Marty Kelley drops into Greenwood on Tuesday, March 19, 2019 to share an author/illustrator presentation with our Kindergarteners

Marty is currently a children’s author and illustrator but, in the past, was a second-grade teacher, a baker, a cartoonist, a newspaper art director, a drummer in a heavy metal band, a balloon delivery guy, an animator, and lots of other things. He’ll probably continue writing and illustrating children’s books for many years to come because there are few other jobs where being able to paint a perfect booger-bubble is an actual job requirement.

Marty’s career as an artist started when he began drawing historically accurate pictures of spaceships dropping bombs on dinosaurs. When he started going to school, Marty found even more artistic fulfillment in creating advanced character studies of his teacher, Mean Mrs. Keane. By the time he was a freshman in high school, Marty had a regular comic strip published in the local town paper. After high school, he attended The School of the Museum of Fine Arts to become an animator.

Shortly after art school, Marty had a career crisis and moved to Florida where he went back to school and got his degree in elementary education. Marty taught second grade for several years before making the difficult decision to pursue writing and illustrating full time.

Marty has written and illustrated many published children’s books, including: Almost Everybody Farts; Fall Is Not Easy; The Rules; Winter Woes; Summer Stinks; Spring Goes Squish; The Messiest Desk; Twelve Terrible Things; A Cape! and Fame, Fortune, and the Bran Muffins of Doom.

In his spare time, Marty visits lots and lots of schools to show students how he creates books. Marty is also a juried member of the NH State Council for the Arts Visiting Artist Roster.

To learn more about Marty Kelley and his books, visit martykelley.com.