Children's Book Author: Jef Czekaj!

Join children's book author, illustrator, and long-time Somerville resident, Jef Czekaj,

for an afternoon of fun and art. Using a combination of music, videos,

and collaborative drawing activities, Jef will talk and rap about, um,

what he does all day.

Jef will show his progression as an artist, from a young kid on Long

Island who liked to draw funny superhero comics, to an award-winning

"professional" author and illustrator. He'll also share how he goes

about writing and illustrating a book and talk about the tools he uses.

Plus, we'll do some fun collaborative comic writing!

Jef Czekaj is a cartoonist, children's book author and illustrator, and

musician. He has illustrated 4 books, and written and illustrated 5

picture books and one graphic novel. His books, Hip and Hop, Don't Stop!, Cat Secrets, The Circulatory Story, and Yes, Yes, Yaul! were all chosen as Junior Library Guild selections. Cat Secrets was a finalist in GoodReads Best Books of 2011 and A Call for a New Alphabet was named a "Must-Read" book by the Massachusetts Center for the Book.

His comic, Grampa and Julie: Shark Hunters, ran in Nickelodeon Magazine for more than 10 years. A collection of the first three years of the comic was published with the help of a Xeric Foundation Grant and distributed by Top Shelf.

He DJs for an award-winning hip-hop group under an assumed name. Jef lives and works in Somerville, MA.