Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Most Beautiful Women in the World


1946 Caldecott Honor: My Mother is the Most Beautiful Woman in the World

Story by Becky Reyher

Pictures by Ruth Gannett

Ruth Chrisman Gannett was born in Santa Ana, CA December 16, 1896. Ruth Chrisman obtained an M.A. degree at the University of California in 1920. She wed Lewis Gannett in 1931 and began a career as an illustrator of children’s books. She died in West Cornwall, Connecticut on December 8, 1979.


Book Summary

A Russian Folktale

A young girl is in the fields with her family during fall harvest.  She becomes separated from her mother and when other villagers find her they ask her what her mother looks like.  The young girl responds by saying, “She is the most Beautiful Woman in the World.”  Does she get reunited with her mother?  You’ll have to read the book to find out!

Illustrations

Black and White (pointillism?) then Bright Colored rotates back and forth. 

What is pointillism? 

Pointillism is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of pure color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term Pointillism was first coined by art critics in the late 1880s to ridicule the works of these artists, and is now used without its earlier mocking connotation. (From Wikipedia)

I put a question mark alongside because I don’t know for sure but there are lots of dots that are evident in the pictures.  But the dots seem to be on top of solid colors.  Only basic simple colors are used in the book, blue, red, yellow and brown.  The characters are in authentic Russian clothing and the décor on the houses are also very traditional. 

One item to note is the last page of the book, there is an empty frame for the owner of the book to place a picture of his/her own mother.  I think this is such a gentle sweet touch.  Now I do wonder how practical this is.  In the 1940’s photos were not as abundant as they are today.  One would need to make a special mission to get the photo and place it in the book.  I also think this is interesting because this is the first book I have come across that asks the reader to add to the story.  Today we purchase books that come with a child’s name included, we insert our own pictures, and today this practice is common.  In 1946 not so much.

Final Thoughts:

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

4. Where did I get the book? Pierce County Library

Monday, June 27, 2011

Bikinis and Tupperware! The year? 1946!!!!

All Facts from Wikipedia

January

 February
March
April
May
  • May 2 – Six inmates unsuccessfully try to escape from Alcatraz Prison. A riot occurs, the so-called "Battle of Alcatraz".
  • May 7Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with about 20 employees.
June
 July
August
 November
December

Date unknown

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Wild Things Prequel?????? IN THE FOREST!!!!

1945 Caldecott Honor: In The Forest
Story and Pictures by Marie Hall Ets (bio from Wikipedia)
Marie Hall Ets (born December 16, 1895 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; died in 1984) is an American author and illustrator. She attended Lawrence College, and in 1918, Mrs. Ets journeyed to Chicago where she became a social worker at the Chicago Commons, a settlement house on the northwest side of the city. In 1960 she won the Caldecott Medal for her illustrations of Nine Days to Christmas. She died in 1984. Just me and In the Forest are both Caldecott Honor books. The black-and-white charcoal illustrations in Just Me "almost take on the appearance of woodcuts" and are similar in style to the illustrations in In the Forest[  Constantine Georgiou comments in Children and Their Literature that Ets' "picture stories and easy-to-read books" (along with those of Maurice Sendak) "are filled with endearing and quaint human touches, putting them at precisely the right angle to life in early childhood. Play With Me, says Georgiou, is "a tender little tale, delicately illustrated in fragile pastels that echo the quiet mood of the story."
Book Summary
Do you know the more popular book, Where the Wild Things Are?  Then you are familiar with the story line of this book.  A young brave boy marches thru a forest with a paper hat and a horn.  Along the way the young boy invites various animals to join his march.  At the conclusion of the story the young boys father appears and asks who he is talking to, for you see the father cannot see the animal friends.
Illustrations
Only black and white are used on the pages of this delightful story.  But why?  I mean the story is not black and white, the young boy and the animals are white with the background being black, opposite of what you may think.  Is this because the boy and animals portray innocence?  Perhaps.  Or maybe it was the favorite artistic style of Ms. Ets.  We just don’t know.  The illustrations are a delight to look at.  They are simple with just enough detail to fill in where your imagination leaves off.
Final Thoughts:
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? Already did!
4. Where did I get the book? I own it!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Simple and Sweet Prayers!


1945 Caldecott Winner: Prayer For A Child

By Rachel Field

Illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones (also won the Honor in 1944)

Bio from: Wikipedia

She was born "half past Christmas" in Highland Park, Illinois, to George Roberts Jones, a violinist, and Jessie May Orton, a pianist and a writer. Elizabeth was followed by a brother and a sister. During her youth, two Bohemian girls served as cook and nurse in her home, providing an alternative set of cultural norms which surely served as an encouragement for Elizabeth to develop her artistic side.

