Children's Literature Conference - April 19
SALISBURY, MD-- The Education Department at Salisbury University hosts a children's and young adult's literature festival on Friday, April 19. Nationally renowned, award winning authors and illustrators discuss their works.
Author/illustrator Brian Pinkney, well known for his distinctive scratchboard illustrations, who opens the conference, is a recipient of both the Caldecott Honor and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award.
Puerto Rican-American author/illustrator Lulu Delacre creates her bilingual books inspired by the folklore she grew up with and enhanced by techniques learned at L'Ecole Superieure d'Arts Graphiques in Paris. A special workshop on making literature accessible to ESL learners will be offered in conjunction with Delacre's session.
Playwright and author of 21 novels and nonfiction books for middle readers and young adults, Gary Blackwood is perhaps best known for his latest action packed historical fiction The Shakespeare Stealer (and a recent sequel). Muscogee-Creek author
Cynthia Leitich Smith also joins the conference live from Austin, TX, via the Internet during a session on online author visits.
Friday evening the events continue with Pinkney giving a keynote address before the Young Author Award Ceremony (sponsored by the Eastern Shore Reading Council) during which dozens of young writers from the Eastern Shore will be honored for their stories and poems.
The festival is free and open to the public, but space is limited. Associated events will take place at several local schools on Thursday, April 18, and at the Wicomico Free Library on Saturday, April 20.
The event is co-sponsored by the Education Department at SU, ESRC, a Training All Teachers grant, the Eastern Shore Writing Project and the Wicomico Free Library.
To register or for more information, call 410-543-6280 or 410-548-3257. Registration deadline is Monday, April 8.
Children's Literature Festival 2002 Tentative Schedule
Friday, April 19:
8:30 a.m. Opening Reception, Commons
9-10 a.m. Brian Pinkney in the Worcester Room
10-11 a.m. Gary Blackwood in the Worcester Room
11 a.m.-Noon Lulu Delacre in the Worcester Room
Noon-1 p.m. Lunch (available for purchase in the Commons)
1-2 p.m. Using Literature with ESL Students:
Karen Giannninoto or
Virtual Discussion with Cynthia Leitich Smith
2-3 p.m. Lulu Delacre reading with students from Pinehurst Elementary or Gary Blackwood
3-4 p.m. Booksigning and reception
*Evening events will take place at the Salisbury School (not at SU) Auditorium.
6-7 p.m. Brian Pinkney
7-8 p.m. Young Author's Reception (sponsored by ESRC)
8-8:30 p.m. Booksigning
A limited number of books by the authors/illustrators will be on sale during the festival.
Brian Pinkney
When he was young, Brian Pinkney needed only to look at his parents' careers to see what he would grow up to become. His mother is Gloria Jean Pinkney, a children's book writer, and his father is Jerry Pinkney, a children's book illustrator. Pinkney often came home from school and watched his father at work in his art studio. Then he drew and painted in his own "studio"-a closet fixed up with art supplies that his father no longer used.
When he was older, Pinkney earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in art. His work was shown in art galleries, and his illustrations appeared in several magazines, but he's best known for his children's book illustrations. Pinkney followed in his parents' footsteps in yet another way, by marrying a writer. His wife, Andrea Davis Pinkney, has written many children's books, and Brian has illustrated some of them. He has also written and illustrated his own books.
Books Written and Illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Max Found Two Sticks
Jojo's Flying Side Kick
The Adventures of Sparrowboy
Cosmo and the Robot
Other Books Illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Where Does the Trail Lead? (written by Burton Albert)
A Wave in Her Pocket: Stories from Trinidad (written by Lynn Joseph)
Sukey and the Mermaid (written by Robert San Souci)
Bill Pickett: Rodeo-Ridin' Cowboy (written by Andrea D. Pinkney)
Alvin Ailey (written by Andrea D. Pinkney)
Cut from the Same Cloth (written by Robert San Souci)
In the Time of the Drums (written by Kim Siegelson)
Gary Blackwood
Author Gary L. Blackwood grew up in rural Western Pennsylvania and attended one of the last surviving one-room schoolhouses in the state. The school's library consisted of a single small bookcase. Because books were so unavailable, they seemed like treasures (and still do!). In his early teens he began submitting stories to magazines. At 16 he got his first encouraging letter from an editor, and at 19 he sold his first story. Since then he has sold dozens of stories and articles to adult and children's magazines, published 21 novels and nonfiction books for middle readers and young adults, and had half-a-dozen stage plays produced in regional and university theatres. He has taught classes and workshops in playwriting and writing for children at several colleges and writers' conferences. He and his wife Jean and daughter Tegan live near Carthage, MO.
Some of Gary Blackwood's recent novels:
Beyond the Door-science fiction novel for young adults
Moonshine-historical fiction set in Missouri during the Depression
The Shakespeare Stealer-historical fiction set in Shakespeare's time
Shakespeare Scribe-sequel; historical fiction set in Shakespeare's time
Lulu Delacre
Illustrator/author Lulu Delacre was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. Her earliest recollections of painting-from around 5 years old-go back to her grandmother's house. Her grandma, Elena, would give her white sheets of paper to draw on as she lay on the floor of her bedroom.
She attended the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Puerto Rico and then L'Ecole Superieure d'Arts Graphiques in Paris. It was there that she realized she wanted to become an illustrator of children's books inspired by the folklore she grew up with.
She creates her bilingual books out of love and the conviction that they are sorely needed. She writes, "I've measured their success in the proud smiles of many Latino children as they join hands with their schoolmates and myself in the game song of Arroz con Leche. When these Latino children feel their classmates' enjoyment of their language and heritage, they feel acceptance. They may even glimpse the value of retaining their parents' traditions and tongue as they embrace new ones."
Books by Lulu Delacre
Golden Tales: Myths, Legends and Folktales From Latin America
Senor Cat's Romance and Other Favorite Stories from Latin America - written by Lucia M. Gonzalez; illustrated by Lulu Delacre)
The Bossy Gallito: A Traditional Cuban Folktale (Bilingual) - retold by Lucia Gonzalez; illustrated by Lulu Delacre - 1996 Pura Belpré Honor Book
Vejigante Masquerader (Bilingual) - 1993 Americas Book Award recipient
Las Navidades: Popular Christmas Songs From Latin America (Bilingual)
Cynthia Leitich Smith
Children's and young adults book author Cynthia Leitich Smith will be joining the conference online from Austin, TX.
Growing up, Cynthia lived in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. She attended law school in Michigan, lived for about 2 ½ years in Illinois and now calls Austin her home. She is a mixed blood, enrolled member of the Muscogee-Creek Nation, and her professional background is in law, journalism and public relations. She also runs the wonderful Web site, Children's Literature Resources, found online at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com.
Books by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Rain Is Not My Indian Name (novel ages 10-up)
Jingle Dancer, HarperCollins 2000 (picturebook)
Indian Shoes by Cynthia Leitich Smith 2002 (picturebook)