When Tom Watson first wrote a story about a character named “Stick Dog” for his kids to read, he never thought it would lead to a new career. But the hilarious adventures of “Stick Dog” and “Stick Cat” struck gold with late elementary school students.
Watson visits elementary schools to encourage reading
Now, Watson regularly visits schools like Brookdale Elementary in Naperville to talk about his books.
“I’m here to talk about my books, but also mainly to get kids to love to read,” Watson said. “My books are all about the funny. And I’m a real big believer that if kids are laughing, they’re gonna keep turning the page. So that’s what my books are all about.”
The stories of “Stick Dog” follow a stick-figure dog and his friends, often on a mission for food. “Stick Cat” features the city adventures of a cat and his sidekick, Edith, rescuing their city neighbors.
Watson’s illustration lessons build confidence
The books are illustrated by Watson himself, intentionally drawn as stick-figure animals because of his own artistic limitations. When he visits schools, Watson teaches the kids to draw like him.
“I think it’s important that they know that they can draw the things that I’m drawing, and I think it gives them confidence. Especially the younger guys, you know, they wonder what the heck we’re going to be doing, and then I show them that if you just put some shapes together, right, and, you know, a little twitch of the tail or something, and they can see like, hey, you know what I can do this. And I love to see that confidence in their eyes,” Watson said.
The second through fifth graders at Brookdale were eager to show him their drawings.
“They know all about his background, his career, we’ve been reading his books,” said Leah Steinhauser-Walsh, Learning Media Center Director at Brookdale. “They did this beautiful poster in the hallway of some of his art. So I think they’re just excited to meet a real, live author. And then, you know, just to kind of get to see him, get to talk with him, ask him questions, and they’re just really excited about that.”
“I’ve never had a bad school visit,” Watson said. “I’ve probably done six or 700 of them. But you can also tell sometimes when a school works on getting amped up for the visit, and this school for sure did the business of getting ready for the visit, and that always makes a difference.”
Brookdale emphasizes importance of reading with Watson’s visit
Brookdale connected with Watson through Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville. Steinhauser-Walsh organized the visit.
“I feel like now in the year of 2025, we’re really competing against screens and video games, and knowing just how important it is to get books in kids’ hands and being able to turn the pages and smell the book and see the pictures. So that’s really just what we want to continue to do to keep literacy and just keep kids reading,” Steinhauser-Walsh said.
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