AND PICTURES TOO!

We continue to present the amazing talent in children’s literature with which Westchester is so blessed. Marisabina Russo and Ed Young are both fine illustrators as well as writers and this reading will focus primarily on their work for younger children.

Russo’s first book, The Line Up Book, in 1986, established her reputation as a superb writer and artist for the very youngest child. As her own children grew up, the characters in Ms. Russo’s books also grew, and in addition to many more fine picture books such as Mama Talks Too Much and I Don’t Want to Go Back to School, she has recently written a novel for older children, House of Sports. Her most recent book is another picture book, The Trouble with Baby. If you have no children but still recognize her work, no wonder—she's also done covers and other work for The New Yorker. She and her husband and children live in Yorktown Heights.

“Stories must be loved,” Young says, “really loved for a long time. The author and the artist merge and the story becomes real, not just for them, but for the world, for always. Discipline is indeed the key to true freedom.” Young’s upbringing in China and his study of the ancient Chinese meditative movement tai chi chuan are profound influences on this Hastings-on-Hudson artist/writer. The stories he chooses to illustrate (folktales, creation myths, classic tales, and poetry) link the past to the present through simple truths about human nature and the environment. These timeless stories have been interpreted by Young in a variety of media, including pastels, paper cut-outs, paint, and charcoal. He has illustrated many stories set in his native China, including his own folktale retelling, the Caldecott Medal winner Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China (1989). He has also received Caldecott honors for The Emperor and the Kite and Seven Blind Mice and nominations in 1992 and 2000 for the prestigious international Hans Christian Andersen award.

Suggested Donation: $5 ($3 for members)

The readings at the HVWC are made possible in part by a grant from the Bydale Foundation; the Taft Foundation; and the Thendara Foundation; with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts; and by Westchester Arts Council with funds from Westchester County Government, corporations and individuals.

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