Born in 1939, Julius Lester spent his youth in the Midwest and the
South and received a B.A. in English from Fisk University in
1960.Since 1968 he has published 25 books of fiction, nonfiction,
children's books, and poetry. Among the awards these books have
received are the Newbery Honor Medal, American Library Association
Notable Book, National Jewish Book Award Finalist, The New York
Times Outstanding Book, National Book Critics Circle Award
Finalist, Caldecott Honor Book, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award,
and a National Book Award Finalist. His books have been translated
into eight languages.
He has published more than one hundred essays and reviews in such
publications The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times
Op-Ed Page,The Boston Globe, The Village Voice, The New Republic,
Katallagete, Moment, Forward, and Dissent.
He has recorded two albums of original songs, hosted and produced a
radio show on WBAI-FM in New York City for eight years, and hosted
a live television show on WNET in New York for two years. A veteran
of the Civil Rights Movement, his photographs of that movement are
included in an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution and are
part of the permanent photographic collection at Howard
University.
After teaching at the New School for Social Research for two years,
Mr. Lester joined the faculty of the University of
Massachusetts/Amherst in 1971 where he is presently a full
professor in the Judaic and Near Eastern Studies Department, and
adjunct professor in the English and History departments. He also
serves as lay religious leader of Beth El Synagogue in St.
Johnsbury, Vermont.
He has been awarded all four of the university's most prestigious
faculty awards- The Distinguished Teacher's Award; the Faculty
Fellowship Award for Distinguished Research and Scholarship;
Distinguished Faculty Lecturer; and recipient of the Chancellor's
Medal, the University's highest honor. In 1986 the Council for
Advancement and Support of Education selected him as the
Massachusetts State Professor of the Year.
Mr. Lester's biography has appeared in Who's Who In America since
1970. He has given lectures and papers at more than 100 colleges
and universities.
His most recent books are John Henry, And All Our Wounds Forgiven,
a novel about the civil rights movement, and Othello, a novel based
on the Shakespeare play.
Jerry Pinkney has been illustrating children's books since 1964 and
has the rare distinction of being the recipient of-
Five Caldecott Honor Medals
Five Coretta Scott King Awards
Four New York Times Best Illustrated Awards (most recently 2006
Little Red Hen)
Four Gold and four Silver medals from the Society of
Illustrators
Boston Globe Honor Book Award (John Henry 1994)
In addition to his work on children's books, he is an extremely
successful artist who has had eleven one-man retrospectives at
venues ranging from the Museum of the National Center of
Afro-American Artists to the Art Institute of Chicago. His current
one-man show entitled, "Building Bridges, the Art of Jerry Pinkney"
was organized by the Pittsburgh Children's Museum and will be
traveling through 1998. Mr. Pinkney has illustrated for a wide
variety of clients, including National Geographic , the National
Parks Service, the U.S. Postal Service, the American Library
Association and the Association of Booksellers for Children.
Born in Philadelphia in 1939, Jerry Pinkney states, "(I) took an
interest in drawing very early in my life, and at some point I
realized I'd rather sit and draw than do almost anything else."
While growing up in the Germantown section of Philadelphia his
interest in art was supported by hisfamily -- especially by his
mother. "She certainly understood me and made it clear to everyone
that if art was what I wanted to pursue, then that's what she
wanted to have happe
Gr 2-4ÄPinkney and Lester add a picture-book chapter to the lore of this nation's "true West" with the retelling of a story of a wild horse hunt by the black cowboy Bob Lemmons. He and his stallion, Warrior, wander on the prairie until they find the tracks of the animals they seek. Bob then spends days in a very slow approach to the herd. Horse and rider finally join the herd and are accepted by the wild horses, until at last Bob challenges the lead stallion for control. On Warrior's back, he fights the stallion, defeats him, and then leads the animals into captivity in the ranch corral. Throughout, both text and pictures emphasize the blending of all life. The linkages between the cowboy, the animals, and the natural world are so strong that lines separating them are blurred. Lester and Pinkney's stated aims were to recast their childhood love of cowboys and the Old West with more recent historical research into the contributions of men of color, both black and Hispanic. They have done that, and achieved something else as well: youngsters will reflect on the relationships between humans and other animals. Pinkney's pictures were never better, making it all the more unfortunate that text boxes cover some of the action. Lester's overuse of metaphor is also a drawback. Still, this book will inspire heavy-duty thinking on the part of young readers.ÄRuth Semrau, formerly at Lovejoy School, Allen, TX
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