Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author and poet best
remembered for his fairy tales, both original and retold, including
the beloved classics "Thumbelina," "The Emperor's New Clothes,"
"The Fir Tree," "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Princess and the
Pea," "The Red Shoes," "The Ugly Duckling," and "The Snow
Queen."
Jerry Pinkney was one of America's most admired children's book
illustrators. He won the Caldecott Medal and five Caldecott Honors,
five Coretta Scott King Awards, the Coretta Scott King-Virginia
Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Laura Ingalls Wilder
Award, the Society of Illustrators' Original Art Show Lifetime
Achievement Award, and many other prizes and honors. Jerry
Pinkney's work can be viewed at www.jerrypinkneystudio.com.
In His Own Words...
"I grew up in a small house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was a
middle child of six. I started drawing as far back as I can
remember, at the age of four or five. My brothers drew, and I guess
in a way I was mimicking them. I found I enjoyed the act of putting
marks on paper. It gave me a way of creating my own space and quiet
time, as well as a way of expressing myself. You can imagine six
children competing for attention and to be heard. I would sit,
watching and drawing.
"In first grade I had the opportunity to draw a large picture of a
fire engine on the blackboard. I was complimented and encouraged to
draw more. The attention felt good, and I wanted more. I was not a
terrific reader or adept speller in my growing-up years, and I felt
insecure in those areas. Drawing helped me build my self-esteem and
feel good about myself, and, with hard work, I graduated from
elementary school with honors.
"I attended an all-black elementary school, and I gained a strong
sense of self and an appreciation of my own culture there. But
Roosevelt Junior High was integrated. There I had many friends,
both white and black, at a time when there was little mixing
socially in school. There the spark for my curiosity about people
was lit. You can see this interest and fascination with people of
different cultures throughout my work.
"My formal art training started at Dobbins Vocational High School,
and upon graduation I received a scholarship to the Philadelphia
Museum College of Art. My major was advertising and design. The
most exciting classes for me were drawing, painting, and
printmaking. It is no wonder I turned to illustrating and designing
books. For me the book represents the ultimate in graphics: first,
as a designer, considering space, page size, number of pages, and
type size; then, as an illustrator, dealing with the aesthetics of
line, color, and form.
"There were three books that somehow magically came into my
possession in the early sixties: The Wind in the Willows,
illustrated by Arthur Rackham; The Wonder Clock, illustrated by
Howard Pyle; and Rain Makes Applesauce, illustrated by Marvin
Bileck. You can see those influences in my art today. Later, my
work was greatly influenced by such African American artists as
Charles White, Romare Bearden, and Jacob Lawrence.
"From the very beginning of my career in illustrating books,
research has been important. I do as much as possible on a given
subject, so that I live the experience and have a vision of the
people and places. To capture a sense of realism for characters in
my work, I use models that resemble the people I want to portray.
My wife, Gloria Jean (also an author), and I keep a closetful of
old clothes to dress up the models, and I have the models act out
the story. Photos are taken to aid me in better understanding body
language and facial expressions. Once I have that photo in front of
me I have freedom, because the more you know, the more you can be
inventive.
"For illustrating stories about animals, I keep a large reference
file of over a hundred books on nature and animals. The first step
in envisioning a creature is for me to pretend to be that
particular animal. I think about its size and the sounds it makes,
how it moves (slowly or quickly), and where it lives. I try to
capture the feeling of the creature, as well as its true-to-life
characteristics. There are times when the stories call for the
animals to be anthropomorphic, and I've used photographs of myself
posing as the animal characters.
"It still amazes me how much the projects I have illustrated have
given back to me in terms of personal and artistic satisfaction.
They have given me the opportunity to use my imagination, to draw,
to paint, to travel through the voices of the characters in the
stories, and, above all else, to touch children."
Jerry Pinkney was one of America's most admired children's book
illustrators. He won the Caldecott Medal and five Caldecott Honors,
five Coretta Scott King Awards, the Coretta Scott King-Virginia
Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Laura Ingalls Wilder
Award, the Society of Illustrators' Original Art Show Lifetime
Achievement Award, and many other prizes and honors. Jerry
Pinkney's work can be viewed at www.jerrypinkneystudio.com.
