School Visit - Black Pine Circle

 

Another school visit! This month I got a chance to visit a k-5 school in Berkeley California called "Black Pine Circle" in West Berkeley. I've visited a bunch of schools recently and this is one of them. These photos were taken by one of the teachers at the school.

Whenever I get a chance, I show the kids a bit about what I do beyond kids books and what made me want to make them.

This group of kids had some great questions and comments for me and it was fun to visit, meet teachers and the Black Pine Circle staff. I hope to get back there again sometime in the future. 

Dig this? Check out some other schools/libraries I've visited:

Walden School - Berkeley, CA

Tacoma Public Library panel- Tacoma WA

Bella Vista Elementary- Oakland, CA

Weinland Elementary- Columbus, OH

Here are some more photos by my friend Kanoe!

School Visit- The Walden School in Berkeley, CA

 

Recently I got the chance to speak with students and staff from "Walden School" in Berkeley CA. I had a great time sharing Furqan's First Flat Top with them, my Art of Rob book, and lots about my work in kids books. They had great questions as kids and adults always do so it was fun. Check out some photos!

These photos were taken by Gina Centanni :)

Dig this? Check out some photos from a visit I did with Prospect Sierra in Berkeley as well.

Speaking w/ Prospect Sierra @ Pegasus Books

 

Yo, had a chance to speak and read to a bunch of families of the Prospect Sierra School in Berkeley California at Pegasus Books in support of a fundraiser for the school. This was only the second time I've presented about my work in relation to my art book "Art of Rob" and it was well received. Lots of young ones copped the book and I got to do some doodles in their books. 

Some of the topics we discussed in this presentation were:

• The power of representation in kid lit and media
• Literacy and the path to reading for fun
• My art, career timeline, family, and art inspiration
• Diverse Books, self publishing, and the publishing world
• Social justice movements, activism, and art

Pegasus books is an old bookstore based in Berkeley and Oakland. The Solano store has a huge selection of diverse kids books and I'm always like a kid in a candy store when I'm there. Prospect Sierra is an independent or private school in El Cerrito California. I have been doing school visits as a storyteller since 2012 and I worked as an arts teacher from 2002-2010. I don't miss being a teacher, but I do love talking to young people!

Dig this? I've been presenting to, reading to, and speaking with young people in presentations like these for more than a decade. Check out some photos from a public school reading at Bella Vista in Oakland, or Woodland Elementary in Oakland. 

Also, here's is a link to an interview I did for Rightnowish on KQED.

Photos by Prospect Sierra

School visit at Bella Vista in Oakland

 

Two weeks ago I read at a local Oakland school called Bella Vista, and here are some photos from the reading which had over 100 kids, parents and teachers. Photo credit.

This was a tough one because the crowd was big so I had a mic and walked around with a student to show the kids the pages of the book in between reading. Since 2012 I've done 1-10 school, library, or event readings with my books. Sometimes by myself and sometimes with an author.

I've spoken to pre school, elementary, high school, and college students. If you'd like me to come speak to your students give me a holler. 

Dig this? Check out this visit to Columbus Ohio where I tabled at SOL Con and read to a local school. LINK

School Visit at Cesar Chavez Elementary- Davis CA

 I wish I could go back to reading at schools! Hopefully again in the future. I was invited by author and friend Justine Villanueva (Jack & Agyu) to come read at this school. I read to six classes and as always it was lots of fun. I handed out book plates to all the students and then they asked me for my signature. They had lots of funny questions.  

Dig this? Check out this reading at Woodland Elementary in Oakland

Ohio School Visit + Sol Con- Photos

Recently I went out to Columbus Ohio to attend the SOL Con at Ohio State University and to read to some children at Weinland Park Elementary school out there. Here are some photos from my trip. The photo above is from an apartment area I saw. I really dug the architecture. All in all, it was a great experience. Professor Katlin Marisol Sweeney along with Prof Frederick Luis Aldama organized so much of SOL CON and it was great to meet them. All the exhibitors and folks I met were super cool. I took most of the photos but a few are from the SOL Con.

The day of the con 

One of the huge buildings 

I did a school visit and reading while I was there. This is the school library at Weinland Elementary before the children arrived. I had a lot of fun meeting the principal Dr. Robinson, all the school staff and Dionne Custer from the Wexner Center for the Arts which I also visited while there. It was really great to meet the students, read them my book, show them artwork, answer their questions, and to talk to them about art and stories. The school purchased copies of my book Furqan's First Flat Top for many of the classrooms there.

Walking around the city from my hotel to leaving. Its always fun to walk around a city. I wish I'd had the time to see more but my trip was super short.

After visiting the Wexner Center for the Arts I created some video tutorials for them the following year during the start of the pandemic.Watch those HERE.

Entrance

Prof Aldama & Jaime Hernandez

Dig this? Check out my visit to the Latino Comics Expo in Modesto California, my reading at Woodland Elementary in Oakland, or this visit to Cesar Chavez Elementary in Davis, CA.

Sausal Creek 9- Reading at Mills K-5

Here's a shot of me and author Melissa Reyes reading at Mills Elementary school. We were invited by a fellow teacher and had a blast talking to the kids about the book, Oakland history, and nature. The kids actually were taken on a field trip to Sausal Creek in Dimond Park so they had lots of questions and comments. Follow Mills on Instagram for more photos.

