ARTIST TO ARTIST: 23 MAJOR ILLUSTRATORS TALK TO CHILDREN ABOUT THEIR ART

BIBIOGRAPHY
Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. 2007. ARTIST TO ARTIST: 23 MAJOR ILLUSTRATORS TALK TO CHILDREN ABOUT THEIR ART. Ill. by Mitsumasa Anno, Quentin Blake, Ashley Bryan, Nancy Ekholm Burkert, Eric Carle, Tomie dePaola, Jane Dyer, Mordicai Gerstein, Robert Ingpen, Steven Kellogg, Leo Lionni, Petra Mathers, Wendell Minor, Barry Moser, Jerry Pinkney, Alice Provensen, Robert Sabuda, Matthew Reinhart, Maurice Sendak, Gennady Spirin, Chris Van Allsburg, Rosemary Wells, & Paul Zelinsky. New York, NY: Philomel. ISBN 9780399246005

PLOT SUMMARY
Twenty three Artists came together to share their stories of how they became illustrators. Each Artist describes their early drawing experiences. Most loved to draw at an early age. Some of the Artists attended formal art training, while others taught themselves. Some of the artists were teachers while they perfected their craft. A message heard throughout the book is that becoming a successful artist takes time and lots of practice to create your own style. The Artists encouraged students interested in a career in illustration to stay focused and work hard.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This Book gives its reader a view into the life of an illustrator. The Artists started out learning to draw like all children do. The point is made that years of practice enabled the Artist to find success. The Artists share their feelings of success and gratitude in the ability to make a living doing what they love. Readers will learn the care and time it takes to create a single picture for a book.

Many Illustrators are mentioned in this book. Each has a very distinctive style. Each artist includes a self portrait, pictures of themselves as a child, pictures of their early work, and pictures of more recent work. Some artists also show the process they go through while illustrating a book. I have found this part of the book to be engaging. It is exciting to visualize and connect with your children’s favorite authors. I have a better appreciation now for the drawings in the books that I read. I realize the hard work and dedication that goes into illustrating children’s books.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
Starred Review in Booklist: “A toast to the artists and to the lovely book they have made together.”
Starred Review in School Library Journal: “celebrates and elucidates contemporary picture-book art.”

CONNECTIONS
*Gather other books illustrated by Eric Carle, THE TINY SEED, THE HUNGARY CATEPILLAR, AND POLAR BEAR, POLAR BEAR, WHAT DO YOU HEAR? Children find the pictures whimsical and intriguing.
*Other books for children learning about Artists:
Bryan, Ashley. WORDS TO MY LIFE’S SONG. ISBN 1416905413
Cummings, Pat. TALKING WITH ARTIST. ISBN 0395891329