have the added bonus of searching for the book’s main character on each page — making it more engaging for young readers.
“Farley Found It” is a tale about a sheep who is afraid of the dark and finds comfort in a little dog house she finds on the farm. But Edna, a dog, isn’t so thrilled about Farley — she tries to hide the house. Much to her dismay, Farley finds it over and over again.
In “Tucker Took It,” Van Patter’s storyline varies, but still presents young readers with a problem to solve — how to get Tucker, a goat, to stop stealing all the corn (and possibly everything else) on Mrs. Zook’s farm.
When he writes, Van Patter typically finds his inspiration in things he’s already thinking about. For instance, in “Tucker Took It,” Van Patter was considering the development of a sense of humor in children.
“I like the feeling of giving that experience to kids,” he said.
The books Van Patter authors aren’t just fun to read, but also serve as a creative writing resource for teachers. On his web site, Van Patter offers printable discussion questions and activity sheets for the books. There teachers can also find pages of ideas, programs and products to help make creative writing fun for students.
Van Patter is no stranger to teaching. Though he’s primarily an author and illustrator, he spends a great deal of time traveling to schools across the nation where he puts on assemblies on creative writing and works to get kids excited about writing.
“When it works, I feel happy about it — as happy as I do about any work I create in the studio,” he said. “To me, creating is like hitting a home run with art.” Sometime that home run pays off for him as much as it does for the students. The idea for the book “Farley Found It” came out of a brainstorming session at an elementary school in Williamsport.
Van Patter’s books are available at Border’s bookstores as well as online at www.amazon.com. For more information or to contact Van Patter, visit www.brucevanpatter.com.
-- Jerri Brouse is a freelance writer who lives in Lewisburg. E-mail comments to scoop@ptd.net.
