Inventing Andy

Have you heard of Mickey Mouse, Snoopy, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Big Bird, or the Minions? I have observed children who have the natural ability to draw marvellous, interesting, and captivating cartoon characters like these. However, this book is designed for children who look at a blank page and don’t know how to start. Those children are the ones who inspired this book. Children do not need to have art talent to invent their own original cartoon characters. The book follows step-by-step the development of Andy, a unique original cartoon character. The ideas used in developing Andy can inspire and assist children in their own inventions. And once children have their own cartoon friend, what do they do next? Well, they share their creations, talk about them and, using the ideas in this book, develop their personalities and abilities. In a classroom the presence of children’s personal cartoons can increase motivation in mundane literary and mathematics activities.

Lloyd Alexander grew up in a remote dairy farming community in Tasmania. At the age of 18, he left home and began adult life in Victoria in mainland Australia. He got married two years later. Then came children, grandchildren and currently one great grandchild. After completing an apprenticeship in photolithography, Lloyd continued to work for a publishing company for a number of years. Then, he went to university and completed a primary teaching qualification. This turned into the major career of his life. Further qualifications followed, allowing Lloyd to teach in classrooms around the world for 30 years. For the past few years, he has retired from teaching and is able to follow other interests like landscape gardening, reading and writing.