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Author and illustrator Derek Anderson told his audience Friday at the Rock County Community Library that he was not much older then than they are now when he knew what his career was going to be.
“I knew in kindergarten I wanted to be an artist,” he said.
Anderson showed the picture of a rabbit he drew as an Ames, Iowa, youngster that inspired his dream and sparked his career as an illustrator.
He said an illustrator is free to create characters that can do anything and go anywhere. With that freedom, Anderson explained he became an author after taking his own advice to show characters with a variety of feelings and trying to solve different problems.
“Ten Pigs: An Epic Bathtub Adventure” was the result of his imagination. He said his first published book idea came when he started drawing pigs.
“Once I drew a pig, the clouds opened up,” Anderson explained.
His second book, “Ten Hungry Pigs,” was recently published.
To illustrate, he quickly created a pig through a series of circles, triangles and rectangles.
He also read his whimsical tale of one pig who wanted to enjoy a bath alone but is soon joined by nine other pigs. Each pig brought along an item such as a surfboard, snorkel or a musical instrument.
Anderson’s visits were coordinated through the Plum Creek Library System through the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Grant.
The local stop Friday marked the last of 61 performances Anderson has completed since March.