How we make stuff

Articles about how we concept ideas, write words, draw pictures and — most importantly — test our ideas! We believe that kids are driven by passion and that they learn by doing — playing. And we believe the concepts, games and activities should be evidence-based, meaning tested and proven in the real world.​

Students examining some red worms up close.
How we make stuff

Collateral worm book projects

While I was producing the final book, the students continued exploring some related projects. Pictured here is Mrs. Lambert’s class examining some red worms up close.

Retouching illustrations before and after. An example of how I clean up the lines.
How we make stuff

Retouching the illustrations

After sorting through my foot-tall stack of drawings, I begin selecting and editing my favorites.

Sorting the illustrations
How we make stuff

Choosing drawings for the new book

After working with the elementary students for 6 days, I got approximately 1000 drawings to choose from. So, being more of the right-brained-artistic type, it is a major organizational challenge.

A colorful sign with bugs and a voting box and ballots.
How we make stuff

Name that bug contest

One fun idea to get the students more involved in the production of the book was to have them name the characters in the story. So I, along with my self-appointed fan club, made this ballot box.

Illustration ideas by subject
How we make stuff

Thinking outside the words

I continue to learn how to work with the various ways kids learn and create. Some students prefer to illustrate an actual sentence from the book, which requires a more literal interpretation; while other students prefer a more conceptual approach.

Scott Stoll hands out pages with excerpts from his book, “Ruby the Red Worm’s Dirty Job,” to students at the Waukesha STEM Academy’s Randall Campus this week. Students are drawing illustrations for the book. Photo by Wentz-Graff, Milwaukee Journal
How we make stuff

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article

World traveler came home to fulfillment. This is a great story about my trip around the world, coming home, and how this all evolved into working with local schools to illustrate children’s books.

Teachers dressed as their favorite storybook character IMG 1889
How we make stuff

Storybook Parade

During my visit, which was Reading Week, one of the teachers organized a Storybook Parade, where all the teachers dressed as their favorite storybook character and paraded through the hallways.

Students examine red worms and compost bin
How we make stuff

Worms eat my garbage

Your adventure, should you choose to accept it, is to build your own compost bin at home. This is a great way to recycle your scraps and reduce your eco-footprint.

Elementary students looking the map of Scotts adventures
How we make stuff

Story Time

As a bonus, the school book project begins with the story about my quest for happiness around the world on a bicycle, with an emphasis on how to create dreams into reality.

About 500 children standing the shape of a bicycle as soon from the top of the gym roof.
Make-A-Book Project

Bicycle-shaped Kids

This is quite probably the best photograph that I ever took, which after taking pictures of world wonders, like the sphinx and the Parthenon, means a lot.

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