picture books

Celebrating Gail E. Haley, Charlotte’s Winner of the Caldecott Medal

November 01, 2021 by Mark West
Categories: Storied Charlotte

Fifty years ago, Gail E. Haley, Charlotte’s most famous picture book author, received the Caldecott Medal for her picture book A Story A Story.  The Caldecott Medal is the most prestigious picture book award given in the United States, and Haley was catapulted to the top of the picture book world when she received this award.  In celebration of this anniversary, the J. Murrey Atkins Library at UNC Charlotte is sponsoring two upcoming events and an exhibit related to Haley’s “life and artistry.” Adreonna Bennett, the Community Engagement Archivist at Akins Library, working collaboratively with a team of librarians and other staff members associated with Atkins Library, organized this celebration. I contacted Adreonna and asked her for more information.  Here is what she sent to me:

Gail Haley is a native Charlottean born in 1939 and raised in the township of Shuffletown, which is a stone’s throw away from the city’s northern edge. From a young age, Haley showed an interest in the arts and literature. Her father, who was an art director for The Charlotte Observer, would bring her with him and through this she learned more about the newspaper. She went on to study art and illustration at the Richmond Professional Institute and the University of Virginia.

Haley self-published her first book, My Kingdom for a Dragon, in 1962. The theme of her initial storybook was an allegory for having dreams that no one else believes in, reflecting her feelings at the time. This book, like many of her works, utilizes wood blocks and ink to create beautiful landscapes and distinct characters. Haley would go on to publish over 40 children’s books to date. In 1971, Haley won the Caldecott Medal, awarded by the American Library Association, for her children’s book A Story A Story. The book retells the West African folktale of Ananse the spiderman and trickster who stole stories from the Sky God to give them to humans. Haley first heard the stories of Ananse during her time living in St. Thomas, and this experience inspired her to create A Story A Story. Still beloved by children and valued by educators 50 years later, A Story A Story continues to touch the lives of young children and adults alike.

In 1976, Haley was awarded Britain’s Kate Greenaway Medal for her book The Post Office Cat, making her the only illustrator to have the distinction of winning both of these prestigious awards. She was also awarded Japan’s Kodai Tosho and the Kerlan Award given by the University of Minnesota Libraries. In addition to her many awards, she also served as Writer in Residence for Appalachian State University. Haley continues to be renowned for not only her mastery of illustration using traditional wood block and linoleum cuts as well as paint and ink but also for her storytelling and her use of lyrical sentences and higher vocabulary in her books. 

The J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives is home to the Gail E. Haley Collection, which includes original manuscripts from Haley’s books, woodcut blocks used to create illustrations, and a plethora of other materials. Gail Haley’s oral history interviews can also be found in our online repository https://goldmine.charlotte.edu/

To honor Gail Haley’s achievements in the field of children’s literature and illustration, J. Murrey Atkins Library at UNC Charlotte will be hosting a slate of events:

  • An exhibit on the ground floor of Atkins Library will display materials from the library’s Gail Haley collection, featuring artwork from of A Story A Story: October 15th-November 29th, 2021
  • A linoleum-cutting workshop in the Makerspace of the library’s Area 49: November 3, 1-3 pm. Participation is limited, so please register.  
  • A virtual discussion with Gail Haley and Professor of English Mark West:  November 8, 4-5:30 pm. Register.

In the fifty years since Haley received the Caldecott Medal for A Story A Story, the children’s literature scene in Charlotte has changed a lot. Charlotte is now the home of many picture-book authors and illustrators, including Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Gordon C. James, Matt Myers, Brandon Reese, and Alicia D. Williams.  Still, there is still only one person from Storied Charlotte who has won the Caldecott Medal, and that person is Gail E. Haley.

Tags: picture book authorspicture bookswood blocks

Depicting the Lives of Civil Rights Leaders

August 16, 2021 by Mark West
Categories: Storied Charlotte

Dovey Johnson Roundtree and Shirley Chisholm both played leading roles in the Civil Rights Movement, and both are celebrated in new picture books that have important Charlotte connections.  We Wait for the Sun, a picture book co-authored by Roundtree and Katie McCabe and illustrated by Raissa Figueroa, focuses on a story from Roundtree’s childhood in Charlotte.  Shirley Chisholm Dared:  The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress, a picture book written by Charlotte author Alicia D. Williams and illustrated by April Harrison, tells the story of Shirley Chisholm’s life.  These picture books provide contemporary readers with insights into the lives of two remarkable African American women.  

Dovey Johnson Roundtree was born in Charlotte in 1914.  After her father’s death in the 1919 influenza epidemic, Roundtree, her mother, and her three sisters all moved into her maternal grandmother’s home in Charlotte’s Brooklyn neighborhood.  Her grandmother fostered Roundtree’s curiosity and determination to succeed.  We Wait for the Sun depicts the special relationship that Roundtree had with her grandmother.  In the book, the two of them venture into the woods in the middle of the night to pick blackberries together, and in the process, they share a special moment of beauty.  The memory of this nighttime adventure stuck with Roundtree throughout her long career as a pioneering civil rights lawyer and ordained minister.  After Roundtree retired and returned to Charlotte, she shared this story with Katie McCabe when the two of them were writing Roundtree’s autobiography, which came out in 2009 under the title of Justice Older than the Law:  The Life of Dovey Johnson Roundtree.  The blackberry story is included in the final chapter of this autobiography, but Roundtree and McCabe decided to rewrite the story for a child audience.  They set to work on We Wait for the Sun, but Roundtree’s death in 2018 meant that McCabe had to finish the project on her own. In addition to telling Roundtree’s blackberry story, McCabe provides the details of Roundtree’s groundbreaking career in the “Author’s Note” at the end of the book.  Although Roundtree did not live to see the publication of this picture book, her spirit lives on in the book’s colorful pages. 

