Gloucester Celebrates a Life in Art

Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios Week was declared recently in Gloucester, kicking off a citywide celebration of the life and art of Burton by the Sawyer Free Library and the Folly Cove Heritage Association. A Gloucester native, Virginia Lee Burton, the author, was perhaps best known for the picture books she wrote and illustrated, including Katy and the Big Snow, The Little House (which received the Caldecott Medal), and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, written for her son Michael. Virginia Lee Burton, the designer, was a founding member of the Folly Cove Designers, the renowned Gloucester textile design group. The city's weeklong celebration coincided with the publication by Houghton Mifflin of Virginia Lee Burton: A Life in Art by Barbara Elleman, children's literature expert and founder/editor of Book Links magazine.

The Sawyer Free Library Bookmobile took visiting "guest readers" all over the city to read Burton's books at preschools and daycares. Exhibits of Burton's work as an illustrator and Folly Cove designer were mounted at the Library, and at Gloucester's City Hall. The celebration featured a Big Vehicle Event, which included Gloucester's largest city trucks, because Burton frequently used them in her books. Three hundred children and families then settled down to hear Michael Demetrios, the "real" Mike, read his book: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. A tearful Mike told Library Director David McArdle "This is the first time that anyone has ever asked me to read that book aloud."

Later in the day, Gloucester audiences were treated to a panel discussion, featuring sons Michael and Aris, authors John Ronan and Barbara Elleman, and Folly Cove designer Lee Steele. A dramatic reading of Life Story, Burton's picture history of life on earth, and a beautifully choreographed ballet by Gloucester's Windhover Dance Company, "Made in Folly Cove," concluded the weeklong festivities.

Children's Book Week Celebration

Children's Book Week was celebrated in Gloucester as Sawyer Free Library Children's and Young Adult Librarians Christy Rosso and Christine Garcia planned a cooperative program with O'Maley Middle School Librarian Cindi Williams. On Friday, November 22, author Marianna Heusler visited the O'Maley School Library Media Center to read from her newest young adult mystery, The Night the Penningtons Vanished.

A resident of New York, Marianna Heusler is a nationally published author, a member of Crime Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. She is a former elementary school teacher and school librarian, who now volunteers in New York City schools. She has recently published the ebook, Buried In the Townhouse. The Night the Penningtons Vanished, published by the Larcom Press, is her first young adult novel.

The audience of 164 sixth grade female students learned about becoming a writer, as Ms. Heusler described her childhood experiences writing plays and newspapers. A former teacher and school librarian, Ms. Heusler delighted the audience with humorous stories of family members and friends who have been included in her stories. The girls listened to a reading from the book, and the program concluded with a lively question-and-answer session. Students and teachers received handouts, including addresses of publishers who pay for student work. Ms. Heusler also gave them her e-mail address, with an offer to critique the students' work. With the success of this cooperative program, the public and school librarians hope to plan more programs together in the future.

(Editor's Note: "Profiles" wanted! These articles are submitted to the Editor. The only criterion is that the article includes at least one type of collaboration between 2 different institutions. Also, that the submitter be willing to be contacted for more information.)