Cathi's Author/ Illustrator Handout

Audrey Wood

 Audrey comes from a legacy of artists.  Her  great-grandfather, grandfather and father were all professional artists.  She fell in love with reading by age three.  She was trained in music, dance , painting and drama.   In the first grade, she decided she wanted to be an artist like her father.  In the fourth grade she  decided she wanted to be a children’s book author.    Both of her childhood desires have become reality.   She married Don Wood.  They have a son named Bruce.  When Bruce was little she realized she wanted to write books seriously.  After seven years of marriage, Audrey and Don teamed up together to create their first picture book together.  Together they have created many picture books.  Audrey also has collaborated with her son on several books.  Bruce passed away in 2007.

Don Wood

  Don grew up on a farm in California.   In the sixth grade Don had forty acres of potatoes that he took care of on the farm.  It was also in the sixth grade that Don decided  he wanted to be an artist.  His father was worried about his career choice.  Luckily his brothers decided they wanted to run the farm.  Don was able to pursue his dreams. 

Don attended the University of California at Santa Barbara.  While doing graduate work at the California College of Arts and Crafts, he met his wife Audrey.  After six months, they were married.  They have a son named Bruce.  Don was illustrating magazines.  Audrey began writing children’s picture books.  It seemed only natural for him to illustrate  one of her books.  He has been illustrating children’s picture books ever since.

Author/ Illustrator Style

Don tells that almost every book he has illustrated features a different style.  He feels he has to reinvent himself with each new book. “Each book seems to demand its own voice from Audrey—and its own illustration style from me.  The “how” of deciding which style to use remains an absolute mystery to me. It must be an unconscious process—or more likely, a series of linked unconscious or intuitive processes.” Don Wood

Audrey says that she draws upon her experiences as a child to write her books. She also uses experiences with her son and her experiences as a grown-up.  She also writes about her dreams, daydreams and just about anything that tickles her fancy!

 

Annotated Book List

*Wood, Audrey and Don. King Bidgood's in the Bathtub (Caldecott Honor Book)1985.

The king will not get out of the bathtub and attend to his duties.  The knight, the Queen, the duke and others try to persuade him to get out of the tub. 

*Wood, Audrey and Don.  The Napping House(1985).   Naptime at Granny’s house begins with Granny in the bed.  She is joined one at a time by a dreaming child, a dozing dog, a snoozing cat, a slumbering mouse and a wakeful flea.    The flea bites the mouse and everyone is awakened and the bed breaks.  Everyone is awake!

*Wood, Audrey and Don. The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear(1984).  A little mouse picks a red ripe strawberry.  The mouse really loves strawberries but so does the Big Hungry Bear.  The mouse tries to hide the strawberry from the bear.  The mouse realizes the only way to  be saved is to share the strawberry with the bear.

 

Websites:

http://www.audreywood.com/

http://www.audreywoodauthor.com/

http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/613.html

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/audrey-wood

http://www.lessonplanet.com/search?keywords=authors+study+audrey+wood

References:

http://www.harcourtbooks.com/authorinterviews/bookinterview_Wood.asp

http://www.audreywood.com/audrey-wood,-don-wood,-and-bruce-wood/audrey-woods-biography

 

The Big Fuzzy

The Big Fuzzy

Author: Caroline Castle

Illustrated: Daniel Howarth

Copyright: 2007

Published by:  QEB Publishing Inc.

Number of Pages:  24

Genre:  Multicultural Picture Book

            One of my friends gave me this book as a gift.  This book is about a family that lives in Greenland.  They are Inuit People.  They live in an igloo.  The main character in this book is a little girl named Sira.  Her mother is sick so she is to go fishing.  She has to take her little brother Ivik with her.  He is very young and Sira carries him on her back.  Ivik sleeps most of the time.  Sira begins ice fishing.  She catches a fish.  Ivik wakes up and discovers a polar bear which he calls “Big Fuzzy”.  Sira does not notice the bear.  Ivik ends up feeding the fish to the bear.  A blizzard comes and they get lost in the storm.  Sira has no idea what has happened to the fish.  They end up in a cave and quickly fall asleep.   Big Fuzzy ends up carrying Sira and Ivik home and he leaves them a fish to eat.

            The illustrations in this red are rendered in watercolors.  The colors in this book are cool colors.  The background in this story is primarily done in shades of blue.  The characters in this book are done in bright colors that depict the cultural of the Inuit people.  The illustrations in this book are done in double page spreads to give great detail.  The text placement is informal. 

            This book would be appropriate for children age 4 to about 8 years old.  I would use this book to teach the children about Greenland.  I would also use this book to teach about the Inuit people.   I would also use this book to reach about polar bears and also winter weather.  This book has not won any awards or honors.

Strega Nona's Gift

 

Strega Nona’s Gift

Author:  Tomie dePaola

Illustrated by: Tomie dePaola

Copyright:  2011

Published by:  Nancy Paulsen Book

Number of pages:  30

Genre:  Picture Book-Multicultural

 

            I chose this book because I love the original Stega Nona book.  This book is about a boy Anthony and his grandmother.  It takes place during the Christmas holiday season.  The story follows Big Anthony and Stega Nona during the Feast of San Nicola, the Feast of Santa Lucia, La Vigilia, the Zamoagnari, the Feast of San Silvestro and the Feast of the Three Kings.  Big Anthony ends up making a mistake on the Eve of Epifania that he ate the goat’s food.  The goat became mad and ate Anthony’s blanket.  Big Anthony is able to make a wish on the Feast of the Three Kings so he wished for some food for the goat and a new blanket. 

            The art in this story was created with transparent acrylics on handmade watercolor paper.  The illustrations are in panels and have a formal text placement.  The pictures are done in done in warm Mediterranean colors.  The colors are warm yellows and oranges and vivid blues.  The illustrations are on single page spread.  The illustrations are whimsical and the characters have exaggerated features.

            This book would be great for both young preschoolers as well as elementary grades up to about third grade.  I would use this book to discuss the different feasts of the holiday season.  I would use this in a unit about Christmas around the world.   I would also use this book to talk about Italy and Italian culture.  I would also use this book in an author study about Tomie dePaolo.  This book received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award.

Bee-bim Bop

Bee-bim Bop

Author: Linda Sue Park

Illustrator: Ho Baek Lee

Copyright: 2005

Published by: Clarion Books

Number of Pages: 28

Genre: Picture Book-Multicultural

 

            The librarian at the public library helped me pick this book out.  Once I looked through the book, I thought it would be a good book to share with children.  This is a story about a little girl that is cooking with her mother.  The book takes place in the kitchen with the mother and daughter cooking together.  The story is basically the little girl helping her mom make some bee-bim bop.  Bee-bim Bop is a like a fried rice dish.  Bop means rice and Bee-bim means mixed up.  So basically it is mixed up rice.  The story takes you to the store to buy the ingredients, cooking the meal and then setting the table for the meal and finally enjoying the food. 

            The illustrations in this story are rendered in watercolors.  The illustrations are created using a double page spread.  The illustrator uses whimsical drawing to illustrate this sweet story.  Even though this story is about a mom and a daughter cooking together, the illustrator only shows the mom from the shoulders down until the end of the book.  The text placement is informal.  The illustrations are great at depicting action.  There is a great picture of the mom cutting vegetables and the single drawing did a great job showing action.

            This book would be great for ages 4 to about 10.  I would use this book in a multicultural unit about Korea.  The illustrations depict some typical Korean dress.  This would be a great book to talk about families and how even though people are from different cultures that families are very similar.   I would use this book to prepare an actual Bee-bim Bop with my class.  This book is also a great poetry book.  I would point out the rhyme and rhythm in this story as well.     This book has won several awards and honors.  It has won New York Public Library, 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, and Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year.

The Sons of the Dragon King: A Chinese Legend

The Sons of the Dragon King: A Chinese Legend

Author: Ed Young

Illustrated by: Ed Young

Copyright:  2004

Published by: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Number of pages: 23

Genre: Traditional Literature-Multicultural

I just happened to find this book by accident one day.  This is the story of the Dragon King.  He had nine sons.  When they grew up they moved away.  The king began to hear rumors about his sons.  The Dragon King observes what everyone else sees as weaknesses in his sons.  He is able to look beyond the weakness and come up with an attribute that is useful to the kingdom.  Many of the symbols that each son is given are still used in architecture still today.

            The illustrations in this book are rendered in brush, ink and cut paper.   This book uses several different types of text placements.  On some pages the text is on one side of a page spread and the illustrations are on the opposite side of the page spread.  On other pages the text is placed around an illustration on the page.  The only colors in the illustrations in this book are black and red.  The illustrations are placed in a single panel on a page.  A few of the pages have vignettes on them.  The ink illustrations in this book are very reminiscent of calligraphy.

            This book would be appropriate for grades one through four.  I would use this book to teach of about China.  I would also use this book to teach about the Dragon King and how it is used in Chinese culture.  I would also use this book to talk about discovering strengths.  In this book the sons had not discovered their full potential.  In this story the Dragon King helps the sons find their gift.  This book has not received any awards but Ed Young is a Caldecott winner for another book he wrote and illustrated.

In One Tidepool: Crabs, Snails and Salty Tails

In One Tidepool:

Crabs, Snails and Salty Tails

Author: Anthony D. Fredericks

Illustrator: Jennifer DiRubbio

Copyright: 2002

Published by:  Dawn Publications

Number of Pages: 24

Genre:  Non-Fiction

            I chose this book because of the inviting cover.  When I picked up the book and flipped through the pages, I was immediately drawn to the gorgeous illustrations.  This book is about the tidepools.  The book tells about the different animals that live in the tidepools.  The book is a cumulative rhyme.  The story talks about all the different creatures that live in the tidepool.  The story mentions crabs, barnacles, anemones, snails, starfishes and sponges.  My favorite part of the book is on the first page.  It is a letter to the reader written by the sea star. 

            The illustrations in this story are rendered in realistic watercolors.  The colors in this story are very vivid.  There are rich blues used to depict the water. The illustrators use brilliant coral colors and turquoise colors.  The red color in the sea star is a rich and vivid red. The illustrations are done on full page spreads.  There is a great attention to detail.  The text placement in this book is informal.

            This book would be appropriate for ages 4 years old up to about 10 years old.   I would use this book to teach about sea life.  I would specifically use it to talk about tidepools and the sea life that inhabits it.  I would also use this book to teach about ecology and the environment.    This book would also be great in a poetry unit because of its unique cumulative quality.  This book has won the Missouri State Teachers Association Recommended Reading List award.