Cock-A-Doodle-Doo
By Berta and Elmer Hader
We will see other books from this couple, because of this I have shared bio’s of them before they were married. Later I will share bio’s about them as a married couple. Again the bio information I have shared came from Wikipedia.
Berta Hoerner (1891 – 02/06/1976) and Elmer Stanley Hader (09/07/1889 - 09/07/1973) were a husband-and-wife team that illustrated more than 70 children's books, about half of which they also wrote. Their most notable contribution to children's literature was in 1949, when they won the Caldecott Medal for The Big Snow.Berta was born in San Pedro, Coahuila, Mexico. Her father died when Berta was five, and the family soon moved to the northeast of the United States (probably to New York). Berta, perhaps inspired by her mother's colorful sketches of Mexican life, took art classes and read intensively while still in elementary school, winning literary and artistic prizes for her work. The family again moved in 1917, this time to Seattle, Washington. While Berta's mother worked for Charity Organization Society and Washington's Home, Berta continued painting and reading, and eventually attended the University of Washington School of Journalism (1909–1912).
Elmer was born in Pajaro, California, but spent much of his youth in San Francisco. At the age of 16, as a member of the National Guard, he helped restore order to San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. He worked briefly in a survey party up the American River (near Sacramento, California), then returned to San Francisco to work as a firefighter on the State Belt Railroad (a dock-side railroad that acted as a shuttle for goods and people[1]), where his father worked as an engineer. Elmer used his earnings from this job to pay for his first term at California School of Design. He then obtained scholarships to finish at the school (1907–1910). Hader returned to France in 1918 as a member of the Camouflage Corps, just at the time that Berta was asked by Ms. Beatty to come to New York to work in fashion design illustration at McCalls.
Book Summary
If you are a fan of the Ugly Duckling story, then this is the book for you! Little Red ends up in a nest of duck’s. He is different and not sure where he belongs. We follow his adventures as he finds his place.
Illustrations: color and black and white
I enjoyed these soft, warm, darling illustrations. On the cover of the book you see Little Red standing on a Windowsill. The blue boarders are evident throughout the rest of the book, only they are white. This makes me think, the story of Little Red is all about how you perceive the world. Right? And here we are starting the story looking out thru a window. So does the window=perception? Just a thought!
The illustrations go from color to “brown and white”, they rotate back and forth. I don’t know the why. But the window sill or box is evident in the entire book. What is interesting about the window box is that things can move out of the border and into the border. For example, when Little Red is just hatching out of his egg shell we see him on the left hand page standing along and just slightly into the white border. Does this show how he was different and not part of the group? I think so. There is another time when the duck family goes for a swim, which of course is something Little Red can not join in. So the illustrations show the mother duck and ducklings swimming away and Little Red standing again in the white border, soaking wet and looking soooooooooo darn sad and wet! As a reader you just start to feel so sad for this little guy! There are many examples of this in the book! I encourage you to check the book out, (I got it from Pierce County Library) and tell me which part is your favorite.
Art Medium: Couldn't find the answer to this. Gives the apperance of Water Colors but there is something more to them!
1. Would this be a book I would pick up again? Yes!
2. Would I recommend it to others to search out and take a look at? Yes
3. Would I spend my hard earned money on the book? Yes, this would be a great book to show my students what a border is and how when you are doing art work you can use the space.
Want more information? Here you go!
If you in near the University of Oregon you can visit the library and see some of the artwork from this couple in person. They have stored a large collection of original artwork! I have included some information here for you to share with the Library if you go for a visit! I would really enjoy doing this someday!
Guide to the Berta and Elmer Hader Papers
1906-1974
Overview of the Collection
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