Picture Book Fan Headquarters

Did you know the world's largest collection of children's book illustration is located within a day trip from Kalamazoo? Gas prices aside, The Mazza Museum http://www.mazzamuseum.org/ at University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio is a trip worth taking if you're a fan of words and images like I am. When author and illustrator Rosemary Wells http://www.rosemarywells.com/ gave an afternoon lecture at the Mazza some years ago, my family made this a weekend trip with a stay at the Holidome in Perrysburg http://www.hifq.com/tour/default.asp and a stop at the Toledo Zoo http://www.toledozoo.org/(Toledo Museum of Art http://www.toledomuseum.org/ is on my list for the next visit).

But if you really become bitten by the picture book bug and a day or weekend trip isn't enough, check out Mazza's weeklong summer institute or study tour programs to truly immerse yourself in the picturebook writing and illustrating process. For the opportunity to travel to various artists' studios, check this long, long link www.findlay.edu/newsevents/news/newsreleases/2006/06/MazzaSummerStudy.htm to learn more about Mazza's study tours. You'll need to contact Mazza directly if interested because this seems to be top secret --- not listed on their website. The tours take place in June, this year in Arizona and space is limited. Enjoy!

A visionary but obscure patriot

On any list of America's stellar founding generation, Henry Knox has been almost completely ignored. Henry Knox: visionary general of the American Revolution by Mark Puls corrects this historical omission in a convincing way. During the American Revolution, this self-taught strategist and artillery commander provided General George Washington with the essential support he needed to win an "unwinnable" war against the world's greatest military. Even more impressive were his accomplishments following the war. As Secretary of War under the Articles of Confederation, he was one of the first to call for a new constitution. It would be Knox who would provide a plan for a bicameral national government and a draft of a constitution that was prescient in its similarity to the one later ratified. In 1800, a fire destroyed all of the U.S. War Office's records, thereby obscuring Knox's many contributions. This well-written biography sets the record straight on how important Knox was in the early years of our country.

To All the Mothers

Did you know that the original proclamation, composed in honor of Mother’s Day and given by the President, was composed by Julia Ward Howe, an abolitionist and writer of the Battle Hymn of the Republic (1862)?

Arise then, women of this day! Arise all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be of water or of tears! "Say firmly: We will not have questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us reeking of carnage for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience. We women of one country will be too tender to those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. From the bosom of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own, it says "Disarm! Disarm!"

The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession. As men have forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his time the sacred impress not of Caesar, but of God.

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.

Ladies of Liberty

Cokie Roberts newest book, Ladies of Liberty: the women who shaped our nation, pays homage to the influential women of the American Revolution. These women were wives and mothers who through letter writing and consultations with their husbands or men in power were able to influence the way our nation was to be built and progress. From the well-known Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison and Sacajawea to Elizabeth Monroe, Louisa Catherine Adams and Rosalie Calvert, the reader soon realizes that our quest for liberty was not merely speeches by the leaders or fighting by the soldiers but also involved women who sought a better society. A humanizing story of the women who helped shape our nation.

Kofi and His Magic

Maya Angelou writes great children's Books!

Maya Angelou is most famous for her uplifting poetry and her great voice. Many people are familiar with titles like Still I Rise and Even the stars look lonesome. Maya Angelou is not only a poet but also a historian, actress, civil rights activist and world traveler. What many people might not know is that Maya Angelou is a great writer of children’s books. She has written delightful books on the children of Africa. Books like Kofi and His Magic gives a reader a very descriptive view of the villages of Ghana. This magical story tells a make-believe tale of a little boy named Kofi and his many travels through Ghana in his imagination. He only has to imagine himself in another village and he is there. Through Kofi’s mind-travel the reader learns a little of nearby villages’ history, geography and customs. Another book written by Maya Angelou for children is My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me. Maya Angelou tells the story of a little South African Ndebele girl and relationship with her brother and her beloved chicken.

These are great books to share. Pick one up and enjoy.

Make art not war

I watched the documentary film The cats of Mirikitani last night and found myself mesmerized by the story of an elderly Japanese American artist who was homeless on the streets of New York until 9/11, when a local filmmaker took him into her home. Tsutomu "Jimmy" Mirikitani was one of thousands sent to Tule Lake Relocation Center during the Japanese American internment of World War II. The injustices he experienced while imprisoned at Tule Lake, including having his American citizenship revoked, are a major theme of his paintings, along with cats (also related to a memory from the camp). With the help of Linda Hattendorf, his filmmaker friend, Jimmy begins to come to peace with his past, locate family he hasn't heard from in years, and begin a new life at the age of eighty one.

***Located in KPL's nonfiction audiovisual section at DVD 741.9 M.

Journey to the Present

As a lover of art and history, I really enjoy books and movies that trace the journey of an object. They are usually a series of interconnected short stories that start in the present and travel backward in time to the moment of the object's creation.

The first book I read like this was Girl in Hyacinth Blue about a supposed Vermeer painting.

Then I watched the movie The Red Violin with Samuel L. Jackson about a one-of-a-kind, blood red violin.

I just read The People of the Book in which a modern book conservator finds a series of tiny artifacts in the binding of a 600 year-old Jewish prayer book. This story travels back and forth between the present and the moment when each artifact entered the book.

I have only come across these types of stories through word-of-mouth, so if you know of others, please comment!