Fifth graders walked to the Cambridge Public Library to meet Maris Wicks, a graphic novelist who writes nonfiction science comic books. She began the visit telling the students about some of the books she has written and illustrated including Human Body Theater and Primates. She explained how she researched and created her new book Science Comics: Coral Reefs. She began with an outline. Maris had to get scuba diving certified before she could begin her research and then went out the Caribbean to live on a boat and scuba dived to see the actual coral reefs. She based her drawings off of things she actually saw and showed photographs she took. She also visited libraries and aquariums to do her research. Once the research was done, she wrote an outline and then wrote a script with thumbnail drawings. The next step is to do drawing in hand in pencils, then ink and then she uses a computer to add color.
Throughout the presentation, she read aloud excerpts from her comics so students learned about cells, the water cycle, coral and recycling and reducing as well. She even danced the water cycle! Fifth graders are very excited to start reading her books.
See more photos from our visit with Maris >>