Children's Literature Festival
Gallery Collection Adds Works by Andrew Glass, Steven Kellogg, and Tasha Tudor
The Children's Literature Festival Gallery has added five new pieces to its growing collection, and three of these works are by artists not formerly represented in our collection.
We purchased a double-page spread by Festival 2008 presenter Steven Kellogg from Clorinda by Robert Kinerk (2003). This colorful illustration, in mixed water-based mediums, of the bovine ballerina Clorinda dancing before her barnyard friends will be used for the 2009 Festival flyer and poster. Steven has two other pieces in our collection, including one of the Festival owls.
We've also added two pieces by Tasha Tudor from the book Brite and Fair by Henry A. Shute. The pencil illustration and are from an edition printed in Peterborough, N.H., in 1968. One is of an old man with a turtle and the other is of the father in a doorway. They will be matted and framed together.
2008 Festival presenter Andrew Glass of New York donated two illustrations, both from The Erie Canal Pirates by Eric A. Kimmel (2002) who also presented at our 2008 Festival. The illustrations were created using oil-base paint, colored pencil, and turpenoid on paper. In discussing these works, Glass said, "I tried to approach the illustrations ... reflecting the spirit of half-reality fun in which the story was written, mixing slow-moving canal boats and swash-buckling pirates. There were real canal pirates on the canal, of course, but they weren't very swashbuckling - just armed thugs, probably dozing on the bank, waiting for what must have been an incredibly slow moving boat that certainly wasn't full of gold doubloons. I decided to go with the high-seas version of Bill McGrew, even if he was just the Terror of Buffalo."
2009-2010 Festival Scholarship Recipients Named
Each year the Festival gives one or two scholarships to deserving students. For eligibility requirements, check our Scholarships page. The selected students serve as student assistants at the Fall Festival, introduce one of the featured speakers, and do a three-credit independent study under the direction of Festival Director Dr. David E. White.
This year's recipients have designed projects directly related to some of the 2009 Festival speakers.
Peter Best, of Bow, NH, is majoring in English and Secondary Education, with a minor in writing. After graduating in May 2010, he will pursue a secondary teaching position, hopefully in New Hampshire. His independent study will examine how 2009 Festival speaker Jane Yolen has envisioned aspects of the Arthurian legend in five of her works.
Kade Hill, of Turner, ME, is also majoring in English and Secondary Education, with a minor in Film Studies. After graduating in May 2010, he will pursue teaching English, Film, and Theater in a secondary school in New England. His independent study will merge his interest in children's literature and film. He will be interviewing three of the 2009 speakers regarding the film adaptations of their novels.
Leonard Weisgard Donations to Festival Gallery Collection
Leonard Weisgard and Others: an Illustrator's Journey, an exhibit showcasing the work of Caldecott Award winner Leonard Weisgard (1916-2000) and other artists, was on display at the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery at Keene State College from June 7 to July 27, 2008. His three children, Ethan, Christina, and Abigail Weisgard, who live in Denmark, attended the opening reception on June 13th and presented Festival Director Dr. David E. White with two works for the Festival Gallery Collection.
The first was the cover of The Golden Egg Book when it was republished in 1971. "We were living in Denmark by then, and I think Leonard's choice of flowers is inspired by the Danish summers - lots of poppies and cornflowers!" Abby Weisgard explained. "He used a combination of gouache and collage, often dipping sponges in paint and using stencils. The other illustration is from The Macmillan Science-Life Series."
This second piece was framed with the tissue paper overlay on which Leonard Weisgard had written notes. The Festival is delighted to have these very significant pieces now hanging as part of our collection. We extend deep appreciation to the Weisgard family for their donation.
Three New Artists Represented in the Festival Collection
Three new artists have been added to the Festival Gallery Collection, and all three are from New Hampshire!
Lita Judge
We have sketches and two finished watercolor illustrations from One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of WWII (2007). Lita was honored at the UN in October 2008 for this book. She said:
"These illustrations represent a true story based on the efforts my grandparents made to help people suffering after WWII. I used a realistic style to convey the historical nature of the story and to tie in with actual historical artifacts and photos used elsewhere in the book. 'Dropped From the Heavens' [one of our two illustrations] appears early in the book. The somber, blue and grey color depicts the fact that this is shortly after the war and the mother and daughter have learned how much they need to help people who are suffering in Europe. 'Father is Home' [the second illustration in our collection] appears near the end of the book. The bright, warm colors illustrate that it is a much happier time. Here, the family has succeeded in helping those who were suffering, and life is returning to normal. I spent every summer of my childhood living with my grandparents in their rustic farmhouse. My memory of this place was a great influence to the artwork."