Shirley Chisholm Dares:  The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress is Alicia D. Williams’s third children’s book in as many years.  In 2019, her debut novel, Genesis Begins Again, came out to great acclaim.  She received both a Newbery Honor and the Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Author Award for New Talent for this children’s novel.  In 2020, her picture book biography of folklorist and writer Zora Neale Hurston came out under the title of Jump at the Sun:  The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston.  This year, Williams has a new picture book biography, and this time her focus is on Shirley Chisholm.  Williams covers Chisholm’s growing-up years in Brooklyn, New York, and Barbados, her education at Brooklyn College and Columbia University Teachers College, and her entrance into the world New York politics. Williams shows how Chisholm’s formative years helped her become such an effective political leader. Williams does not go into the details of Chisholm’s political career, but she does cover the values and beliefs that motivated Chisholm over the course of her career in Congress. In writing this book, Williams draws on her experience as a teacher and storyteller in Charlotte.  She clearly knows how to hold the attention of a child audience.

For readers who want to know more about Katie McCabe and her collaborations with Dovey Johnson Roundtree, please click on the following link:  https://www.katiemccabeauthor.com/  For readers who want to know more about Alicia D. Williams and her children’s books, please click on this link:  https://www.aliciadwilliams.com/my-books

We Wait for the Sun and Shirley Chisholm Dared make a perfect pair.  They both tell the stories of pioneering African American women who helped change America.  Although these books are written for children, they should appeal to anyone who wants to know more about how the childhood experiences of these women helped shape their careers.  I think these books should be shelved together in the ever-expanding library that is Storied Charlotte.   

Tags: Civil Rights Movementpicture books

Charlotte’s Brandon Reese and His Cave Dada Picture Books

June 20, 2021 by Mark West
Categories: Storied Charlotte

When I visited Park Road Books the other day, I took a look at their display of recent books by area authors, and that’s where I saw Brandon Reese’s latest picture book, Cave Dada Picky Eater.  I enjoyed Brandon’s Cave Dada, which came out in 2020, so I decided to check out his new book.  As soon as I picked it up, I noticed a cover sticker with the words “Autographed Copy” on it.  The person behind the counter told me that Brandon had recently stopped by the store to sign copies of his book.  She mentioned that he didn’t just sign the books—he also included original drawings along with his signature.  She was right.  I opened the book, and in the front, I saw a wonderful sketch of Cave Dada and his son.  Needless to say, the book is now part of my picture book collection. 

Brandon’s Cave Dada picture books are funny accounts of the misadventures of a Stone Age father and his toddler son Baba.  In the first book, Baba wants his father to read him a bedtime book, which takes more effort than one might expect since Baba’s books are made out of stone.  Cave Dada resists because he is tired from hunting and gathering all day, but of course Baba wins the day, or in this case, the night.  In the process, Cave Dada accidentally discovers how to make a fire.  In the second book, it’s morning and Baba wants an egg for breakfast, but Cave Dada is all out of eggs. What follows is a series of mishaps as Cave Dada tries to entice his son to eat something else for breakfast.   In the end, Cave Dada finds an egg and accidentally invents the omelet in the process of cooking it. 

While creating these books, Brandon draws on his own experiences as a father.  His own son is now a teenager, but Brandon remembers well the parenting experiences he had when his son was little.  These experiences are reflected in the humorous adventures of Cave Dada and Baba.   As is stated on the dust jacket for Cave Dada Picky Eater, Brandon “has ample experience cooking breakfast for picky eaters.”

In creating his picture books, Brandon also draws on the support of other children’s authors and illustrators who live in the Charlotte area.  I asked him for more information about this support network, and here is what he sent to me:

My goal has always been to be an author and illustrator of picture books. I struggled for quite some time trying to gain traction in the industry. Eventually (and thankfully!) I found SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and joined a local critique group here. Charlotte is rife with talented and published kid-lit authors and illustrators. It’s a wonderful, supportive community that’s certainly aided my career. 

If I remember correctly, CAVE DADA was the first manuscript I brought to my critique group. I figured I was on the right track when it was read aloud and everyone laughed at the right spots. Eventually, it was sold in a 2-book deal with Chronicle Books. The second book, CAVE DADA PICKY EATER, just came out this April… just in time for Father’s Day!

For readers who want to know more about Brandon and his picture books, please click on the following link:  https://www.brandonreese.com/about/  For readers who want to know more about the local chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, please click on the following link: https://carolinas.scbwi.org/  For readers who are interested in Father’s Day stories that have connections to Storied Charlotte, I highly recommend Brandon’s Cave Dada picture books.

Tags: picture books