Kirk Reedstrom

Born in Houston, Texas, USA Today bestselling author/illustrator Kirk Reedstrom spent most of his childhood drawing and reading Calvin & Hobbes. He studied at Centenary College of Louisiana where he interned with William Joyce at Moonbot Studios where he interned on the Oscar award-winning animated short, The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore before becoming a bookseller at Blue Willow Bookshop. Kirk now spends most of his time doodling in Shreveport, Louisiana with his wife, Sarah Duet. Kirk is the creator of Squiggle Party!, a monthly-ish newsletter of drawing and story prompts, an active SCBWI Member, trained as a Primetime Storyteller with the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, and his comics zines have been featured in Salon, Relief Journal, The Quaranzine, and All Things Considered. Duck And Moose, his debut graphic novel series, was published by Disney-Hyperion.

Reviews

“Not only will this be a book series kids gravitate towards, but it has extensive opportunities for social-emotional lessons on communication, friendship, flexibility, and emotions. A must-have series that is among the best that graphic novels have to offer.” —Danielle Schwessinger, School Library Journal (starred review)

School Visits

Assembly Presentations

The Story of Duck & Moose:

Kirk Reedstrom will deliver an engaging presentation about the inspiration behind the Duck & Moose graphic novel series and the process of creating a book from idea to finished illustration. The presentation will include 2-3 book readings, an interactive drawing demonstration, early sketches of Duck & Moose books, and images of Reedstrom’s childhood art. A Q&A will follow the presentation.

Presentation Length:

45 minutes (2 books)
1 hour (3 books)

Workshops

Squiggle Party Art/Creative Writing Workshop

This interactive workshop, customizable for any age group, demonstrates one of the exercises Kirk Reedstrom uses for story and character inspiration. Participants will draw a squiggle, turn it into an imaginative character, and sketch a short 3 panel comic based on their creation. This workshop can include one book reading.

Workshop Length: 1 hour

Mini Memoir Zines

In this accessible workshop for teens and adults, participants will create an eight page zine out of a single sheet of paper, and then craft their own mini memoir comic zine based on a series of prompts.

Workshop Length: 1 hour

Special Events (Art Exhibits)

Kirk has two traveling exhibits that are scheduled for their second showing. Pricing needs to be discussed.

Art of Duck & Moose

Developed with students from Centenary College of Louisiana, this exhibit shows the behind-the-scenes creation of Kirk Reedstrom’s Duck & Moose books. From the early sketches to finished illustrations, viewers will be able to see the many steps it takes to create a graphic novel.

Squiggle Party

A multimedia exhibit with prompt pieces that use a squiggle, a character based on the squiggle, a finished illustration, a writing prompt, and a video to demonstrate how Kirk Reedstrom created the character.