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Tell it True: Non-Fiction

Friday, May 14 | 9:30am CT

Meet John Rocco

author and illustrator of How We Got To The Moon and Blackout

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Did you always draw since you were a kid?

Actually no, I originally went to college to study engineering and was inspired to go to art school after living with an illustrator. I would watch him work and think, “This is a job I would love to do!”

Which do you like better, writing or drawing?

I didn’t begin writing until I was out of college and was creating my first picture book. So, I would say drawing comes a little easier to me, but there is a tremendous satisfaction that comes from writing a really great scene, or that perfect sentence, or sometimes just finding the exact right word!

What did you do before making books?

Before creating books, I had many different jobs. I worked on a commercial shellfishing boat for many years, I designed theme park attractions for Walt Disney, I was an art director on the movie Shrek, I directed commercials, video games and even designed a few museums.

What were some of your favorite books as a kid?

Island of the Blue Dolphins, Lord of the Flies, Old Man and the Sea, and The Hobbit.

Top Ten Favorite Things To Do When Not Writing or Illustrating (in no particular order)

  1. Building something out of wood

  2. Watching a great movie

  3. Beach combing

  4. Playing golf

  5. Walking in the woods

  6. Sharing a meal with good friends

  7. Talking about books with other book makers

  8. Swimming in the ocean

  9. Traveling to new places

  10. Reading a good book

What is your new book about?

How We Got To The Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Adventure is a book about the technical problems and innovative solutions that the Apollo workforce were faced with—and solved, to land a man on the Moon in 1969. Through diagrams, experiments, moments of crisis, and unforgettable human stories, each challenging step in the space race is revealed and examined.

 

 
 

About John

John Rocco is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, including Blackout, recipient of the Caldecott Honor and How We Got To The Moon, recipient of the Sibert Honor and Longlisted for the National Book Award. Rocco has illustrated the covers for Rick Riordan's internationally bestselling series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, and The Trials of Apollo. He also created the illustrations for the #1 New York Times bestsellers Percy Jackson's Greek Gods and Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes.