Lone Pine students Reed Perlman (front), Lauren Tamapol and David Lux enjoy a reading workshop hosted by illustrator Darrin Brege (below, left) and his wife, author Karen Bell-Brege (below, right).  Facing page:  Darrin and Karen write books for kids, including the Ghost Board Posse series.

Around 200 pairs of eyes watch in suspense as the monstrous hand flares up behind the fleeing earthling, closing in for a squeeze.  Marker blazing, local illustrator Darrin Brege truns his sketch into a motion picture for sever cheering classes one afternoon in April at Bloomfield School's Lone Pine Elementary.
  Brege and his wife, author Karen Bell-Brege, are the creators of books for children and young teens, including the Mick Morris Myth Solver mystery series and Ghost Board Posse #1 London Screaming, which follow ghost hunting skateboarders through a haunted English castle.
  The couple have spurred students at 200 area schools to consider how to apply creativity and strong reading skills to their future endeavors, Bell-Brege says.  Laughter facilitates learning 100%, she adds.
  "That's why we have so much humor in our programs, I think," she says.  "We found that adults and children retain it [the lessons] because they're having fun.  And they don't even realize they're being taught at the same time."
  Bloomfield Hills resident Kismet Kumar, 11, says the presentation was very entertaining and educational.
  "I love the drawings.  I'm pretty sure I'll be using [drawing] for the future," the sixth-grader says.  "When I grow up, I'm thinking of being an ophthalmologist.  Sometimes eye doctors have to draw wht they see in my eyes, so I think that could help me."
  The Breges, who also are voiceover artists and do comedic impersonations on the Stoney and Wojo show on WDFN am1130, hook student audiences from the start with spot-on impressions of pop-culture luminaries, such as Homer and Marge Simpson, and zany chatter about alien cows and gremlins.
  "you cant be teaching if you don't have a sense of humor, I honestly believe," says Royal Oak resident Kathy Kirkwood, a fifth-grade teacher at Lone Pine.  "Studies have shown that learning has to be in an engaging, positive environment, and what's more positive than laughing and having fun in the classroom?"
  While cloaked in comedy, the message the Breges bring to students still rings clear - no matter what, anything is possible with enough practice. 
  Brege says that while growing up, "I would have given anthing for someone to say, 'Do your Goofy voices.  If you love to do them, you can make a career out of it.'"

Uncovering myths
Author, illustrator of Mick Morris series visit Fitzgerald elementary schools
MARIA ALLARD C & G Staff Writer
Published: March 5, 2008

