August 9, 2011
A very humble and heartfelt thank you to the wonderful New York Library Association!
http://www.nyla.org/page/yss-empire-state-award-324.html
Laura Vaccaro Seeger Receives 2011 Empire State Award
Laura Vaccaro Seeger is the 2011 recipient of the Empire State Award for Excellence in Literature for Young People presented by the Youth Services Section of the New York Library Association.
The Empire State Award is given annually and was first presented in 1990. It is a one-time award presented to a living author or illustrator currently residing in New York State. The award honors a body of work that represents excellence in children’s or young adult literature and that has made a significant contribution to literature for young people. Youth Services librarians through out the state submit nominations to an awards committee. The committee makes a decision that is then approved by the YSS Executive Board.
Past winners of the Empire State Award are:
2011 - Laura Vaccaro Seeger
2010 - Cynthia DeFelice
2009 - Linda Sue Park
2008 - Rafe Martin
2007 - Joseph Bruchac
2006 - Donald Crews
2005 - M. E. Kerr
2004 - Alice Provensen
2003 - Seymour Simon
2002 - Jerry Pinkney
2001 - Jean Fritz
2000 - Peter Spier
1999 - Vera B. Williams
1998 - Jean Craighead George
1997 - Richard Peck
1996 - Nancy Willard
1995 - Ed Young
1994 - Paula Fox
1993 - Russell Freedman
1992 - Leo and Diane Dillon
1991 - Madeleine L'Engle
1990 - Maurice Sendak
August 7, 2011
Thank you, Anita Silvey...
http://childrensbookalmanac.com/2011/08/dog-and-bear/
Dog and Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories
Since 1935, the first Sunday in August has been celebrated as Friendship Day. The organizers of the event often quote Albert Camus on the subject: “Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.”
Some of our most long-lasting and cherished children’s books celebrate friendship: James Marshall gave us George and Martha; Arnold Lobel, Frog and Toad. Recently two characters have been created by a talented young author-illustrator that deserves to stand next to these classics—Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s Dog and Bear.
Humor and emotion often prove to be the most difficult qualities to create in a picture book since emotion can so quickly degenerate into sentimentality. But in Dog and Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories, Laura combines funny stories with a great deal of heart. In the book, she explores the friendship between a stuffed bear and a playful dachshund. Each of the stories contains its own tension and resolution. Every page has a unique design, and the illustrations, with black ink outlines, add humor to the text. Combining simplicity with panache, emotion with graphic brilliance, this saga of two BFF’s can be read again and again with pleasure.
Laura Vaccaro Seeger has been an artist since the age of two. By fifth grade knew she wanted to create picture books, but spent time as a television animator before she pursued her childhood dream. One day when editor Neal Porter was visiting her home, he spied a multicolored stuffed bear perched on a tall chair in the living room. Standing there, holding the bear, Neal said to Laura—“Write a book about this!” As she worked on the text, she realized that she based the characters of Dog and Bear on herself and Neal and their working relationship.
What children can appreciate in the book are the ways the two buddies help each other and delight in each other’s company. When Bear is unable to get out of the high chair, Dog, a long dachshund, offers his back as a means of transportation. When Dog wants to change his name because it is so boring, Bear helps with the problem. Perfect for emerging readers ages two through six, this book and its sequels, Dog and Bear: Two’s Company and Dog and Bear: Three to Get Ready, bring the concept of friendship alive in the stories of two engaging and wonderful characters.
For anyone who wants to see the real dog and bear on which the book is based, Laura’s son created a short film version of the title story. But you can also simply enjoy these books by themselves. Happy Friendship Day, Dog and Bear—you remind us why friends are so precious.
September 8, 2010
Just in time for the release of the new edition of THE HIDDEN ALPHABET, here’s an animation to go with the book... Special thanks to my wonderful summer intern, Dan Funk, for a wonderful job!
(Click on the link below - Make sure your sound is on...)
August 31, 2010
Special thanks to Maria Salvadore, Tina Chovanec and the Reading Rockets staff for a wonderful interview experience.
Here’s a link to the video interview:
http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/seeger
August 30, 2010
Cool... DOG AND BEAR made Oprah’s Book Club!
August 29, 2010
If you're around New York City on September 25, come to the original Dog Art exhibit at the Cell Gallery... Here's the invitation...
June 20, 2010
Special thanks to Shelley Rotner, Diane DeGroat, and Rosemary Agoglia for a wonderful time at the Eric Carle event. Here’s a picture taken at the after-party with two people I’ve admired all my life, Jules Feiffer and Norton Juster.
June 10, 2010
If you’re in the Northampton, Massachusetts area, come to the “Celebrating Dogs in Picture Books” exhibit at the Eric Carle Museum this Saturday, June 12th.
My original art from DOG AND BEAR will be on display as well as “dog” art from fellow picture book artists and friends, Shelley Rotner, Diane DeGroat, Jules Feiffer, Barry Moser, Nick Bruel, Jeff Mack, Karen Beil, Stephanie Calmenson, Eileen Christelow, Corinne Demas, Patricia MacLachlan and Katy Schneider.
