Synergy: Celia Thaxter

CELIA THAXTER (1835-1894) is an American author, artist, and naturalist known for her love of gardens and the islands off the coast of New England.

Read the recently published nonfiction picture book for children, then extend the experience with the websites:

CELIA PLANTED A GARDEN written by Phyllis Root and Gary D. Schmidt and illustrated by Melissa Sweet shares the life of American author, artist, and naturalist Celia Thaxter who wrote and painted about her passion for island life off the coast of New England. The book’s illustrator skillfully weaves in quotes from Thaxter’s writings and features her passion for flowers and nature, while the authors explore the key events of Celia’s life and conclusion with a useful note, timeline, and bibliography. 

ARC courtesy of Candlewick.

ABOUT CELIA THAXTER is a series of web pages from Shoals Marine Laboratory that explore the life, writing, and gardens of Celia Thaxter on Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire.

To visit the pages, go to https://www.shoalsmarinelaboratory.org/about-celia-thaxter.

CELIA THAXTER’S GARDEN INSTALLATION AT SHOALS MARINE LAB is a short YouTube video that shares the process of re-creating the naturalist’s gardens on Thaxter’s beloved island.

To watch the video, go to https://youtu.be/y_3L6DmThps.

Many of Celia Thaxter’s works are available at Internet Archive including An Island Garden.

To read An Island Garden, go to https://archive.org/details/islandgarden00thax.

Timely Take-aways for Life-Long Learning: Birds and Birders

Several new and upcoming books explore the world of birds and birders. From naturalists and scientists to backyard birders, these books explore the wide range of ways people connect with birds.

Best Little Book of Birds: The Oregon Coast

Sarah Swanson, 2022, Timber Press, an imprint of Hachette Book Group

Themes: Nature, Birds

Organized into 25 short chapters, readers learn about bird families found on the Oregon Coast. The first book in a new series of pocket-sized birding guides, this book provides quality photographs, useful icons, and short text blocks with key bird information.

Take-aways: Introduce students to birding through this appealing new field guide series. 

Audubon at Sea

Edited by Christoph Irmscher & Richard J. King, 2022, University of Chicago Press

Themes: Nature, Birds

Weaving together Audubon’s writings and artwork, the editors explore this famous artist and naturalist’s connect with the sea and waterbirds.

Take-aways: Explore this book for examples of the challenges educators and students face in addressing the legacy of naturalists such as Audubon who killed for his art.

Woman, Watching: Louise de Kiriline Lawrence and the Songbirds of Pimisi Bay

Merilyn Simonds, 2022, ECW Press, an imprint of Baker & Taylor Publisher Services

Themes: Biography, Naturalist, Birds

While living in an isolated cabin in Ontario, Canada, Louise de Kiriline Lawrence worked as a nurse then devoted her life to studying birds. The author connects the life story of this pioneer of ornithology with her own passion for songbirds.

Take-aways: Use Lawrence and Simonds as examples of how naturalists yesterday and today contribute to our understanding of birds through their observations and citizen science.

Flight Paths: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration

Rebecca Heisman, 2023, Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins

Themes: Nature, Birds

From bird banding to DNA markers, explore the little-known story of the scientists who pieced together the puzzle of bird migration. Crossing generations and disciplines, this fascinating discovery was made possible through the synergy of collaboration to address a complex problem.

Take-aways: Use this story as an example of the power of collaboration to tackle scientific challenges. Also, use it to share how scientific discoveries build on one another.

Whether helping educators keep up-to-date in their subject-areas, promoting student reading in the content-areas, or simply encouraging nonfiction leisure reading, teacher librarians need to be aware of the best new titles across the curriculum and how to activate life-long learning. - Annette Lamb

Synergy: Color Theory

Color theory involves concepts and design guidance connected with color combinations and aesthetics. For instance, a color wheel is a circle containing colored sections showing the relationships among colors such as primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. Color harmony refers to combinations that are aesthetically pleasing together.

Read the three recently published informational picture books for children then learn more at the website.

The NATURE’S WONDERFUL COLORS series written by Jana Sedláčková and Štěpánka Sekaninová is designed for readers interested in how color is reflected the natural world. Illustrated by Magdalena Konečná, each two-page spread features hand-painted watercolor illustrations that are likely to inspire both nature and art lovers. 

