A bright blue ‘bear’ stepped out of the distant woods and waddled his way into Expo Centre Sharjah, strumming a guitar, singing lively songs, and cracking witty ‘bear’ jokes, much to the amazement of young visitors at the 12^th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF).

US author and illustrator Kevin Sherry’s spectacular entry at the ‘Author Meets Children’ session at SCRF 2021, set the tone for his hourlong journey into the imaginative world of animal characters, real-life experiences, histrionic storytelling, and the inspiring tale of how his first picture book, I’m The Biggest Thing In The Ocean, came about.

Describing his love of animals from a very young age, Sherry said he was passionate about comics as a kid, and was smitten by Quentin Blake’s “cute and crazy drawings” in Roald Dahl’s stories. “I wrote a letter to him when I was in Grade 3, and the reply I received played a pivotal role in shaping my life as an author and illustrator,” he said.

When his gift for creating mystical and magical creatures drew the attention of a publisher, Sherry , a former screen-printer, set about creating his first book. The author showed the young children his rough sketches and stories for subsequent books that were repeatedly turned down by the publisher until after several attempts at re-drawing and re-writing, the initial idea took a new form and shape, and went on to become best-selling works. What helped him on this journey, he added, was the sketch book he always carried “which is an important tool for any aspiring writer or artist to capture an idea when it pops into your head”.

“Never give up,” Sherry advised his young audience. “You may have to do it over and over again but remember that your work just keeps getting better with every repeat effort.”

The author added: “Everything I have ever written or drawn comes from books I read in a library somewhere as a child; these ideas and images rattle around in your brain and materialise in inspiring ways just when you need it.”