Vera Baker Williams

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Vera Baker Williams (born January 28, 1927 in Hollywood , California - † October 16, 2015 ) was an American children's author and illustrator . She has won several prizes, including the 2008 Regina Medal , one of the literary prizes awarded by the Catholic Library Association since 1959 .

Life

Vera Baker Williams was born to Albert and Rebecca Baker. She attended Music and Art High School in New York City , then studied graphics at Black Mountain College in North Carolina , where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts . This was followed by studies at the Boston Museum School .

She married Paul Williams, with whom she had three children named Sarah, Jennifer and Merce, but divorced him in 1970.

Williams taught at several schools in the United States and Canada , some of which she co-founded. From 1980 to 1982 she taught at Goddard College in Vermont . She was a member of the Executive Committee of the War Resisters League , an organization that speaks out against violence. She participated in several protests and was arrested in the process.

In 1975 she illustrated her first book, Hooray for Me! by Remy Charlip and Lilian Moore. Her first work as a writer was It's a Gingerbread House: Bake It, Build It, Eat It , her first success was with Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe , for which she received the Parents' Choice Award for Illustrations in 1981. She was best known for the Rosa Trilogy, which consisted of the books A Chair for My Mother , Something Special for Me and Music, Music for Everyone . She received several awards for this.

At the end of her life, Baker Williams did not work on another book, instead devoting her time to her hobbies and grandchildren.

Works

  • It's a Gingerbread House: Bake It, Build It, Eat It! Westport, CT, Greenwillow Press, 1978.
  • The Great Watermelon Birthday. Westport, CT, Greenwillow Press, 1980.
  • Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe. Westport, CT, Greenwillow Press, 1981.
  • A Chair for My Mother. Westport, CT, Greenwillow Press, 1981.
  • Something Special for Me. Westport, CT, Greenwillow Press, 1983.
  • The Great Watermelon Birthday. Westport, CT, Greenwillow Press, 1980.
  • Music, Music for Everyone. Westport, CT, Greenwillow Press, 1984.
  • Cherries and Cherry Pits. Westport, CT, Greenwillow Press, 1986.
  • My Mother, Leah and George Sand. Westport, CT, Greenwillow Press, 1986.
  • "More More More," Said the Baby: Three Love Stories. Westport, CT, Greenwillow Press, 1990.
  • Scooter. Westport, CT, Greenwillow Press, 1993.
  • Lucky Song. Westport, CT, Greenwillow Press, 1997.
  • Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart: The Story of Amber and Essie Told Here in Poems and Pictures. New York, HarperCollins, 2001.

Awards

  • 1983 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Picture Book Category, A Chair for My Mother
  • 1983 Caldecott Honor Award, A Chair for My Mother
  • 1985 Jane Addams Children's Book Award, Honor Book, Music, Music for Everyone
  • 1991 Caldecott Honor Award, "More More More," Said the Baby
  • 1994 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Fiction Category, Scooter
  • 1995 Exhibition at the Library of Congress, "Family, Friends, and Community: The Art of Vera B. Williams"
  • 1998 Charlotte Zolotow Award, Lucky Song
  • 2002 Jane Addams Children's Book Award, Honor Book, Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart
  • 2008 Regina Medal from the Catholic Library Association

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Steve Israel: Children's author Vera Williams of Narrowsburg dies at 88. In: recordonline.com , October 20, 2015, accessed on October 23, 2015 (English).
  2. ^ Edwin McDowell: Newberry, Caldecott Book Prizes Awarded . In: New York Times , January 12, 1983. Retrieved October 10, 2007. “… Caldecott Honor books are When I Was Young in the Mountains (EP Dutton), written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Diane Goode, and A Chair for My Mother (Greenwillow Books), illustrated and written by Vera B. Williams. " 
  3. ^ Edwin McDowell: Children's Book Award Winners Named . In: New York Times , January 15, 1991. Retrieved October 10, 2007. 
  4. ^ Library of Congress Exhibition Features Work of Children's Author / Illustrator Vera Williams
personal data
SURNAME Williams, Vera Baker
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Williams, Vera
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American children's author and illustrator
DATE OF BIRTH January 28, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Hollywood , California , United States
DATE OF DEATH October 16, 2015