Author: tiffanydickinson

Hello Friends,

Today I want to share with you a snapshot into the lives of children’s book illustrator, E. H. Shepard, and writer, A. A. Milne, from the fascinating book I’ve been reading called, “The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh, A Walk Through the Forest that Inspired the Hundred Acre Wood,” by Kathryn Aalto.

E. H. Shepard’s mother was Harriet Jessie Lee. She had grown up with an artist father. Therefore, she encouraged her son’s interest in drawing by providing notebooks and pencils for him to carry with him wherever he went. Kathryn Aalto says on page 57, “Through time, he developed a photographic memory for drawing scenes, events, and gestures.”

Shepard experienced a happy childhood with his parents and two older siblings until he was eleven. But Aalto says on page 58, “One day his mother, bedridden for months, bid the children a cheery goodbye for what they perhaps thought…

In one month, The Carle Museum of Picture Book art will hold its annual Carle Honors, awarding four people/entities who have made significant contributions to the art form.

Also that evening, September 27th, final bids are accepted on original artwork by picture book masters. The auction goes live on August 31, and you can browse and bid here: https://501auctions.com/carlehonors2018.

If you could ask the Carle Honorees one question, what might it be? My question is here—

“Why are picture books an art form to enjoy not only in childhood, but through every age, every stage of life?”

—and the answers are diverse and delightful, just like picture books themselves.

Paul O. Zelinsky
2018 Carle Honors Artist

“Why are pictures an art form to be enjoyed by people of all ages?  Well, that has to be a function of what picture books exist in the world to be enjoyed. Some, aimed…