BLOGS and WEBSITES I.N.K.: Interesting Nonfiction for Kids Discover books that show how nonfiction writers are some of the best storytellers around. Learn how these writers practice their craft: research techniques, fact gathering and detective work. Check out how they find unusual tidbits, make the facts interesting and write something kids will love to read. link to blog • link to INK Think Tank website Publishers’ Websites Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group is home to some of the most highly acclaimed and noteworthy children’s imprints in the publishing industry. Check out MacKids Website and Blog link to blog • link to MacMillan website Holiday House is the proud publisher of many award-winning books for children and teens. |
| ARTICLES
Rule Breakers: Rule Number One. The Horn Book, May 2020 Excerpt: “We’ve been writing about art and artists since 1990 — fourteen books in thirty years — and, like any longtime collaborators, we have a long list of rules. Sometimes we even remind each other about them (politely, of course). One rule we’ve agreed on since we planned our first book together is to always show the subject’s actual artwork, not illustrations of the work. We have strong feelings about this, and the living artists we’ve written about have been very generous about sending us reproductions of their work ...” Two Heads Are Better than One: How Author Collaboration Works? Excerpt: “We’ve been writing about art and artists since 1990 — fourteen books in thirty years — and, like any longtime collaborators, we have a long list of rules. Sometimes we even remind each other about them (politely, of course). One rule we’ve agreed on since we planned our first book together is to always show the subject’s actual artwork, not illustrations of the work. We have strong feelings about this, and the living artists we’ve written about have been very generous about sending us reproductions of their work ...” Encounters with Art in and out of the Classroom. Handbook of Research on Teaching Literacy Through the Communicative and Visual Arts. Vol II, 2008, by Jan Greenberg The Handbook of Research on Teaching Literacy Through the Communicative and Visual Arts, Volume II brings together state-of-the-art research and practice on the evolving view of literacy as encompassing not only reading, writing, speaking, and listening, but also the multiple ways through which learners gain access to knowledge and skills. It forefronts as central to literacy education the visual, communicative, and performative arts, and the extent to which all of the technologies that have vastly expanded the meanings and uses of literacy originate and evolve through the skills and interests of the young. “Filling the Gap in the Bookshelf.” VOYA. Vol. 31, August 2008, by Jan Greenberg “Profiles and Perspectives: Art, Biography, and Collaboration: Creating Books for Children about Art and Artists.” Abstract: The authors reflect on their process for writing biographies for children about artists and their artwork. They describe the ways they meet the challenge of pulling the reader into the experience of a piece using the language of art. Specifically, they discuss their recent book about the lives and art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, which focuses on the 2005 installation The Gates in New York City’s Central Park. read an excerpt • read full article “Chuck Close Up and Close.” Muse. Vol. 13, January 2009, by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan. Chuck Close overcame a learning disability and, later, a physical disability to become one of the most important artists of the twenty-first century. Full-color reproductions of Close's work accompany his inspiring life story. If you enjoy this book, the authors have written a whole series of excellent books on artists, from Van Gogh to Andy Warhol to Christo and Jean-Claude (the artists who, among other things, were responsible for The Gates installation in New York's Central Park). “Danville painting class makes a splash with children.” The News-Gazette, October 13, 2010, by Pat Phillips No truer words were said than when children in the Petite Picassos class at the Danville Art League were learning about painter Jackson Pollock. The class, which includes art and movement, began with listening to some jazz music and learning that Pollock often interpreted music he heard in his head through his paintings. “‘Ballet for Martha’ gives kids a peek behind the curtain.” STLToday.com, September 26, 2010, by Sarah Bryan Miller. Remembering Madeleine: Portrait of Madeleine L’Engle |
| INTERVIEWS
Read Sylvia Vardell’s interview with Jan Greenberg in the November 2012 issue of Book Links. (PDF) Read Leonard Marcus's interview with Sandra Jordan in Listening for Madeleine: A Portrait of Madeleine L'Engle in Many Voices. Notes from The Horn Book asks “Five questions for Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan.” Read the interview here. |
| CLASSROOM EXTENSIONS & ACTIVITIES
Appreciating Jackson Pollock - Art Activities based on Action Jackson (PDF) Page 58 from Two Brothers, Four Hands featuring Walking Man II. (PDF) |