Last weekend, I took a magical trip to New York City. My thanks begin with Rose Mary Berlin, who contacted illustrators who had met at past Highlights for Children Illustrator's parties. She arranged for us to meet at the
Society of Illustrator's on 63rd Street in New York City.
Fellow
illustrator, Judith Moffatt and I bussed down to the city and stayed in
the East Village with her friend Ellen. We had a terrific weekend of
friends, food, sightseeing, and children's book exhibits.
We began at the New York Public library... the Schwartzman Building
where the famous lion protects the front entrance at 42nd and 5th. An exhibit called "The ABC of It: Why Children's Books Matter," curated by
Leonard Marcus, was showing.
The stunning ceiling at the NYPLibrary
Goodnight Moon exhibit
Judith Moffat and me at the
The exhibit started with the oldest known copy of the New-England
Primer, where children were taught about the Bible. ("In Adam's Fall, we
Sinned All.")
It finished with comics and graphic novels, from Shaun Tan's Arrival to Art
Spiegleman's Maus.
In between were original handwritten manuscripts from
Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, an original edition of
William Blake's Songs of Innocence, which he wrote, illustrated, and
printed himself in 1789.
We saw original Pooh stuffed animals, and a
Japanese woodblock- printed book from 1720 known as Aka hon, or "red books." These kusa zoshi were especially earmarked for children. Original John Tenniel drawings from "Alice in Wonderland" are also included.
Original Winnie the Pooh toys
I found this book of interest... perhaps an original "pop-up" book? It included a real example for teaching workhouse children how to sew.
Since the exhibit is in the city, a section focused on modern books about New York City, and by New York author/illustrators (of which there are many!)
A docent leads a tour weekdays at 12:30 and 2:30, and there is no charge. This fine show runs through March 23, 201.
Soon, Judy and I were racing off to our brunch at the Society of Illustrators, and more adventures in our Phantom Tollbooth auto. More to come in my next post.
I had a great time talking about children's books with a group of Rhode Island librarians this week at a Professional Development Workshop where we discussed and voted for the Mock Caldecott Award for 2012. The event was held at the stately William Hall library on Broad Street in Cranston.
The Caldecott Medal has been given annually since 1938 by the Association for Library Service to Children (a division of the American Library Association) to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
The real Caldecott Medal will be announced in Dallas at 7:45 a.m. CT on Jan.23, 2012, along with announcements for the Newbery Medal,
the Coretta Scott King Book Award and Printz award. The books honored
serve as a guide for parents, educators, and librarians. The awards are selected under a cloak of secrecy by national judging
committees composed of librarians and other children’s literature
experts.
Since I was giving a Powerpoint presentation about children's book
design at the workshop, I delved into the criteria for this particular
award. Here is my version of the criteria, condensed and simplified:
What is a "Picture book for children?"
• Children up to age 14 are an intended potential audience,
• The book displays respect for their understandings,
abilities, and appreciations.
• The book provides the child with a visual experience
• It develops a collective unity of story-line, theme, or
concept through...pictures.
Criteria to consider:
Excellence of pictorial interpretation of story, theme, or
concept;
Delineation of plot, theme, characters, setting, mood or
information through the pictures;
Excellence of execution in the artistic technique employed;
Appropriateness of style of illustration to the story, theme
or concept;
Excellence of presentation in recognition of a child
audience.
What makes a picture book “distinguished?”
Marked by eminence and distinction, excellence in quality.
Noted for significant achievement.
Individually distinct.
If you want to see the criteria in it's original form, along with all the Caldecott award and Honor Books for the past 75 years, click here for the ALSC site.
A tiny sample of the books that won the Caldecott in earlier years:
2010: The Lion & the Mouseby Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown & Company)
1963: The Snowy Dayby Ezra Jack Keats (Viking)
1943: The Little Houseby Virginia Lee Burton (Houghton)
AND THE WINNER IS...
With the wealth of incredible artists who create stunning visual experiences for children, and stories and characters that ranged from hilarious to profound, the choosing wasn't easy. We started with 30 titles, and voted a bit hurriedly at the end, but these were the picks for this year's Caldecott from a small group of RI librarians and illustrators.
WINNER: Grandpa Green, by Lane Smith.
To read more about the making of Grandpa Green, you'll find a wonderful article and extensive photos on Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. This, by the way, is a site that children's book enthusiasts could study for weeks on end, it has such a wealth of information. To access the Lane Smith article, click here: feature about Lane Smith and Grandpa Green
HONOR BOOK: Me... Jane, by Patrick McDonnell
This beautifully designed book tells of Jane Goodall's childhood dreams, complete with photographs and excepts from a diary she kept.
Me... Jane, by Patrick McDonnell
HONOR BOOK: Blackout, by John Rocco
This is the story of city folks who come out of their apartments when the lights go out in New York City. With a hybrid graphic novel/picture book look, the story is essentially one of family and community.
Blackout, by John Rocco
Here is a trailer about "Blackout."
There are so many wonderful books to choose from. Go check out a few of them on your own!
Thanks to Cheryl Space for putting together such a great event, to Wendy and Walter for coming, and to all the book-loving and insightful librarians for a fun morning.
It will be interesting to see who wins on January 23.
I want to brag about one of my former students, Cathren Housley. She's a graduate of the RISD-CE children's book illustration certificate program, and has 3 more book signings scheduled before Christmas for the latest book she illustrated, The Christmas Cats.
If you have a chance, stop by to see her, or order the book online.
Saturday Dec. 17, 2-4 pm
The Providence Athenaeum
reading and workshop
251 Benefit Street
Providence, RI 02903-2709
Dec. 20th, 3:30 to 4:30pm
reading and workshop
Rochambeau Library
708 Hope Street
Providence, RI
Dec 22 7-8pm
Providence Public Library
The P.J. Story Hour
150 Empire Street
Providence, RI
