Margaret chodos irvine biography of christopher

Happy 4th of July!

And what better way to celebrate our nation&#;s founding than (checks notes), ah, by celebrating the books that exist in this fine country? Okay, so my reasoning for posting this preview of upcoming titles coming out of Levine Querido is tentative at best. Whatever the case, you can just assume that I was so excited to premiere these books that I simply couldn&#;t wait for the holiday to pass. And believe me, after you get an eyeful of some of these titles, you may be inclined to feel the same way.

Makers by Young Vo

ISBN:

Publication Date: August 27,

If you saw and loved Young Vo&#;sGibberish then have I got a treat for you! Vo&#;s the kind of fellow who has a delightful sense of humor that comes across in everything (even his emails). In his latest book, he uses visual language and metaphor to tell a story of friendship between two boys. Van and Minh live in a village beside the sea and both has aspirations to be boatmakers so as to sail across it. One boy is a perfectionist, trying to make everything absolutely perfect. His friend is the opposite, always chasing the next new idea. As a result, neither can bring anything to completion. That means they have to blend their creative styles to get things done. I suspect a number of us will be able to relate (at least to one boy).

Quill the Forest Keeper by Marije Tolman, translated from the Dutch by David Colmer

ISBN:

Publication Date: August 13,

Something about this cover looked familiar to me. And it wasn&#;t just the fact that the creator, Marije Tolman, did the wholly beautiful picture book Little Fox (released in the U.S. in ). No, it was something else. Something a little more recent. Something like&#; my blog post from March 16, Books From Bologna: Titles I’d Love to See in America (Part Two). Looks like at least one of my pray

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Looking through my old books for my Fairy Tales post last month was an enjoyable, but somewhat eerie experience. I feel as though those books imprinted themselves on my brain on some deeply primordial level. The thoughts and ponderings I had in my head as a child are still there, just waiting for the right images to make them pop back up again.

Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne, &#;decorations&#; by Ernest H. Shepard, causes this phenomenon to happen. I found this copy at my parent&#;s house recently.

When I read this book now I hear voices. Well, not actually voices, just one voice &#; my mother&#;s &#; with the same intonation and cadence she used as she read the poems to me before I could read them myself. This is especially true with those that are my favorites, the ones that I must have made her read to me over and over again.  For example, this one.

The answer to the question was deliciously obvious and thrilling to me. It  echoed what I often heard.

Here is an image that I remember staring at and wondering about. It&#;s from &#;The Little Black Hen&#;.

&#;But I&#;ll lay you a beautiful

   Eastery egg,

If you&#;ll show me the nettle-place

   On your leg.&#;

So for years I thought nettles left pinfeather-like spines sticking out of your skin. Re-examining the picture now I think those lines are supposed to represent Christopher Robin&#;s fingers, but I still see them as an anomaly.

Tales From Grimm, illustrated by Wanda Gág, was part of my fairy tale collection. I was able to read by the time Mom brought this book home from a library discard sale.

Gág&#;s drawings are comfortingly lumpy and solid with the pleasing line textures common in illustrations from the 30s and 40s. They make me happy.

Years later I saw Gág&#;sMillions of Cats for the first time and it was like visiting with an old friend. Familia

My House is Singing (mixed media)
Margaret Chodos-Irvine, illustrator
Betsy R. Rosenthal, author
Harcourt

Margaret Chodos-Irvine came from a long line of craftspeople. As a child, she enjoyed illustrating stories her father told to her. As she began school, she moved on to illustrate fairytales and worked on her high school's publications. At the University of Oregon, she studied anthropology and art. Chodoes-Irvine worked as a commercial artist for many years. In , she illustrated her first book, Buzz, by Janet Wong.

She has approached her work as if tailoring a suit or cobbling a shoe. It has to fit and look beautiful at the same time. To do so, she used a variety of printmaking techniques to create innovative patterns, vivid colors, and uniquely textured imagery in her work. At the posting of this exhibit, she has illustrated twelve books for children and has been recognized with starred reviews and other honors, most notably a Caldecott Honor Award for Ella Sarah Gets Dressed, one of the most delightful read alouds of all time.