An Artist At Work

阳妍华

Childrens book author and illustrator Lauren Castillo leads a workshop with kids in Parma， Michigan.

Lauren Castillo has illustrated more than 15 books for children， some of which she also wrote. She has worked on books such as The Troublemaker， City Cat， and Nana in the City. The new book Twenty Yawns， written by Jane Smiley， features Castillos artwork.

Castillo loved drawing and telling stories as a kid. She was always making art. She also loved reading picture books. Her love of telling stories with words came much later. She went to college for illustration. In college， she spent a lot of time in the childrens book part of the library.

Castillo gets ideas from childhood memories and life experiences. Her book Nana in the City is inspired by memories she has of visiting her Nana. Nana lived outside New York City， and every summer she would go and stay with her and they would take trips into the city. She gets inspired when she travels to new places. She also loves drawing animals， especially dogs.

Twenty Yawns is her new book， which is about a girl named Lucy and her parents who spend a very long day at the beach. They come home， and everyone is tired except for Lucy who cant fall asleep. So she goes and collects her animals and brings them to bed. She needs all her friends with her.

Most of the time， Castillo uses pen， ink， and watercolors. She has a room in her house where she does her work. She has a stand-up table where she paints.

One of her favorite parts is being able to visit with students and share her books with them. She loves doing art workshops with kids. Its great to see what they come up with.

Vocabulary

illustrator n. 插图画家

feature vt. 是……为特色

inspire vt. 给……以灵感

（What are you interested in？ What are you going to do when you grow up？）endprint