Check It Out

          “Let it Snow” by Annette Simon 

Beach, sand instead of snow, growing up in Ohio without an ocean nearby and now living in Ponte Vedra , FL; those thoughts all figured into Annette Simon’s snowflake, “Let it Snow”.  Her snowflake will be in the first auction, November 19-23 at Robert’s Snow. 

Annette says, “The beach is a great place to make up stories about what you can see (or not).”Look at her snowflake closely.  “Do you see “that faraway boat”, the “tiny triangle”? She imagines it’s hosting a party; “on my snowflake’s boat, kids are dancing. Trust me.” 

Why did she use simple shapes?  Annette says that she could say it was for “purely aesthetic/design reasons or for lack of time due to the antics of a teenage son. Either sound suspicious. Both are true.” 

However, the snowflake sparked a new idea for a book involving all kinds of ocean things.  Annette told me she is dancing with the starfish these days and went on to say, “if the snowflake sells at all, I will consider it a success. I am truly humbled to be in the company of these artists.”  It will sell I am sure. 

Some random questions for my snowflake artist: 

What is on your nightstand?
On my nightstand: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (embarrassed
to say I’ve not yet read); March by Geraldine Brooks (haunting), Talk  
Talk by E.L. Konigsburg (she’s from Ponte Vedra), Eat Pray Love by  
Elizabeth Gilbert, Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Sara  
Fanelli, and Artist to Artist by the folks at the Eric Carle Museum  
of Picture Book Art
Chocolate: Dark, milk, or white?Mmmm. Dark chocolate. Dark. Dark. Dark.

Favorite childhood book?
From The Mixed-up Files of  Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (and yes, I acted like a  blithering idiot the first time I met her), E.B. White’s The Trumpet  
of the Swan, my aunt’s Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew collections. Oh,  
and the first book I ever truly read on my own: Green Eggs and Ham by  
Dr. Seuss. (Love love Dr. Seuss.)
Some childhood book-related trivia: My mom’s maiden name is Carroll.  
Though we all know, Lewis Carroll was not the real name of the author  
of Alice in Wonderland, it was not my fault that all my elementary  
school friends thought we were related. Nope. Not one bit.
More trivia: In third grade, I won a poster contest for Fire  
Prevention Week. It was the first time I was paid for my words and  
artwork (five whole dollars that I promptly spent on colored pencils  
and chocolate), and my poster was displayed at the town’s new  
firehouse (Grand Opening). I felt like a celebrity.
 

Whom would you like to meet?
George Clooney and I  share the exact same birthday. And of course, one day I would like to tell him in person.
 

If you were not an artist, what occupation would you choose?
I can’t imagine not doing art in some form. For a while, I dreamed of  leaving advertising to be an art teacher. However, I’ve realized I  simply do not have the kind of patience good teachers must have. (I  bow down to teachers. No kidding.)

Annette Simon has recently made her foray into the kidlitosphere world.  Her opening comment to me was, “Don’t you just love the kidlitosphere?” Her book, Mocking Birdies, was a finalist for The Writers’ League of Texas Teddy Awards, a pick for  the American Institute of Graphic Arts’ 50 Books/50 covers exhibit, and named a Best Book for Children by the Association of Booksellers  for Children.

Leave a comment.  Your name will be in a drawing for a copy of her book.  Annette graciously donated a book to my library and a book for the drawing.  I told her to let me pay for it and she said,” no way.”  Therefore, I will bid on her snowflake instead.  It reminds me of California winters as a child.  I will draw the winner on November 19.

Please visit the other illustrators today and get ready to start bidding on these wonderful treasures of original art while helping to raise money for cancer research.

Happy Reading.

MsMac