Adi Binyamin's Reader's Journal #7

Dear Stav,
This week was a biography and I read Walt Disney Meet the Cartoonist.  The author is Carin T. Ford.
Walt Disney is the one who made up all the cartoon characters we know today! Very cool! I want to tell you all about him in case you don't know everything!
Walt Disney (Walter Elias Disney) was born December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois.. He was born to Elias and Flora Disney. Walt had three other sibilings. Their names were Raymond, Roy, and Ruth. Ruth was the youngest. Flora and Elias decided to move to Kansas City when Walt was four years old and live on a farm. They worked really hard on the farm all day. There were also times when Flora sat down with her kids and taught them how to read. Walt Disney really loved to draw. Even in school, he drew something instead of listening to the teacher. Now, it was obvious Walt was going to be an artist when he grows up!
When Walt was a teenager, the Disneys decided to move back to Chicago where Elias became a part-owner of a jelly factory. As Walt grew older, he decided to take art very seriously. He studied three nights a week and even take classes through mail! He drew cartoons and took photographs for his high school magazine.(That sounds like journalism to me!!) Walt then returned back home to Chicago after being in France for a year with the Red Cross.He didn't want to work with his dad anymore, he wanted to be an artist!!
Walt went back to Missouri, Kansas City and hoped to work for the Kansas City Star, but the newspaper didn't hire him. Walt then finally got a job which was drawing ads for a farm. The job lasted for six months. While working there, he found himself a buddy named Ubbe Iwerks. The two decided to start a business together and make animated pictures. They worked really hard together and after working for six months, they created a 7 minutes film called Red Riding Hood. Walt and Ubbe quit their jobs so they will have more time to make movies. They set a company and called it Laugh-O- Gram Films.
Walt and Ubbe quickly made more films: The Four musicians of Bremen, Jack and the Beanstalk, Goldilocks, and the Three  Bears, Puss in Boots, and Cinderella. A New York company promised to pay them $11,000 for the cartoons! Wow, that's really impressive.:) In 1923, Walt decided to go to Hollywood, California where Roy lived. Walt hoped to become a movie director there but no one hired him for that job too.Walt then went back to work on his next cartoon, Alice's Wonderland.
   In, 1924, Walt and Roy started a company called Disney Brothers Studio. They made Alice movies for the next two years. Walt hired other artists including his old pal, Ubbe. In 1925, Walt fell in love with a woman named Lillian Bounds and had two daughters named Sharon and Diane. By 1926, the studio moved into a larger space. It was then called Walt Disney Studios.
Walt created tons of cartoons and here comes a special cartoon we see at 8:00 to 10:00am named Mickey Mouse! Mickey Mouse became the first cartoon to be in color! Millions of people saw Mickey and loved it!! Walt added Mickey's friends and named them Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto! After making over 100 cartoon charcters, Walt had another sagacious idea, to build a big family park and call it Disneyland!!! In 1955, Disney opened in Anaheim, California. There were ponds, lakes, and 22 rides for adults and kids! Millions of people came to that amusement park!
After a while, Walt had another brilliant idea, build another family park in Orlando, Florida. It would have a city of the future called EPCOT. Sadly, Walt died from lung cancer on December 15, 1966. The park opened in 1971. Walt didn't have a chance to see the new park open, but a lot of his fans did!
Walt was a confident person who believed dreams can come true!!! Today, a lot of people love his cartoons and the two amusement parks! Today, we are also all familiar with the show title, Disney. That was named after Walt!:)
Stav, I hoped you enjoyed my summary and I miss you so much!! Hope you are having fun in Israel!:)

                                                                            Love,
                                                                                 Adi<3