COLORS IN NATURE explores a dozen colors and how they are reflected in the natural world. Readers also explore the color wheel and mixing colors.

COLORS OF HABITATS shares the rich colors found in biomes from around the world. Color names and swatches found on each page encourage artists to explore color harmony in nature.

SHAPES AND PATTERNS IN NATURE presents readers with examples of how patterns and shapes are found in plants, animals, and minerals. Whether examining fish scales, flower petals, or fruit cross-sections, the author reveals a fascinating world of forms in nature.

UX PLANET’s website shares four master artists who used nature-inspired color palettes. Use the resources and paintings on this page to inspire young artists to think about applying nature’s colors to their artwork.

To read the article, go to https://bit.ly/3bwUoZu. 

The article 9 AMAZING ARTISTS by Wynita Harmon shares works of art that inspire nature-related art projects for children.

To read the article, go to https://bit.ly/3nNePXI.

ARC courtesy of Albatros Media, an imprint of Ingram Publisher Services.

Synergy: Artist Ben Shahn

Ben Shahn (1898-1969) was a Lithuanian born, American social realist artist and educator. Through his paintings, murals, prints, photographs, and illustrations, he told the stories of civil rights activists, political protestors, and ordinary people facing injustice.

Read the biographical picture book for youth, then learn more at the websites:

THE PEOPLE’S PAINTER: HOW BEN SHAHN FOUGHT FOR JUSTICE WITH ART written by Cynthia Levinson and illustrated by Evan Turk tells the true story of a boy who escaped injustice and spent his life sharing the stories of others who faced persecution. Notes, a timeline, and resources are useful in learning more about this artist.

The Archives of American Art contains collections, oral histories, and digital reproductions of the work of BEN SHAHAN.

To visit this collection, go to https://s.si.edu/34ytHjt

BEN SHAHN: PASSION FOR JUSTICE is an award-winning PBS documentary telling the story of this socially engaged artist. Told through interviews and examples of his work, excerpts from this documentary would be useful in helping students understand the continued relevance of this artist.

To watch the video, go to https://youtu.be/LFYwcq0veXc

ARC courtesy of Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Book Review: Vincent and Theo

VINCENT AND THEO: THE VAN GOGH BROTHERS by Deborah Heiligman is an engaging nonfiction narrative exploring the life of artist Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo.

The story is told through a series of galleries that contain very short chapters. Works of art introduce these galleries. Each section explores a different time period in the lives of the Van Gogh brothers. Much of the story is told through the letters written among family members.

The book contains a timeline, author’s note, biography, thank you, endnotes, and an index. In addition, the book contains a series of full-color plates.

Librarians will find that Heiligman’s conversational writing style will immerse readers in the world of the Van Gogh brothers. Use this title as part of a nonfiction narrative literature circle or nonfiction young adult book club.

Published by Henry Holt on April 18, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Book Review: Silent Days, Silent Dreams

SILENT DAYS, SILENT DREAMS by Allen Say tells the compelling true story of a talented and unusual artist.

James Castle was born deaf and never learned to read, write, or speak. Despite his challenges, Castle found peace in drawing. Say tells the extraordinary story of this artist’s life through vivid drawings and concise text.

Librarians will find this amazing story to be an excellent addition to the biography collection. Weave the title into discussions about the challenges people overcome to follow their passion.

Published by Scholastic. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Book Review: The Radiant Child

THE RADIANT CHILD by Javaka Steptoe is an award-winning picture book telling the story of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Winner of the 2017 Caldecott Medal for children’s illustrator, this biography shares the true story of a boy who dreamt of becoming an artist. The book concludes with a biographical sketch, information about the artist’s work, and a note from the author/illustrator.

Like artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, Steptoe used a variety of found materials to create the artwork for this fascinating work.

Librarians will find this picture book to be an effective tool for teaching about biographies along with an inspirational resource for young artists.

To learn more about the author/illustrator, go to http://www.javaka.com/.

Published by Little Brown, an imprint of Hachette. ARC courtesy of the publisher.