Artist Steven Petruccio has added his artwork to a free coloring books to be distributed to kids for the Montefoire Children's Hospital Healing Arts program. The coloring book has a Nature theme and was part of an effort through the Picture Book Artists Association.

You can find more information about the coloring book via this link:
http://www.montefiore.org/coloring-pages

And more information about the PBAA:
http://pbaaorg.blogspot.com/

Here is a copy of Steven's page for the coloring book

Kudos to Steven and to all the PBAA artists for contributing their talents to such a worthy cause!

Congratulations to Kate Cosgrove on having her artwork shown in the move "Arthur Newman" which stars Colin Firth and Emily Blount. Look for her 2 pieces of artwork titled "Wheels on the Bus" and "Expect the Unexpected". How exciting!  See the two images here and happy hunting to find them showcased in the movie.

The Four Menards /Titles for Sale

We are happily announcing that the series of "Inky" titles and "The Invisible Giant's Whisper" title are now available for sale on the Apple I-Books site. These books were authored by the Four Menards and illustrated by artist Gabhor Utomo. They can be purchased for the amazing price of .99 cents and up to $4.99. All profits from these books go to school safety! A very worthy cause indeed. Pls. do visit the site and see these whimsical and beautifully illustrated titles.

Art from "The Invisible Giant's Whisper"

Art from the "Inky" series  

Jewish Book Council Starred Review!

Congratulations to artist Craig Orback and author Trudy Ludwig for the wonderful starred review from the Jewish Book Council for "Gifts from the Enemy". This a fantastic book- very worthy of great praise. Here is the review for all to see:

The issue is, how soon do we want to introduce the subject of the Holocaust to children and how? It seems younger and younger. The book under review is adapted from Alter Wiener’s autobiography: From a Name to a Number: A Holocaust Survivor’s Autobiography. The point of this story is that even among evil, one can sometimes find good. The good in this story is the German woman employed in cleaning the factory where the Jews provide slave labor, who brings the boy a sandwich which she hides in a waste can each day. What a righteous act! Using a minimum of text and vocabulary, mostly appropriate for readers ages 9–12 years, Wiener’s story is simplified and depends on the dramatic illustrations for their impact. The text starts out sparse and simple and becomes more ample and mature as the story progresses. The art is the story, however, and it is prize-worthy.

Congratulations to artist Oksana Kemarskaya and Arte Publico Press. The book "The Patchwork Garden" is the recipient of a Skipping Stones Honor Award for 2014! The honor is awarded to books that promote understanding of cultures, cultivate cooperation and encourage a deeper understanding of the world's diversity. Kudos to the author , artist and publisher of this fine book for a job well done!

The book was also named an Honor Book for the Paterson Prize for Books for Young People!

Congratulations to artist Shelley Dieterichs and author Renate A. Moore on the recent release of the book "Mystery Picnic on Stone Mountain". Pls. visit the following charming video to see more about this fun title.

Book trailer link:http://web.photodex.com/view/ba2x4bm4

 

 

Congratulations to artist Craig Orback on a terrific new book review from the School Library Journal for the recently released book "Gifts From the Enemy" published by White Cloud Press.


Ludwig, Trudy. Gifts from the Enemy. illus. by Craig Orback. 32p. glossary. White Cloud. 2014. Tr $17. ISBN 9781935952978.

Gr 4-6–Ludwig bases this picture book on Alter Wiener’s memoir, From a Name to a Number: A Holocaust Survivor’s Autobiography (AuthorHouse, 2007). In a first-person narration, Wiener explains that he was 13 when the German soldiers killed his father; he was 15 when the Nazis came for him. The descriptions of his experiences in the concentration camps are accompanied by Orback’s Norman Rockwell–like illustrations that convey the horror of the time period. The brightly hued illustrations of the small town of Chrzanow are in stark contrast to the dark and agonizing depictions of the camps. Among the darkness and despair, however, came an unexpected gift from the enemy: a German factory worker left him a sandwich every day for the 30 days he worked in the building. The book concludes with an afterword by Wiener, a paragraph explaining the Holocaust, vocabulary, discussion questions, and recommended activities. Teachers will want to read this story as an introduction to the Holocaust or to spark discussion about the importance of kindness in all of our lives.

Artist Craig Orback has one of his paintings featured in an exhibit at the Washington State History museum. Please visit his blog for the details:

 

http://craigorback.blogspot.com/

 

Congratulations to artist Roberta Baird on the success of the "The Swamp Where Gator Hides" , Dawn Publishing. The book and app have been well received in the marketplace and received the following awards:

        2014 IBPPG Next Generation Indie Book Award (Finalist – Children’s Juvenile Non-fiction)

        2014 Green Book Festival Award (Honorable Mention/Children’s Category)

 

 

and The Legend of Ranger won a Mom's Choice Award.

Congratulations to artist Wes Thomas for being chosen by the SCBWI chapter as June's Featured artist of the month! Wes's work will be seen on a banner on their homepage and in the Illustrator's Gallery. Also find information and artwork on their twitter account (@scbwi) and the Facebook fan page (http://www.facebook.com/SCBWI) We hope that everyone enjoys seeing Wes's fabulous artwork!

Charlotte Award/ Craig Orback

Congratulations to Artist Craig Orback! "The Can Man" published by Lee and Low in 2010, has won the  New York State Reading Association's Charlotte Award for 2012.

