Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for November 26, 2024

I must have read this Brooklyn born author's 1983 book Jamberry out loud more than a hundred times through the years--"One berry, two berry, pick me a blueberry,,," He also illustrated the work of other writers, such as the Magic School Bus series by Joanna Cole, the Commander Toad stories by Jane Yolen, and the Jesse Bear books by Nancy White Carlstrom. He worked as an art teacher, a printmaker, and even painted scenery for operas. He wanted to make books for children that could be "funny and beautiful." He and his wife and two sons lived in Connecticut, where he died of pancreatic cancer this month on Nov. 7th, 2024. This was the author/illustrator Bruce Degen.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for November 12, 2024

 This Indiana-born writer wrote non-fiction for children, often illustrated with her husband's photographs. She wrote The Weaver's Gift about how wool becomes a child's blanket, and The Puppeteer which explored the crafters' artistic concerns. For her 1990 book Dinosaur Dig she and her husband packed up the kids and moved from Cambridge, MA to the Badlands of Montana. She was greatly interested in history, and her book The Night Journey tells of a Jewish girl and her family's dangerous flight from Czarist Russia. She once said that she didn't care if her readers didn't remember a single fact, as long as they came away with a sense of joy. Her name is Kathryn Lasky, and her husband is Christopher Knight.