A most energetic author-illustrator pair virtually visited third and fourth graders on Wednesday, March 23. Author Matthew Swanson and illustrator Robbi Behr, who work together on “The Cookie Chronicles” series of books, gave a fun and lively presentation about their books and process, followed by a drawing activity, and a Q&A. The visit was in collaboration with St. James Academy in Monkton, Maryland, and sponsored in part by The Ivy Bookshop.

They first shared that they live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and are married to each other, but Swanson quickly followed up in his signature joking style to clarify: “If you want to be an author, you don’t have to marry the person who illustrates your books.”

Then they showed a pile of books that they self-published before they published 11 books with a publisher. Swanson gave the following advice: “If you want to be a writer, all you have to do is keep writing. Don’t think. Just write.”

They shared a paragraph Swanson once wrote about a boy eating noodles and a fortune cookie. He put that paragraph away for six months before going back to it. Then he had the idea to turn it into a book series where the character takes the fortunes in his fortune cookies quite literally. They gave the audience a crash course in metaphors and demonstrated the power of figurative language. “I really liked the drawings of similes and metaphors,” said fourth grader Cormac W.

The fortunes featured in the first three books in the series are: “Live each day as if it’s your last,” “Good things come to those who wait,” and “Practice makes perfect.” Swanson and Behr went through each proverb, showed how the character interpreted the fortunes, and how the lessons are meant to be understood. “I loved learning about the books in the series, and finding out more about the fortune cookies,” said fourth grader Cole C.

After the presentation, Behr gave a drawing lesson in about six simple steps. By the end, everyone had a portrait of the couple’s family dog, Dumbles, along with the knowledge that they could apply their new skills to draw other characters with different expressions as well. “The boys really enjoyed the drawing portion of the presentation,” said third grade teacher Jen Reiter. Many of the boys in her class continued to work on their Dumble drawings the next day.

Behr said that as a child, she was a “jeans-doodler” — her pants were her canvas — but she doesn’t encourage that method of practicing the craft because it got her in trouble with her parents. Rather, she advocated that the audience “use your experiences to write stories and draw pictures.”

The couple plans to soon spend a year traveling across the United States in a 24-foot school bus with their four children, giving away 25,000 books to schools and children in need along the way. Those interested can follow their journey at busloadofbooks.com or on Instagram.