Jerry Pinkney has been illustrating children's books since 1964 and
has the rare distinction of being the recipient of-Five Caldecott
Honor Medals
Five Coretta Scott King Awards
Four New York Times Best Illustrated Awards (most recently 2006
Little Red Hen)
Four Gold and four Silver medals from the Society of
Illustrators
Boston Globe Honor Book Award (John Henry 1994)
In addition to his work on children's books, he is an extremely
successful artist who has had eleven one-man retrospectives at
venues ranging from the Museum of the National Center of
Afro-American Artists to the Art Institute of Chicago. His current
one-man show entitled, "Building Bridges, the Art of Jerry Pinkney"
was organized by the Pittsburgh Children's Museum and will be
traveling through 1998. Mr. Pinkney has illustrated for a wide
variety of clients, including National Geographic , the National
Parks Service, the U.S. Postal Service, the American Library
Association and the Association of Booksellers for Children.
Born in Philadelphia in 1939, Jerry Pinkney states, "(I) took an
interest in drawing very early in my life, and at some point I
realized I'd rather sit and draw than do almost anything else."
While growing up in the Germantown section of Philadelphia his
interest in art was supported by hisfamily -- especially by his
mother. "She certainly understood me and made it clear to everyone
that if art was what I wanted to pursue, then that's what she
wanted to have happen. My father also became very supportive, and
when I wanted to take art classes after school he found ways for me
to attend."
In junior high school Mr. Pinkney had a newsstand and took a
drawing pad with him to work every day and sketched passersby. That
was how he met the cartoonist John Liney, who encouraged him to
draw and showed him the possibilities of making a living as an
artist.
After graduating from the commercial art program at Dobbins
Vocational School, where he met his wife, author Gloria Jean
Pinkney, Jerry Pinkney received a full scholarship to attend the
Philadelphia Museum College of Art (now University of the Arts).
While at PCA he and Gloria married. After their first child was
born, they moved to Boston, where Mr. Pinkney worked as a designer
at Rustcraft Greeting Card Company, and at Barker-Black Studio
where he developed his reputation as an illustrator. Eventually he
opened Kaleidoscope Studio with two other artists. Later he opened
his own freelance studio -- Jerry Pinkney Studio -- and moved to
New York. Sensitivity to and an interest in a variety of cultures
has always been a dominant theme of Mr. Pinkney s work. He has also
drawn inspiration for a significant part of his work from African
American culture. Among his numerous projects are his twelve
postage stamps for the U.S. Postal Service Black Heritage series.
Mr. Pinkney was a member of its Advisory Committee for ten years
and he was also invited to join the NASA artist team for the space
shuttle Columbia. "I wanted to show that an African American artist
could make it on a national level in the graphic arts. I want to be
a strong role model for my family and for other African
Americans."
Many of Mr. Pinkney's children's books celebrate multicultural and
African American themes. "Working on both the Uncle Remus tales and
John Henry has shown me an important link between pivotal and
opposite African American folk heroes. Brer Rabbit, the sly
trickster, originated during slavery and was the first African
American folk hero. Slaves who wanted to get the better of their
masters needed to be cunning and sly -- hence the trickster role.
However, later comes John Henry, a free man, whose strength and
valor bring him fame. He was a strong folk hero for African
Americans, a symbol of all the working men who made a major
contribution to the building of the roads and railroads in the
mountains of West Virgi
K-Gr 3‘This beautifully illustrated and moving fictional story can be used to introduce Harriet Tubman and the injustice of slavery to young audiences. Minty (Harriet's "cradle" name was Araminta) is a spirited child who hides in order to shirk the commands of the temperamental Mrs. Brodas. When she spills a pitcher of cider, the mistress of the plantation throws the girl's beloved rag doll into the fire and sends her to work in the fields. There, she disobeys the overseer by freeing some muskrats from their traps and is whipped for her willfulness. After this incident, Minty's father takes her dreams of escape seriously and teaches her to survive in the wild. She is tempted to take a horse from in front of the Brodas house and to flee, but hesitates and loses the opportunity. Nevertheless, she vows that someday she will run away. An author's note tells of the realization of her dream and her work with the Underground Railroad. Pinkney's illustrations are outstanding, even when compared to his other fine work. His paintings, done in pencil, colored-pencils, and watercolor, use light and shadow to great effect, and his depictions of Minty are particularly powerful and expressive. This is a dramatic story that will hold listeners' interest and may lead them to biographical material such as David A. Adler's A Picture Book of Harriet Tubman (Holiday, 1992) and Ann McGovern's Wanted Dead or Alive (Scholastic, 1991). However, with so many real-life incidents from Tubman's childhood to choose from, one has to wonder why Schroeder decided to create fictional ones.‘Louise L. Sherman, Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ
This fictionalized account of Tubman's childhood on a Maryland plantation provides a cruel snapshot of life as a slave and the horrid circumstances that fueled the future Underground Railroad leader's passion and determination. At eight years old, Minty (so-called as a nickname for Araminta) boils with rebellion against her brutal owners and bucks their authority whenever possible. Deeming her too clumsy for housework, Mrs. Brodas banishes Minty to harder work in the fields. Toiling in the hot sun only intensifies Minty's desire to run away to freedom, and soon her father teaches her how to survive in the wild, so that she'll be prepared to make her break one day. Schroeder's (Ragtime Tumpie; Carolina Shout!) choice of lively vignettes rather than a more traditional biography is a wise one. With color and feeling he humanizes a historic figure, coaxing readers to imagine or research the rest of the story. Pinkney's (John Henry) full-bodied watercolors evoke a strong sense of time and place. Laudably, Pinkney's scenes consistently depict young Minty's point of view, giving the harshness of her reality more resonance for readers. A formal author's note follows the text and both Schroeder and Pinkney have included personal messages about the history of the book project. A firm stepping stone toward discussions of slavery and U.S. history. Ages 5-9. (May)
Ask a Question About this Product More... |