Campagna Kids Learn the Art of Comics

The children of the Campagna Kids afterschool program at William Ramsay Elementary School took pencils and markers to paper Wednesday to create their own comic strips with the help of nationally published cartoonist Jonathan Todd.

Todd shared his creative process with children and talked about his current venture, a graphic novel about thehistory of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

“I started drawing comics when I was about their age, about 8, and I just found it really rewarding to create something and then show it to someone else and make them laugh,” Todd told Patch. “And I’ve just been doing it ever since. And I think it’s at this age that I just got the bug.

“And also, I think I learned to write through drawing comics, because you have to write, what comes first, what comes second, what comes third, and I just got a lot of writing practice. … It’s learning, and they don’t even know it. And it’s just fun, I think.”

Lisa Jackson, a Campagna Center tutor, helped supervise the young artists Wednesday.

“This is a good program for literacy, for them to get to read, for them to get encouraged in books,” she said. “He’s also doing some writing, so that’s a plus, as well. But this will really get them interested in books.”

David Sarpal, Campagna Center site director for William Ramsay, said one of the program’s goals is to teach children how to read.

“A compelling way to do that is through mixing images and words,” Sapral said. “And the message of Mr. Todd’s work is very relevant to the kids here because it has very positive role models of children of color doing all kinds of things that kids do. And in a very fun way, this is the story of peanut butter and jelly.”

Sarpal added: “We can offer the kids a window to the world, which is what we do every afternoon.”

The Campagna Center has operated high-quality programs for underprivileged children in Alexandria for 65 years. Learn more at www.campagnacenter.org.