Watch out - Bigfoot might be lurking behind you.
 Or are those gremlins from The Henry Ford?
 Whatever the creature, chances are it's going to turn up in one of Karen Bell-Brege and Darrin Brege's "Mick Morris Myth Solver" book series for kids. Karen is the author behind the series' stories while her talented husband is the illustrator.
 And since the books have ended up in the hands of many Fitzgerald Public Schools elementary students, the Breges visited Schofield, Mound Park and Westview elementary schools Feb. 26. Their 12-year-son Mick, whom the Mick Morris books were modeled after, came along.
 "This is what we've been waiting for," media specialist Pat Pulis said. "It's a really nice treat."
 In the series, Mick Morris, his cousin Sissy and his best friend Nathan always find themselves on an adventure trying to uncover a certain myth. Karen said it takes about six to nine months to complete a book.
 "There is always something scary to every ending, but there's no gore," Karen said.
 The series gives young readers the opportunity to uncover different myths while being entertained at the same time. To date, four books have been completed: "All Isn't Well in Roswell," "Bigfoot…Big Trouble," "Champ…A Wave of Terror" and "The Grudge of the Gremlins."
 "It's fiction, but I include the myth facts," Karen said. "One thing that really fascinated us were myths. One myth that really fascinated me was the aliens landing in Roswell."
 While visiting the schools, the Brege family - who reside in Brighton - shared their love of reading and writing. With an artist's easel, Darrin even demonstrated how he creates the books' characters.
 "It all starts with stick people," Darrin told the students. "The stick person, that is the first step I use for drawing anything.
" From there, Darrin adds circle, square and triangle shapes to create different characters.
"You want to give it some character and energy," Darrin said.
 And the eraser "is our friend." It's OK to make changes along the way.
"If you don't like it now, change it. It's easy to change," he said when drawing. "As an artist, we need to see things to help us get ideas."
 While at Westview, third-grader Alisa Castanos, fourth-grader Michael Wilson and fifth-grader Tyler Yontz had the opportunity to briefly act out a scary scene from one of the books with Karen. With lots of enthusiasm, Karen asked several students about their career goals. She also reminded the students why reading is important.
"It doesn't matter what career you decide, you have to study hard," she said. "With studying hard, you have to be a good reader. Books can take you places you've never been. No matter what I was doing, I was reading and writing. That led us to our books."
 The Mick Morris books contain five different endings to give the readers plenty of variety.
 "I liked the normal ending, Darrin liked scary and Mick said 'what's wrong with silly?'" Karen said. "It's good to feel emotion. When I'm writing, if I don't feel scared, chances are it's not scary."
The Brege family is heavily involved in the arts. Karen and Darrin have done improv comedy, and Darrin has done work for Warner Brothers. The pair also do imitations, including of "The Simpsons" and "Scooby Doo."
 "Art is everywhere we do," Karen said. "There's reading, writing, acting, singing, dancing, sculpting, plays, cultures, museums."
 They seem to have passed the passion for the arts to Mick. He loves being the model for the Mick Morris series.


 For more information visit www.mickmorris.com. You can reach Staff Writer Maria Allard at allard@candgnews.com or (586) 498-1045.
 

10-21-2007 ILLUSTRATOR-COMEDIAN DOING THINGS HE LOVES THE BEST
Living a dream
By TIFFANY L. PARKS
Staff Writer

Darrin Brege still shakes his head in amazement - he gets paid to do what he loves.
Brege, who started doodling at age 3, is a senior design illustrator for ePrize, a Pleasant Ridge-based interactive promotion company, he has a weekly spot on a sports radio channel and he partners with his wife, Karen, on an illustrated book series named after their 11-year-old son.
"I get to do crazy voices and draw for a living and get paid," said Brege, 39. "I'm very grateful because, although there's nothing wrong with it, I'd hate to be laying bricks and doing my voices for a crew.
The 1986 Plymouth Canton High School graduate can sketch SpongeBob SquarePants, Homer Simpson and Stewie from Family Guy in a matter of seconds and he cranks out impersonations of Shrek, Archie Bunker and Scooby Doo as if it's second nature.
He met his wife of 12 years while the two were doing improvisational theatre. In addition to the couple's book series, Mick Morris Myth Solver, the two have inked a four-book deal with Mackinac Island Press.
Brege, who lives in Brighton, illustrates the work while his bride pens the stories.
"She's the love of my life," he said. "I feel so blessed and fortunate to do what I do. I've had to draw all day but I could still go home and draw tonight. When you do what you love, it doesn't feel like work."
Brege, who created a gang of comic book characters at age 13 called the "Freakies," recently had a book signing at Borders to highlight the fourth installment of the Mick Morris series, Grudge of the Gremlins.
His son, Mick, and his wife were also on hand for the signing.
"I can't say that I love one thing more than the other," he said.
"It all ties together. It all works on the right side of the brain."
Brege, who moved to California to study animation in the early '90s, said his son also has a knack for drawing and writing.
"He's really good," he beamed. "He's better than I was at that age but he takes it all in stride."
With his comedic impersonations airing at 8:05 a.m. every Friday on Sports Talk AM 1130 WDFN and his career at ePrize moving along, Brege said there's a chance that one of the Mick Morris books could be turned into a motion picture.
"My wife and I are huge movie buffs so this is really exciting for us," he said. "All I can say to anyone is follow your dreams. I feel like I'm walking on air."

tlparks@hometownlife.com (734) 459-2700