A Spider's Education

Here are new drawings for American Educator magazine. They accompany an article by the Vermont Writing Collaborative, about a new approach to teaching writing. It's based on the idea of gaining a deep understanding and knowledge of your subject matter. An example of this is displayed by a character in E.B. White's classic book, Charlotte's Web. The spider Charlotte has a deep understanding of (and affection for) Wilbur the pig. In order to save him from a fate at the slaughterhouse,  she spells out words in her web to describe Wilbur's terrific attributes. Spelling out the truth about Wilbur saved his life. It was fun to mimic the spirit of this beloved story in these drawings.

This is the opener art for this story.

Here's a detail to the opener art

Practice, practice, practice (makes perfect)

A special thanks to art director, Jennifer Chang, for this fantastic assignment.

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