Marty Kelley
We have sketches and finished illustrations from two of Marty's books. We have the cover of Winter Woes (2004) done in transparent watercolor, black ink, and white ink. Marty said, "I chose the basic diagonal composition as a way to visually represent speed. The picture is intentionally close-cropped to leave some mystery about both where the boy has come from and, more importantly, where he might be headed. The text is a goofy rhyming story, so I decided to work in a very stylized cartoon-like way that reflected the light-hearted feel of the text. Working on the paintings for this book was a lot of fun, because spraying all the white ink around was really messy. (Cleaning my studio after making the pictures was not so much fun.)"
Marty also said that the illustrations for Twelve Terrible Things (2008) "were the most difficult and the most rewarding ones I have done yet. The concept of the book is simple - a child's eye view of all the terrible things in life: dropped ice cream cones, the dentist, monsters under the bed, and granny coming to pinch your cheeks. The illustrations themselves were not simple at all ... The humor in this book is much darker than anything else I have done, and I had to be very careful with the ideas and artwork, as it was all too easy for things to go from subtly dark to simply frightening."
Beth Krommes (this year's recipient of the Caldecott Award)
We have sketches and finished art done in scratchboard, then printed on acid-free paper, to which watercolor is later added. Our selection is from the second book Beth illustrated, The Lamp, the Ice, and the Boat Called Fish (2001). Beth pointed out that this "is the true story of the survivors of the boat called 'Fish,' part of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, after it became trapped in the ice off the coast of Alaska in 1913. Abandoned by the leader of the expedition, the scientists, crew, and an Inupiaq family lived for a time in a makeshift camp on the ice floe around the boat. They then walked almost 100 miles over the sea ice to Wrangel Island, where they struggled to survive until they were rescued months later ... This particular scene takes place during to walk to Wrangel Island over the sea ice."
Festival Display Cabinet Dedicated
In February 2004, as part of his sabbatical project, Dr. David E. White, Festival Director, initiated a fund-raising project to have a special Festival Collection display case built in Rhodes Hall, site of the Gallery Collection. Rhodes Hall is the most popular building on campus according to institutional research. Prospective students and their families tour the building when they visit our campus. In the middle of the Gallery is a large, curved cherry wall.
After two years, Dr. White was successful in raising enough money to have designed and constructed a lockable display case for this wall. The back of the cabinet is the cherry wall; the wood molding of the cabinets is cherry, as well. This cabinet will be used for rotating shows of various illustrations, displays of books by speakers at our annual October Festival, and additional educational presentations. The cabinet was designed by Maynard & Maynard Furnituremakers who also submitted the winning bid for its construction.
There were 70 donors who met the requirements for three different classifications of giving. Seven were in the highest donor category and they are Great Gray Owl Donors. Three of these donors are Mrs. Polly L. Croteau, former professor of Children's Literature at Keene State College, and her daughter and son-in-law. One donor was in the Snowy Owl category and 62 were in the Elf Owl classification. The display case was dedicated on Saturday, October 28, 2006 prior to the 30th Festival. It contained works by some of the 2007 Festival speakers.
Great Gray Owl Donors
Eileen Christelow
Polly L. Croteau
Sydney Croteau-Frechette (in honor of Polly L. Croteau)
David Frechette (in honor of Polly L. and Bob Croteau)
Henry W. Maier
Jane Yolen and David Stemple
Snowy Owl Donors
Hans Wilhelm, Inc.
Elf Owl Donors
Janine and Lloyd Alexander
Gail Ancliffe
Natalie Babbitt
Julie and Jim Bannon
Angela Marie and Bruce R. Breton
Joseph Bruchac
Ashley F. Bryan
Betsy Byars
Susan S. Callahan
Corporate Board Books
Susan Cooper Cronyn
Lulu Delacre
Tomie dePaola
Debra S. Finelli
Russell Freedman
Jean Fritz
Jack Gantos
Jean Craighead George
Gail Gibbons
Diane Goode
Diane L. Janson
Judy J. Kalich
Helen and Steven Kellogg
Elaine L. Konigsburg
Lesa A. Lakeman-McDonald and Douglas McDonald
Carol García Landry and Family
Blair Lent
Betsy and Ted Lewin
Debra and Donald Libby
Peter Lourie
Kathy and Steve Mallat
Patricia C. and Fredrick McKissack
Florence and Wendell Minor
Amy Elizabeth and Dennis Shea Mullen
Katherine and John Paterson
Jerry Pinkney
Kim and Robert Rayevsky
Gloria and Ted Rand
Ruth C. Sanderson
Trina Schart Hyman
Marcia Osgood Sewall
David Shannon
James Skofield
Chris K. Soentpiet
Eileen and Jerry Spinelli
Claudia M. Sysyn
Mark Teague
Cynthia Voigt
Vera B. Williams
MaryLou and Stanley J. Yarosewick