Children’s book author/illustrator to speak about her craft at Marble Falls library program
Austin children's book author and illustrator Vanessa Roeder. Courtesy photo
Author Vanessa Roeder of Austin writes and illustrates books for young children, but her message at an upcoming visit to the Marble Falls Public Library will be of more interest to an older audience, said Misty Smith, the library’s assistant director.
Roeder will speak at the library, 101 Main St., at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 15. The program is geared toward junior high school students to adults who are interested in writing or illustrating their own books for publication.
“Vanessa will talk about her inspiration and what steps she went through to get into publishing,” Smith said. “The goal is for people to see how she got her start and to learn about what goes into writing.”
Roeder illustrates her own books, including some of the lettering. She will give a drawing demonstration, answer questions, and sign books during the event.
The mother of three has written and illustrated three books: “The Stack,” “Lucy and the String,” and “The Box Turtle.” It was the latter that drew Smith’s attention.
“I read ‘The Box Turtle’ at (a library) story time and really loved the story,” she said.
In the book, a young turtle is ridiculed because he was born without a shell. He decides to make his own but discards each more elaborate design until he eventually returns to his original creation: a plain brown box.
“It was nothing fancy, just plain, and that’s what he decided suited him best,” Smith explained.
One day, a man who works down the street from the library told Smith that his cousin was an author. That family member turned out to be Roeder. Smith immediately sought her out to present a program. It will be the first author visit to the Marble Falls library since the pandemic began two years ago.
“Anybody who has a desire to be an author or illustrator should come and see if this is something you’d like to put some work into,” Smith said. “It’s going to be great.”
