Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for January 23, 2024

  Born in 1958 in Washington D.C., this author/illustrator grew up in Spokane WA. He wrote his first book at the age of 5 and illustrated every page with a drawing of himself doing something he shouldn't. He was disruptive in class and his teachers would often let him work on a mural to keep him quiet. His art could be straightforward, as in Hiawatha and the Peacemakers by Robbie Robertson, or wild and wacky, as in his Caldecott-winning picture book about his naughty childhood. This is David Shannon, and the book is No, David!

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for January 16, 2024

 This Afro-American author/illustrator from Spokane, WA says he didn't realize there were other cultures until he read the encyclopedia, because the books he found in school and at the library made it seem as though the whole world was White. His first book as an author (although not the illustrator) told the story of Bill Taylor, a former slave turned folk artist. He went on to write and illustrate several award-winning books and did the art for "The Cart that Carried Martin," about the cart and the two mules Belle and Ada that carried Martin Luther King Jr.'s body through the streetes of Atlanta to his burial place. This is the wonderful Don Tate, whom I had the honor of meeting at a Highlights Chautauqua workshop many years ago.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for January 9, 2024

    This New Jersey children's book editor-turned author created a series for young teens where a group of girls (based on her god-daughters) form a baby-sitting club. The series debuted in 1986, and the girls handled childcare emergencies and made trips to the mall, dealt with family death and divorce all while earning their own spending money. The series was so popular it was translated into 19 languages and even spawned a series for younger readers about the babysitters' little sisters. In 2019 the books began appearing as graphic novels. The author is Ann M. Martin.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for january 2, 2024

 This author felt beginning readers needed humor, so she created a literal minded housekeeper. When this character was told to call the roll, she shouts, "Hey, roll!" When asked to "draw the drapes", she sketches them. To "put the lights out" she takes them outside, and to "plant the bulbs" she puts light bulbs in the flowerpots. There is a statue of this character outside the library in Manning, South Carolina, the town where author Peggy Parish was born in 1927.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for December 19, 2023

 When this Massachusetts writer read an article about the "pallid primers" featuring "abnormally courteous, unnaturally clean children" that kids learning to read found boring, he came up with an early reader in 1957 that featured wild misbehavior--subversive for that time. The book became the first of  17 books in the Random House series Beginner Books, which featured limited vocabulary but unlimited creativity, fun language and zany illustrations. This was Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss and that first book in the series was Cat in the Hat.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for December 12, 2023

 This author/illustrator was a successful artist in Italy and earned a degree in economics before moving to the US in 1939 and working as art director for magazines and as head of the graphic design dept. at Parsons School of Design. On a train trip with his grandchildren, he tore up a magazine and created a story, which led to his later career as a children's author. He is one of the very few who had four books listed as Caldecott Honor Books for their illustrations. His collage story Swimmy, about little fish who join together to form one big fish to avoid being eaten, is one of his most famous. This is Leo Lionni.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for December 5, 2023

 This author grew up struggling to read, and he credits his storytelling grandmother and his 5th grade teacher who read aloud to the class twice a day with his ability to appreciate the sounds of language. He became an editor and created reading programs at a publisher and then began writing books of his own, meant to be read aloud, that featured repetition and rhythm and encouraged the child audience to participate. His most famous books were illustrated by Eric Carle (Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See?) and Lois Ehlert (Chicka Chicka Boom Boom). This was Bill Martin Jr., 1916-2004.