In His Own Words...
"I grew up in a small house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was a
middle child of six. I started drawing as far back as I can
remember, at the age of four or five. My brothers drew, and I guess
in a way I was mimicking them. I found I enjoyed the act of putting
marks on paper. It gave me a way of creating my own space and quiet
time, as well as a way of expressing myself. You can imagine six
children competing for attention and to be heard. I would sit,
watching and drawing.
"In first grade I had the opportunity to draw a large picture of a
fire engine on the blackboard. I was complimented and encouraged to
draw more. The attention felt good, and I wanted more. I was not a
terrific reader or adept speller in my growing-up years, and I felt
insecure in those areas. Drawing helped me build my self-esteem and
feel good about myself, and, with hard work, I graduated from
elementary school with honors.
"I attended an all-black elementary school, and I gained a strong
sense of self and an appreciation of my own culture there. But
Roosevelt Junior High was integrated. There I had many friends,
both white and black, at a time when there was little mixing
socially in school. There the spark for my curiosity about people
was lit. You can see this interest and fascination with people of
different cultures throughout my work.
"My formal art training started at Dobbins Vocational High School,
and upon graduation I received a scholarship to the Philadelphia
Museum College of Art. My major was advertising and design. The
most exciting classes for me were drawing, painting, and
printmaking. It is no wonder I turned to illustrating and designing
books. For me the book represents the ultimate in graphics: first,
as a designer, considering space, page size, number of pages, and
type size; then, as an illustrator, dealing with the aesthetics of
line, color, and form.
"There were three books that somehow magically came into my
possession in the early sixties: The Wind in the Willows,
illustrated by Arthur Rackham; The Wonder Clock, illustrated by
Howard Pyle; and Rain Makes Applesauce, illustrated by Marvin
Bileck. You can see those influences in my art today. Later, my
work was greatly influenced by such African American artists as
Charles White, Romare Bearden, and Jacob Lawrence.
"From the very beginning of my career in illustrating books,
research has been important. I do as much as possible on a given
subject, so that I live the experience and have a vision of the
people and places. To capture a sense of realism for characters in
my work, I use models that resemble the people I want to portray.
My wife, Gloria Jean (also an author), and I keep a closetful of
old clothes to dress up the models, and I have the models act out
the story. Photos are taken to aid me in better understanding body
language and facial expressions. Once I have that photo in front of
me I have freedom, because the more you know, the more you can be
inventive.
"For illustrating stories about animals, I keep a large reference
file of over a hundred books on nature and animals. The first step
in envisioning a creature is for me to pretend to be that
particular animal. I think about its size and the sounds it makes,
how it moves (slowly or quickly), and where it lives. I try to
capture the feeling of the creature, as well as its true-to-life
characteristics. There are times when the stories call for the
animals to be anthropomorphic, and I've used photographs of myself
posing as the animal characters.
"It still amazes me how much the projects I have illustrated have
given back to me in terms of personal and artistic satisfaction.
They have given me the opportunity to use my imagination, to draw,
to paint, to travel through the voices of the characters in the
stories, and, above all else, to touch children."
Pinkney's (Rikki-Tikki-Tavi) supple, exquisitely detailed watercolors provide a handsome foil to his graceful adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen classic. This "duckling" is teased unmercifully by his apparent siblings but loved by the mother duck: "He may not be quite as handsome as the others," she says, "but... I am sure he will make his way in the world as well as anybody." Eventually he runs away, and as the seasons turn, the fledgling has a series of adventures, from a close encounter with a hunting dog to getting trapped in ice. All the while he is growing, transforming, and in the triumphant ending, he finds peace and happiness when his real identity is revealed to himself and to readers. Pinkney's artwork is a swan song to the beauty of the pastoral, and his lush images flow across the pages in sweeping vistas and meticulous close-ups. Whether depicting the subtle patterns and colors of a duck's feathers, the murky twilight of a freshwater pond or the contrast of red berries against dried grasses etched with snow, Pinkney's keenly observed watercolors honor nature in all its splendor. A flawlessly nuanced performance by a consummate craftsman. Ages 3-up. (Mar.)
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