This is an especially high honor as the winners are voted for by thousands of students across New York State and the winners are only chosen every 2 years.

We wish artist Craig Orback and author Laura E. Williams our heartiest congratulations for touching the lives of so many young people with the wonderful content of "The Can Man" story.

Highlights Award for Roz Fulcher

Congratulations to Roz Fulcher on her 2008 Visual Puzzle of the Year Award from Highlights Magazine! The award was lost in the mails due to a move and it's just arrived now but what a welcome surprise. All our best to Roz for a well deserved acknowledgement of her great work.

Six Book series for Gabhor Utomo

Just out in the marketplace is the six book series of "I Wish I Were a.." Furry Ferret, Speedy Cheetah, Humpback Whale, Komodo Dragon, Enormous Elephant and Howler Monkey" with artwork by artist Gabhor Utomo.

The books were written by Christina Jordan and published by Magic Wagon, a division of ADBO Group. Our congratulations to Gabhor on a fabulous collection of books and great illustration. We hope that children will enjoy the books and that they'll do wonderfully in the marketplace.

Steven James Petruccio in Exhibit

Steven James Petruccio's illustrations were recently part of the exhibition, "American Nostalgia: Contemporary artists and illustrators reinterpret the traditional themes ofNorman Rockwell" , in Fullerton, CA.. More than thirty years after his death, iconic American artist Norman Rockwell’s art is still enormously popular. This invitational group exhibition examined the enduring themes represented in the art of Norman Rockwell–patriotism, family and the American ideal. Steven's illustrations were created for magazines including Scholastic News.

Artist Ilene Richard

Artist Ilene Richard has been excelling in the Fine Art world with her acrylic paintings. She is currently involved in a show that is hanging in Neimann Marcus on Newberry Street in Boston. She has presented 8 paintings for the Woman and Self Esteem show that will be on display until November 30th, 2011. Go and check out Ilene's wonderful, provocative and colorful ladies.

Artist Wes Thomas

Artist Wes Thomas has completed 4 Cloverleaf Books for Lerner Publishing/ Millbroook on protecting our environment. The books are titled: "Choose to Reuse", "Power Up to Fight Pollution", "Rally for Recycling", and "Go Easy on Energy". All titles were written by Lisa Bullard. We know that Wes's enjoyable collage style artwork and great whimsy will make these books fun for children to read and be educational in teaching them how to keep our world clean and safe.

Wes was invited by Lerner to share how he creates his fun collage artwork on their Lerner blog. We invite you to click on this link to check it out:

http://lernerbooks.blogspot.com/2011/09/q-with-illustrator-wes-thomas.html

Steven James Petruccio

Artist Steven James Petruccio has been selected as a recipient of the 2012 Rip Van Winkle Award which recognizes a Hudson Valley author/illustrator for their body of work. Our hearty congratulations to Steven for this impressive accomplishment!

News from Artist Jennifer Merz:
I'm happy to say that I've been invited to be on a panel with and for Ed Young, Caldecott Medalist. He was my first teacher of children's book illustration and was the one who set me on the road of ripped-paper dummies and torn-paper collages!

The event will be held on Sunday, March 7th at 3 p.m., at the Hastings-on-Hudson Public Library, NY. The library writes it up as follows:

"CELEBRATE ED YOUNG:
An event for adults... Ed Young will talk about the influence of Hastings and the Hudson River on his work and then a panel of illustrators, educators, and librarians will talk about the influence of Ed Young on other work. Reception follows. An online auction will begin March 7th to sell 2 original Ed Young artworks, with proceeds benefiting the library."

For further info:

www.hastingslibrary.org
www.edyoungart.com

Hope to see you there!

Artist Jennifer Merz blogs: I am very excited to be joining StoryBook Arts. I'm looking forward to a very creative and productive relationship!



--Her picture book "Playground Day" from Clarion will soon be available in the Korean Marketplace. We're looking forward to seeing how they translate her rhyming text.



--She recently completed an author visit -book signing for the Daisy Girl Scouts (6 yr olds) of Ridgewood, N.J. They were very enthusiastic and appreciative audience, about 85 girls in all (including 4th grade helpers) and enjoyed learning how she creates a picture book-starting with torn paper. They loved her PowerPoint demo and doing a craft too.



--On May 13th, Jennifer had another visit scheduled: this one for Chapel School in Bronxville, N.Y. She will present to 3 different groups over the course of the day..to 175 children in all! This visit will be very special because her 4 yr. old niece will be in the audience too!



--On Sunday, (5/3), Jennifer enjoyed meeting Anahid Hamparian, the Art Director of Marchall Cavendish at a CBIG meeting. Anahid was so generous with her information and her time: she looked at everyones portfolio and distributed all of her sample books at the end of the meeting!



--Jennifer's website is getting a face lift and the changes can be seen at http://www.jennifermerz.com/ Please take a moment to look.

Artist Shawn Costello is an Art Teacher at Lisbon Elementary in Howard County, MD. Faculty and students recently took part in an Earth Day Parade singing "This Land is My Land". The students participated in different activities throughout the day learning about conversation and ecology.

There was also a 5th Grade art show at the end of May showcasing a charcoal portrait for each student created by Shawn. The show was an opportunity to exhibit the portraits along with the children's artwork. Refreshments were served and parents took the opportunity to donate to the art program.