Bio

Paul McAllister is a storyteller, visual artist, children’s book author, and publisher. As a multidisciplinary artist, he is interested in children developing their creativity in a multidisciplinary setting. When Paul isn’t organizing music and arts festivals, writing books, or running Monster House Publishing, you can find him hanging with his three quirky dogs, Lupin, Bahgeera and Gus. Paul loves adventuring with the dogs around their beautiful hometown of Fredericton, NB, Canada.

Residency Project

My project encourages students to create their own characters and write short narratives, including details about the character’s personality. The students will illustrate their characters and create character sheets, from which the class will collaboratively build a storyline and imaginary realm in which the characters can coexist. Drawing from my experience teaching art to elementary school-aged children, I will guide them through the creative process for both their written and illustrated aspects. The project will include a small exhibition of their illustrations and a reading of their collective narrative. The project draws inspiration from my ‘Herman’ series, which teaches children important moral lessons through the hopeful eyes of a tiny green monster with fuzzy purple slippers - Herman the Monster! The project allows the students to develop their personal and collective creativity, while learning technical illustration skills from an experienced visual artist. Starting in 2017, this project has seen the publication of fourteen class-created works including these fantastic titles: Imaginary Monsters in Co-operation Cove, The Monsters of the Lost Wand, The Scardy-est Scare Monsters of Mrs. Smith's Class, and One Monster Wish.

Teaching Experience

Since publishing my first book, I have made many appearances in schools and libraries across NB and Canada. At each reading, there is a participatory aspect, where the children engage directly with the story through the arts. I have collaborated with the Calithumpians to complete dramatic readings. Before Herman, I was a regular artist at Gibson Neil Memorial School, teaching painting exercises. I filled this role for seven years. I recently accompanied Theatre New Brunswick as they presented a dramatic recreation of the Herman story in schools. I performed readings and art activities in classrooms as an accompaniment to TNB’s programming.