Her work was very much influenced by the editions of Horn Book Magazine that she got. Her friend Bertha Mahony Miller, an editor of Horn Book, would frequently call from seventeen miles away with ideas for Elizabeth to write about.

Small Rain: Verses from the Bible, a book she illustrated in 1944, was chosen as a Caldecott Honor Book, and in 1945, Prayer for a Child, written by Rachel Field and illustrated by Jones, received the Caldecott Medal.

In her Caldecott acceptance speech, she said:

Drawing is very like a prayer. Drawing is a reaching for something away beyond you. As you sit down to work in the morning, you feel as if you were on top of a hill. And it is as if you were seeing for the first time. You take your pencil in hand. You'd like to draw what you see. And so you begin. You try ... . Every child in the world has a hill, with a top to it. Every child-black, white, rich, poor, handicapped, unhandicapped. And singing is what the top of each hill is for. Singing-drawing-thinking-dreaming-sitting in silence . . . saying a prayer. I should like every child in the world to know that he has a hill, that that hill is his no matter what happens, his and his only, forever.



Book Summary

“Bless this milk and bless this bread.

Bless this soft and waiting bed…..”          

A simple, child-told, prayer comes to life from the perspective of a little girl.  This book is filled with soft and delicate text accompanied with identical illustrations.   Soft and round are a common occurrence.  Ms. Jones at times uses soft yellows, browns and blacks to complete her illustrations.  At times more color is added to the pictures but always done with good taste and appropriateness.   Dolls, Teddy Bears and children’s memories are abundant in the story and illustrations!

Final Thoughts:

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? Maybe

4. Where did I get the book? Pierce County Library

http://www.ortakales.com/illustrators/Jones.html

http://libweb.uoregon.edu/ec/exhibits/childrenslit/eojonesgal.html

Friday, June 17, 2011

Mother Goose! An American Tradtion!


1945 Caldecott Honor: Mother Goose

Written and Illustrated by Tasha Tudor(bio from http://www.tashatudorandfamily.com/)

Tasha Tudor (August 28, 1915-June 18, 2008) is one of America’s best-known and beloved illustrators. Her first little story, Pumpkin Moonshine, was published in 1938.

She illustrated nearly one hundred books, the last being the 2003 release, The Corgiville Christmas. She received many awards and honors, including Caldecott Honors for Mother Goose and 1 is One. Many of her books are printed in foreign languages and distributed around the world. She also created thousand of Christmas cards, Advent calendars, valentines, posters, and other works throughout her 70 year career.

Corgiville Fair was published in 1971 and introduced everyone to the wonderful, idiosyncratic world of the Corgi dog. Tasha Tudor was devoted to Corgyn kept them for years having as many as 13 at one time.

Her Vermont home, though only 30 years old, feels as though it was built in the 1830's, her favorite time period. Seth Tudor, one of Tasha's four children, built her home using hand tools when Tasha moved to Vermont in the 1970's. Tasha Tudor lived among period antiques, using them in her daily life. She was quite adept at 'Heirloom Crafts', though she detested the term, including candle dipping, weaving, soap making, doll making and knitting. She lived without running water until her youngest child was five years old.

From a young age Tasha Tudor was interested in the home arts. She excelled in cooking, canning, cheese-making, ice cream making and many other home skills. As anyone who has eaten at Tasha Tudor's would know, her cooking skills were unsurpassed. She collected eggs from her chickens in the evenings, cooked and baked with fresh goats milk, and used only fresh or dried herbs from her garden. Tasha Tudor was renowned for her Afternoon Tea parties.

Once summer arrives, Tasha Tudor would always leave her art table to spend the season tending her large, beautiful garden which surrounds her home.

Book Summary:

A collection of Mother Goose Rhymes.

Illustrations

These pictures are soft and delicate.  Ms. Tudor had a gentle hand.  She enjoyed painting and was so very talented.  To me it appears watercolor like.  Just a touch of color here and there, never overcrowding the message.  Along with the main pictures there were delightful addends throughout the pages.  A flower here, a star there….  She seemed to sprinkle her books with doodles.

One interesting fact I discovered is that Tasha Tudor was the illustrator for The Secret Garden.  Most people can at least picture this book so get a sense of her style!

Final Thoughts:

1. Would this be a book I would pick up again?Perhaps

2. Would I recommend it to others to search out and take a look at? Not sure

3. Would I spend my hard earned money on the book?maybe for a low price

4. Where did I get the book? Pierce County Library

http://www.tashatudorandfamily.com/

http://www.tashatudormuseum.org/