On the screen in the cafeteria, an image of a cute dog named Pugley fl ashes before a group of students during an assembly. A uniform “Ahh” resounds from the group of kindergarten through sixth graders.
Suddenly, a steady stream of screams, jeers, yucks, and an occasional “COOL” comes from the assembly as the next image flashes across the screen. The image? A 25 foot python slithering through undergrowth in a forest.
Students of Northside Elementary in Decatur were treated to a program on Sept. 26 by children’s author Jefferson Knapp. Knapp, who lives in El Dorado, Kan., wrote the popular children’s book, “The Kingdom at the End of the Driveway,” a series for children, ages 9 and older.
The three-part series, “The Brave Journey,” “The Rightful Heir,” and “The Ending Feud,” is about a boy who finds a hidden kingdom full of misfi t animals. Their king, a dog named Pugley, was murdered by a monster snake who wants to take over the kingdom. The boy, named Benjamin Biggs, along with his three companions - a rat terrier, a potbellied pig and a fainting goat - are charged with finding and eliminating the murdering monster and restoring peace to the small kingdom.
The characters in Knapp’s books are patterned after several reallife pets and other animals he encountered during his childhood. When building his characters, he chose to give some of the characters opposite personalities. One such cast member was a rat terrier named Poco. In real life, the dog was a fi erce snake hunter. Poco, the dog in Knapp’s story, is deathly afraid of snakes but eventually overcomes his fear.
This mix of personalities made for a very interesting and entertaining set of story lines.
The Northside Elementary students listened intently as Knapp described the process of writing the books.
“It took years of endless rewrites before the book was ready for publication,” Knapp recalls.
The end result was astory line that kept the audience glued to their seats.
Knapp is a graduate of Butler Community College in El Dorado. He worked as a stand-up comedian for a short while, then moved to Springdale, where he helped a friend in a local business. He decided to pursue his dream of becoming a children’s book author. He accomplished his dream a little over five years ago.
Knapp paired up with illustrator, Tim Ladwig. Ladwig, who lost the use of one eye during his childhood, put together a set of remarkable illustrations that would become the front and back covers for the series.
“Tim is a remarkable illustrator. I would give him a photograph and he would come up with an illustration that captured that photo and added a sense of realism to hisworks,” Knapp told his audience.
At one point, Knapp asked the students which of them would like to become an author. Several children raised their hands. He singled out one third grade student and repeated the question. When she answered, “Yes,” Knapp replied, “You don’t want to become a author.”
The students agreed with Knapp. “So you are going to let 300 people tell you not to become a writer,” he stated.
“Don’t ever let anyone kill your dreams, no matter if it is becoming an author or some other pursuit,” Knapp said.
Knapp concluded his presentation with the same simple message he told the third grader: “If you have a dream, never give up on the pursuit of those dreams.”
School News, Pages 8 on 10/02/2013