At a loss
Thanks to ties that bind bloggers, I have worked on a star to send to Jillian Curtis, who is collecting stars for a Holocaust Memorial in her yard. One mother’s act to educate her children about history, horrific persecution, and genocide. An act of remembrance. A few summers ago, Faith York, island neighbor, songwriter, and musician, led the Peaks Island Chorale in a performance of Songs of Freedom. One piece was called I never saw another butterfly based on a poem written by Pavel Friedman, a child in the Terezin Concentration Camp in 1942. Faith asked my daughter to sing a solo with...
Read MoreRickshaw Girl wins again
I am still glowing with the Lupine Honor and now comes another: the Jane Addams Honor Award for Rickshaw Girl! From the Jane Addams Peace Association press release: Three books have won honors in the Books for Older Children category. Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins, with illustrations by Jamie Hogan and published by Charlesbridge, is a contemporary novel set in Bangladesh. In clear prose and detailed black-and-white drawings, ten-year-old Naimi excels at painting alpanas, traditional designs created by Bangladeshi women and girls. Her talent, though valued by her family, cannot buy rice or...
Read MoreCirque de Synchronicity
It’s that time of year again: mud season in Maine and the circus is in town. In memory of my dad, William Hogan, a Shriner, I take my daughter and friends to the annual Kora Shrine Circus from Lewiston, Maine. It’s the cheapest trick in town and remains entertaining after 7 years in a row. There’s something nostalgic for me, wandering amongst the men in their burgundy blazers and fez, ever accomodating. I know I went to circuses as a kid, but not one of them stands out. Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to them as an adult. I went to an early Cirque de Soleil show in...
Read MoreBim, BEM, Bum: Bergey!
About four years ago I met Joshua Bergey, who told me he was working on a book about his illustrator grandfather, Earle K. Bergey. I honestly couldn’t conjur up an image of his work at the time. Recently, I assigned a project to my illustration class to draw the future. This prompted bringing in some books, Infinite Worlds by Vincent di Fate and Science Fiction of the 20th Century, an Illustrated History by Frank M. Robinson, both borrowed from my neighbor/illustrator, Doug Smith. Doug is both a fan and collector of pulp fiction art and science fiction illustration. Earle...
Read MoreLong live Lupine Land
YES!!! I am pinching myself still. Rickshaw Girl was chosen as the 2007 Lupine Honor Winner in the Juvenile/Young Adult category. The Lupine Awards have been presented annually since 1989 by the Youth Services Section of the Maine Library Association. Beloved author/artist Barbara Cooney’s Miss Rumphius was the inspiration for the Lupine Award. The awards were presented at the annual Reading Round-Up conference held at the Augusta Civic Center on April 17. Things got off to a swell start, with energetic assistance from my Lupine Committee host, Amy Hand, from the Camden Public Library....
Read MoreRickshaw in the rain
No amount of rain or dreary chill could dampen my excitement when the day finally came for my Brown Bag lecture at the Portland Public Library with Mitali Perkins. She gave an energetic and moving talk to the crowd of (mostly) young readers from three middle schools and several students from Deering High. I keep learning new things about Mitali’s source of stories, her heritage, and her strong connection to her audience. She’s one hard act to follow. The big question: how does a girl from New Hampshire illustrate a book set in Bangladesh? Well, it takes research and good drawing,...
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