Grandmother and I are sitting on the big chair, rocking. We rock back and forth, and back and forth.
Other people have laps for sitting on and backs for riding on. But when you have a cold or lighting is coming, nothing feels quite as right as rocking on Grandmother's lap, listening to the little tunes that she hums.
Grandmother and I are sitting on the big chair, rocking. We rock back and forth, and back and forth.
Other people have laps for sitting on and backs for riding on. But when you have a cold or lighting is coming, nothing feels quite as right as rocking on Grandmother's lap, listening to the little tunes that she hums.
Helen E. Buckley, author of Grandfather and I, Grandmother and I,
and Where Did Josie Go?, lives in Bradenton, Florida, and Pulaski,
New York. Jan Omerod, author-artist of Who's Whose?, Ben Goes
Swimming, and Emily Dances, who also illustrated Sky Dancer by Jack
Bushnell, lives in Cambridge, England. In Her Own Words..."I grew
up in the fifties, in a series of small towns in Western Australia,
with three older sisters. As a child I drew constantly and
compulsively, inspired by beautifully drawn schoolgirl annuals from
England. I secretly devoured forbidden American comics, poring over
the draughtsmanship.
"I went to art school at a time when the practice of drawing was
regarded as the underpinning of all activity in the visual
arts'coming to know' by looking closely and recording honestly. All
my options took me into the fine arts--drawing, painting, and
sculpture. I was obsessed with the human face, figure, and gesture.
I became an Associate of the Western Australian Institute of
Technology and Design in Art Education and taught art in secondary
schools on enrichment programs for talented students, then lectured
in a teachers college and in art schools.
"As a young woman I was not very maternal, and intended not to have
children. My first pregnancy was entirely unplanned. My books have
largely been a celebration and savoring of the positive experience
of parenthood I had not anticipated-the fun, warmth, and love.
Designing picture books for young children, I am aware that such
books are almost always shared by the child and a caring adult. I
find the challenge of communicating with both child and
adult-working on two levels in one book--a demanding, intriguing
and rewarding task. I design picture books for children and adults
because I depend on the adult to create the right atmosphere and
help children read them. When this happens, it is a time for
physical closeness and comfort, a quiet time for sharing ideas and
feelings, for laughing and learning together. Anyone who takes time
to share books with young children is rewarded and revitalized by
the experience every time.
"My task as a visual storyteller is to observe, record, and edit.
Some images go straight from life into a book. Most need to be
carefully sifted, reinvented, reorganized. Telling a story with
words and pictures is a little like watching a movie, then
selecting the evocative moment like a still taken from a film. I
need to capture the moment that has clarity and simplicity, invites
empathy, and allows the reader to bring her own knowledge to that
moment, to enrich it, and develop it according to her own life
experiences.
"I now live in Cambridge, England with my two daughters, Sophie and
Laura. We return to Australia to be with my family and friends as
often as we can."
"Tailor-made for cozy reading."-- School Library Journal (starred review)
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