Melissa Reyes also has a website for her healing, doula, and kids books work called Remedios!

LINK

Dig this? check out this throwback to reading to a bunch of kids at Woodland Elementary in Oakland 

Sausal Creek 8 - Photo of Me and Melissa reading

Here are two photos of me and author Melissa Reyes reading to some children in South Sacramento's "Meadow View Elementary" , photo by Nicole Martinez. 

To the date, we have read separately and together in many different settings and the book has reached a lot of people. 

Melissa Reyes is a former elementary teacher and decided to write the book when she could not find a picture book about a historic geological landmark in the Bay Area. The children had tons of questions and responses at this reading and it was a blast to visit Maestra Martinez' class! Check out the welcome sign they made!

You can purchase the book here "I Am Sausal Creek"

One of a kind like me 12 - Me and Laurin reading

This is a shot and throwback to me and author Laurin Mayeno reading "One of a kind, like me" to a school audience in Oakland. I believe it was taken by Innosanto Nagara. If you still haven't gotten the book you can get it HERE.

And here is a recent review of the book by Neely's news

School Visit- Woodland Elementary Oakland

This week I had he pleasure to visit Woodland Elementary in East Oakland off of 81st ave for African American literature week. I got a chance to read from "A Bean and Cheese Taco Birthday" and "I am Sausal Creek".

 I read to a group of Kindergarten and 1st-5th grade students. I also was asked to bring some artwork to show the students which they really liked. They all had really cool questions and its always fun to read to and reach the youth. Plus, we were at one of my favorite libraries in Oakland-the 81st branch.

BIG thanks to Janine Macbeth, Oakland Education Fund, and the staff/parents of Woodland Elementary!

Dig this? Check out this school visit in Columbus Ohio

School visit- Southgate Elementary

Check out these beautiful photos by sister Nicole Martinez. Nicole is an amazing 3rd grade teacher, and I'm mad because I didn't get a picture with her. She fuses pieces of culture with the constraints of the state California school system rules. I met Nicole at a function at the legendary Sol Collective several years ago. I'm still not up on the happenings of Sacramento where she works, but I know there are incredible folks like Nicole working up there.

So, Nicole asked me to come share some stories and I went there to kick it with the kids. We did some talking, some drawing of letters, and some writing. Although i have been teaching for a minute, I'm always learning new things about how to teach "illustrating" and "creative writing". It's hard. I give it up to teachers who work on their students' skills all day, every day. In the collage you can see some of the babies, and the work they did.Check out some other photos from the visit.

Peep the card, so much love! Love the quote " Hi Rob, you are cool" lol.

When a child tells me "you're art is cool" or "how did you get your hair like that (laughs)?", or "thank you Mr. Robert", or even if their eyes widen when I show them an original piece, that makes everything I do worth it.

Dig this? Check out this reading I did with Woodland Elementary in Oakland

Reading Short Stories at 826 Valencia

Last week I had the chance to go speak to some beautiful little ones over at 826 Valencia st and 18th in The Mission District of San Francisco. I had never heard of the organization until the homie Raul J. Alcantar asked me to come through and speak to the kids. I arrived to a beautifully written "welcome" sign and got the sign from the ancestors that this is definitely part of what I need to be doing.

The day was part workshop and part reading as i showed them photos of my art, my sketchbooks, and some original paintings of some of the short stories. I love talking with this age group (mostly 3rd-5th grade) because they still laugh at my bad jokes, smile, and are not yet so serious. I did call and response with them, drew our names in graffiti styles, and answered a bunch of questions. The funnest part was reading the stories. I have written words for all of them, but I don't know them by heart so I usually just improvise with the basic storyline. And it came out great, they flipped through my books, and pointed to drawings with giggles. And one little boy stopped me mid sentence raising his hand to say "you're art is COOL!". Ha! me? Really? Child approval is the best!

 826 is an national organization that promotes literacy by teaching writing, story making, and book publishing workshops for ages 7-18. They had an amazing array of stories, zines, and books published by the babies! They're words, so simple, yet so right on. As I finished Raul handed me a gift bag with some of their short stories (english/and spanish). Pure awesomeness as I read their stories about the first time they ate tres leches cake.

The walls of the writing workshop were also adorned with awards and photos of the children who put in the most effort with their writing, giving other children the extra push to improve theirs so that they too could get on the wall. I got to meet the Executive director, the staff, and I found out they have branches in Los Angeles , Brooklyn, Seattle, Boston, DC, and Chicago. Hopefully i'll be able to take my son's school there, if you have some youth who are interested in telling their story, i highly recommend it.

And did i mention that each location has a different themed store in the front? The SF (founding branch) is a freaking Pirate Store! How cool is that? A little girl named Camila gave me a tour of the ship, stopping to tell me "I'm in this book". I said "So then you're published then, huh?" To which she replied, "Yeah, I guess so". Rob smiling....

If you know of an author or illustrator who knows how to handle his or herself around little ones please hit up the man Raul and let him know.

I'm proud to say that my visit is the second of its kind after the great writer Luis J. Rodriguez!!! Wow, can there be more adventures like this on the horizon? -Rob