Docent Notes An Original Exhibition Organized by The National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, ©2015 Internationally acclaimed picture-book creator David Shannon has always been an artist. At the age of five, he wrote and illustrated his first book. On every page were pictures of David doing things he was not supposed to do and these words: No, David! - the only words he knew how to spell! Many years later, when his mother sent him that book, Shannon was inspired to write and illustrate his now-classic bestseller and Caldecott Honor Book No, David! In the books he writes, Shannon often uses incidents and people from his own life. His daughter made animal noises before she could talk, so Shannon wrote Duck on a Bike, a story with lots of quacks, moos, oinks, and woofs. His entertaining picture book about a West Highland terrier, Good Boy, Fergus!, features the beloved family dog, and how can anyone with children not guess where Shannon got the idea for Too Many Toys? In 1993, Shannon published How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball, the first book he wrote himself (as an adult!). It was a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year, and in 2011, the Blue Sky Press published it again with a colorful new cover. Since then, he has written and illustrated numerous award-winning, bestselling books, including A Bad Case of Stripes; Alice the Fairy; The Rain Came Down; and three more picture books featuring David: David Gets in Trouble; David Goes to School.; and It’s Christmas, David! Shannon once again broke new ground with a dramatic but funny “fish tale” called Jangles: A BIG Fish Story. Told by a father to his son, this story is drawn from Shannon’s experiences as an avid fisherman and teller of tales. Born in Washington, D.C., Shannon grew up in Spokane, Washington. He graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and then moved to New York City. His illustrations have appeared in a wide variety of publications, including The New York Times, Time, and Rolling Stone. David Shannon’s art has graced a number of book jackets. David Shannon now lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Heidi and their daughter, Emma. Here is what he had to say on how he became an illustrator- “I had no idea there were all these great stories out there. So, I took another one and another one, and the more children's books I did, the more I realized that was really what I'd always loved to do. When I was a kid, that's what I did. I read books, and I drew pictures of what I saw in my head. So when I read The Hobbit, I drew lots of hobbits and Gandalf. I realized I was drawing the same subject matter that I drew as a kid, with baseball players and pirates and knights and things like that. When I first began doing children's books, like when I did editorial work, my palette was a lot more muted and dark. It would slowly, but surely, become more colorful. And I just like the colors better. When I'm doing a book, I kind of think of it as directing a little movie. So, I try to make everything in the pictures reinforce the story in some way. And color can do an awful lot with conveying the emotion and mood and tone of the story. If you're doing a sad story, a lot of times bright colors aren't the way to go.” ©Reading Rockets The following pages will guide you through the exhibit. Most notable in this exhibit are the expression of motion and emotions that David Shannon manages to convey through body lines, and eyes. Also, colors used in the imagery often reflect a sense of drama and convey setting. The pictures in David Shannon’s books talk to children and adults alike. Gawain and the Green Knight, © 1994, Acrylic Working in collaboration with his brother Mark, David recreates this Arthurian tale of courage and love. Gawain is the youngest and most inexperienced knight in King Arthur's court. The gigantic Green Knight interrupts the Yuletide festivities to storm into Camelot challenging Arthur's knights to chop off his head. If he survives, he expects his be-header to seek him out in a year and a day to have his own head chopped off. After being teased by the members of the Round Table, Gawain agrees to meet the challenge of the fearsome Green Knight, with only his courage, his honor, and the sash given to him by his beloved Caryn standing between him and death. Gawain slices off the stranger's head, who then picks it up. The giant survives and calls Gawain to a meeting a year hence. He leaves with his bloody head, reminding the young man to keep his word. Gawain travels long to find the appointed spot, enduring fierce winter weather before finding shelter in a castle. There he resists the offer of an allegedly magic sash. The Green Knight therefore withholds his blow, telling him, "You were true to the mysteries of your own heart." This story dates back 1,000 years in Celtic lore as a Cuchulain tale, and Gawain emerged as the hero in an anonymous 14th-century epic. Day after day Gawain spurred his horse, Gringolet, onward, and night after night he survived in the icy cold. Gawain is on his way to the Green Chapel. How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball,©1994, cover reprinted in 2012, Acrylic Chosen as a The New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book, How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball was the very first book David Shannon wrote and illustrated himself. Using his vast experience as an editorial illustrator, Shannon told an expressive, emotional tale of a time when spring no longer existed, and it was always winter in America. Why? Because an angry dictator declared baseball illegal, and once-happy citizens fell into a dull pace of endless ice, snow, factories, and drudgery. After being booed and jeered by the home crowd during a terrible slump, Boss Swaggert storms off the field never to play baseball again, vowing that someday the sport would be declared illegal. Becoming rich and powerful over the years, he buys up the media and extols the evils of the game. Eventually, having all of America believing him, he has the president arrested for "Conspiracy to Commit Baseball" for throwing out the first ball of the season, declares himself Chief Executive Officer of America, and outlaws the game. Without baseball, spring never comes and the winter months turn slowly into freezing years. Enter Georgie Radbourn, who inexplicably utters sayings about baseball every time he opens his mouth and ends up on trial before his 10th birthday. This eventually leads to a showdown between him and Swaggert, and a happy ending ensues. As David recollects, this book was perfect as it combined two of his favorite things to do, baseball and paint. Back then, David was doing dark editorial work which suited the subject of the book. To do a baseball book was a fantasy come true. Growing up, he wanted to be a baseball player, and be an artist part- time. Now, he plays on a soft ball league while he paints full time. On the right is the original cover of the book released in 1994, while the one on the left and included in the show is the new cover, redone in 2012 Note the differences in the perspective, colors and Georgie’s body language. The showdown- between Georgie Radbourn and Boss Swaggert. The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza, © 1995, Acrylic Experiencing hurt dignity when neighbor Mr. Clack sneers at the Merriweather family's single strand of lights, Mr. Merriweather goes on a frenzy of holiday house decorating that escalates out of control with cutout reindeer, giant candy canes, and more. It causes him to alienate his neighbors, forget his devoted family, and lose sight of Christmas. Mr. Merriweather gathered up his kids and drove the station wagon to five big department stores. He bought so many Christmas decorations that he couldn’t close the tailgate. Mr. Merriweather, flushed with compliments on how beautiful his house looked, took to adding more decorations! The Ballad of the Pirate Queens, ©1995, Pen & Ink Title page Written by Jane Yolen, this is an unusual ballad of pirate adventure that sings the history of Anne Bonney and Mary Reade, the only 2 women of the 12 pirates aboard the Vanity. They defend the ship from the men of the governor's man-o'-war, Albion, while their captain and the rest of the crew were below drinking rum and playing cards. These females are absolutely the best and bravest of this bad lot. The Vanity is taken; all are brought to trial, but Anne and Mary escape hanging by "pleading their bellies" - claiming they are pregnant. Sacred Places, ©1996, Acrylic Copán: Sacred Aztec Written by Jane Yolen, this book is a collection of poems which takes you on a journey of sacred sites such as Easter Island and the Mayan temple of Copán to Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall and the Christian cathedrals of Europe. A Bad Case of Stripes, ©1998, Acrylic Camilla Cream worries too much about what others think of her and tries desperately to please everyone. First stripes, then stars and stripes, and finally anything anyone suggests (including tree limbs, feathers, and a tail) appear vividly all over her body. The solution: lima beans, loved by Camilla, but disdained for fear they'll promote unpopularity with her classmates.