Patricia Polacco
She’s in love with Jerry; Ben could be her boy toy! Ice Cream Co.
Teachers are our last standing heroes; homage to her mother, who taught 42 years
Babushka--Grandmother wore one every day, Ana arrived with her family at Ellis Island
wearing a red babushka. Lived in New York City; child learned English in one year
Ana’s mother created a quilt with clothes from relatives back home in Georgia.
Moved to Union City, Michigan. Patricia’s mother was born there.
Her mother went to college--taking the quilt with her; met Patricia’s father
Rotten red-headed brother, Richie left bull out of the pen
Father of 8 children--all red-headed; Patricia has 2 children--one with red hair
All of her books have red-headed characters
Quilt symbolizes life and death of her family members--will eventually find its home at the Mazza Museum, along with entire drawing project of the book
Her mother’s people were Russian Jews, father’s family was Irish--he became a born-again Christian--all serve the same God; Patricia is all of the above
Proximity to the Light is what we have in common
Grandmother and Patricia picked violets and pulled petals to see “little yellow man”
Collected Monarchs to watch chrysalis open; fireflies; appreciated the miracles of life
Kept a vial of Vanilla above stove and would dab on herself and Patricia
Stars are holes in the sky letting the light of Heaven shine through
Following her grandmother’s death, they moved to Oakland, California, where Patricia met Stewart who became her lifelong friend--she also discovered feelings of racism
Her mother kept art supplies on the table in the kitchen--Patricia and Stewart spent time together; Patricia wanted a sign from her deceased grandmother. Upon meeting Stewart’s grandmother, she dabbed vanilla on Patricia--that was the sign!
Most revered time of the year is the new year--honey on the cover of a book; taste it to see if it is sweet--so is knowledge
Patricia started school, where she felt stupid because she could not read; she could draw--English teacher in junior high discovered her dyslexia--Mr. Falker asked Patricia to stay after school to wash blackboards. He asked her to put letters and numbers on the board--she couldn’t do it. He hired a specialist to work with her. Sees the space around letters--learned to read which changed her life dramatically!
Teachers provide the wind--students need to use their wings to fly!
She encountered Mr. Falker years later and they had a tearful reunion, where she told him she makes books for children, because of his support
Visits 200-300 schools each year; more than any legislators ever do
If she were queen, she would pour the money designated to No Child Left Behind mandate into art, music and drama; the at-risk damaged children outnumber those who are not
Challenged audience to continue making changes in lives of children
Her teachers are indelibly sewn into her quilt. Thank God that she walked this earth with
so many inspirational people--the beauty of making memories!
Robert Sabuda
Tomie dePaola is one of his heroes; he wanted to be Tomie when he was a student at Pratt Institute; met him on the Board of the Society for Illustrators of Children’s Books.
Wanted to collaborate on a project--Strega Nona reminds him of his Polish roots--his grandmother, who profoundly affected him--from a family who works with their hands
Had never worked with some one of Tomie’s caliber; decided on Strega Nona
With pop-ups, the shapes make the difference to set the stage and let the magic begin.
Faked a Tomie-lookig bird complete with a heart; 6 spreads in the book
Affirmation of Strega Nona’s life; family tree on first spread; element of time is a factor in creating a pop-up book; Strega Nona is on a swing at the bottom of the tree; second spread is a feast--explodes from the pages; magically unfurls
Tomie did a few pop-up books in the 80s; included a village--doors that open and movable parts; not created specifically for children--created for “the child in me”
Some woman suggested he create a pop-up book on Toledo, Ohio.
Pop-ups books often take a year to complete
Pasta moment did not work initially--was just a mess! Unknown and uncertainty is the scariest part of being an artist--blank sheet of paper
Decided to do a pop-down with the pasta--Robert sketched the pasta as Tomie would
Robert is not a delicate fine-artist; prefers the big and bold; loves the feel of paper in his hands; decorated the bulletin boards in school
Wanted to make something no one had ever seen before--The Christmas Alphabet started him on a different path in his life; publisher loved the project, but had no idea how to do it; manufacturer had completely disassembled the book; different publisher made it happen! Librarians were reluctant to add pop-up books to their collections.
Teachers wanted books for their classrooms--students electronically over-loaded; needed something to connect to subject matter
At end of Strega Nona, Tomie wanted a big celebration--wanted a fountain...Robert thought it would not happen; Tomie wanted a big love scene--intrigued by the technical work involved in the creation of a pop-up book; pieces have to work together
Sent the book to Tomie and he approved! Everything worked, so Tomie came to the studio in New York for a week. Collaboration was very profound for Robert
Tomie was the consummate professional--all products of the Pratt Institute
Had prepared every single pop-up in advance--he sketched on all the pieces
Worked with show tunes until the designers would change the channel...
Huge production--lived for the moment to see the finished product! Tomie would ask Robert for approval; included his self-portrait with magnifying glass
Loves being a children’s book illustrator/creator is that all colleagues want to see each other succeed--all enamored with each other. Illustrators are just kids--closely connected to who they were as a child
Books are assembled in China--one person does one thing on each book
Tomie fascinated with technical aspects of creating the book; presented him with a real ruler!
15,000 books made each week
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