Check out this link:
http://www.carlemuseum.org/Programs_Events/Upcoming/Dogs_in_Picture_Books
May 13, 2010
Check out this month’s edition of NOTES FROM THE HORN BOOK… Special thanks to Roger Sutten for being the interviewer extraordinaire.
Five questions for Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Laura Vaccaro Seeger has written and illustrated some of the most innovative — and beautiful — concept books around, giving new spins to the alphabet book (The Hidden Alphabet), counting book (One Boy), and book of opposites (Black? White! Day? Night!) among others. She is also the creator of Dog and Bear, the heroes of three easy readers that speak volumes about friendship. Her latest book observes two, no, three seals at the beach and the beach ball they encounter.
1. I can’t decide if What If? is a book about friendship or arithmetic or futures trading. What do you think?
Hmm . . . At first, I wasn’t quite sure how to answer this question, but now that you mention it I suppose it’s about all three. What If? is certainly a book about friendship and the value of considering the feelings of others. And it is about arithmetic — the age-old problem
of “two’s company, three’s a crowd.” It’s most certainly about cause and effect, as well. That’s the concept that first inspired me to write What If? I find it fascinating that people can affect the outcome of any given situation based on their decisions and actions. What if the boy on the cover of the book hadn’t stopped to contemplate the ball in the first place? Or what if he kicked it in the opposite direction? Or what if it had never bounced out of the water when the two seals were playing? What if the seagull on the last page decided that it was his turn to play with the ball? I just love the concept of endless possibilities.
2. The book continually brings us back to — what do you call it, a triptych? Layer cake? — of earth, sea, and sky. Which do you feel is your natural element?
Ah, now that’s an easy question to answer. My natural element is most definitely the sea. I find it difficult to let a single day go by without spending at least some time by the ocean. The inspiration for just about every book I’ve made has been found at the sea, and certainly problems related to each book have been solved there, as well. During the winter and early spring months, I often see seals at the beach. In fact just last week, I took this photograph of an adorable sleepy seal resting in the very spot where I walk every day. Just after I snapped the picture, he lifted his head, yawned a very big yawn, and fell back to sleep.
3. While I think of “concept books” as being rather definite and hard-edged (like Tana Hoban’s books) What If? and First the Egg are very painterly and organic-y. How does a book start with you — with the images or the ideas?
It’s funny because I consider all my books to be conceptual and at the same time to be story-driven, even if they contain the simplest of stories. Most of them begin with what I consider to be an interesting idea or concept. I then work to build a book around that idea. Usually something like the alphabet, colors, numbers, or transformation is just an excuse to make the book about what I am really interested in: negative space, the concept of “not,” words within words, or creativity. Even the Dog and Bear books are conceptual to me as they are about the concept of friendship. I would have to say that because I am an artist, the ideas and images come simultaneously. I am a very visual thinker, so as soon as I hear the words, I also see the pictures. Usually the first drafts of a book contain rather lengthy narratives (for me, anyway), and being a “less is more” writer and artist, I tend to discard words on a regular basis as I decide to tell parts of the story with pictures instead. What If? started out with lots of words, and I quickly realized that I had far more than I needed. Before I knew it I was left with only six different words, all used in varying combinations. And the pictures tell the rest.
4. Making friends can be hard for kids and adults alike. Any advice?
I know what it feels like to be caught between two friends who are each competing for attention, and having to choose between them is never pleasant. As a child, I was always taught to imagine being in someone else’s place and feeling what he or she might be feeling. That’s basically what’s happening in What If? It’s about thoughtfulness and empathy and understanding. I’ve always found that making friends is far easier when you consider the feelings of those around you.
5. Any word from Dog and Bear?
Ah, speaking of friendship . . . :-)
I’ve had ongoing discussions with Neal Porter, my brilliant editor and dear friend, about possible new adventures for Dog and Bear, but we’ve been so busy with other projects that we’ve not made any definite plans as of yet. I will say, however, that Dog and Bear are as frisky as ever and they have been getting themselves into quite a few funny situations, so there’s no shortage of story ideas!
—Roger Sutton
April 20, 2010
New book alert, due for release at the end of this month. The reviews are in for “WHAT IF?“… (click on the image below)…
April 1, 2010
Check out the REAL Dog and Bear…
August 26, 2009
New book alert! DOG AND BEAR - THREE TO GET READY will be released on September 1st.
January 26, 2009
A VERY special thank you to the members of the ALSC Geisel committee for selecting ONE BOY as a 2009 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book! And congratulations to all the other ALA winners including my friends, Mo Willems and Jacqueline Woodson!
November 9, 2008
ATTENTION TEACHERS, LIBRARIANS, CHILDREN, PARENTS!
My exhibit at the Nassau County Museum of Art has been extended through January 4, 2009… (September 21, 2008 through January 4, 2009 Nassau County Museum of Art, One Museum Drive, Roslyn Harbor, NY 11576, Phone: 516-484-9337)
January 14, 2008
A huge, heartfelt thank you to all the members of the ALSC Caldecott and Geisel committees for selecting FIRST THE EGG as a Caldecott Honor Book and a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book!
