There’s a Giraffe in My Soup. Truck Full of Ducks. I Am NOT a Chair! These are just some of the wacky and charming books for kids drawn and written by Ross Burach, a New Jersey native currently residing in New York City.
On Tuesday, Burach was in town to visit with students and teachers at Oak Grove Elementary. He came thanks to the Full Service Community Schools Promise Zone State Scale Up grant, a five-year U.S. Department of Education grant awarded to Partners for Rural Impact that services seven eastern Kentucky counties – Knox, Owsley, Whiley, Clay, Jackson, Harlan and Bell.
“I was just one of those kids who was always drawing,” Burach said of his early interest in art.
Almost ten years ago, Burach had the idea for what ended up becoming his first published book, There’s a Giraffe in My Soup. After finding success with that title, he has continued to explore other crazy ideas for teaching young readers important life lessons through his unique storytelling ability.
It wasn’t long after Burach became a published author that he began getting opportunities to visit schools and engage with students in-person. He says that, through these interactions, he has learned a lot about his audience, and what they want to see and hear about in the stories that they read.
During his time at Oak Grove, Burach was able to do read-alongs with several classes, and also offer some step-by-step instructions for drawing pictures. He was able to interact with families during a Family Reading Night event on Tuesday, and of course, he got the chance to put copies of some of his most beloved books into the hands of eager youngsters.
“I love these visits,” Burach said of getting the chance to appear in-person at schools. “It is a lot of fun getting to travel and read to the students. It is important for them to know that books start out as just an idea. I try to teach them that, if they have an idea, how to develop it and not to give up on it.”
Burach said he has visited about ten states doing school visits in recent years, including travelling to the west coast, Texas, Florida, and more. This was his first time visiting Kentucky, and he said that it was a rewarding experience.
“It has been great,” Burach said of the visit. “The kids were so engaged, and were all sharing great ideas. The teachers and staff have been so kind, too. I would love to come back to Kentucky.”
Of the nearly 20 titles that Burach has on his resume, he said that the most popular is probably The Very Impatient Caterpillar, which is available now through Scholastic. To see his full catalog, visit him on the author’s page at scholastic.com, or on his own personal website at www.rossburach.com.
“I never thought that I would actually be lucky enough to be doing this,” Burach said of his life as a traveling children’s book author. “I feel very lucky, and I try to never take it for granted.”
After leaving Kentucky, Burach will continue to visit schools in other parts of the country throughout the remainder of the year.
