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Tracey Campbell Pearson was born in Norwalk, Connecticut. The youngest of four children, her family moved to neighboring Wilton when she was eight years old. While attending Parsons School of Design, she studied with Maurice Sendak and discovered her love for creating children's books. After her graduation from Parsons in 1978, -she began her career as a staff artist at American Greetings Corp. in Cleveland, Ohio. She returned to New York City in 1980, where she began a full-time career as a freelance illustrator. Her first book, We Wish You a Merry Christmas [Dial 19821, was a Booklist reviewer's choice. Since 1980, Tracey Campbell Pearson has illustrated more than twenty-five books for children. She wrote five of those, including The Howling Dog [Farrar Straus arid Giroux 1991, selected as one of the top 100 Classic New England Children's Books, Yankee Magazine. The Purple Hat [FSG 19971 and her recent book, Where Does Joe Go? FSG 1991, which won a-2000 Oppenheim Toy "Portfolio Gold" Award and -receivjed-starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly. P.W. describes Joe as "One of the cleversest entries this season...". The story is based on the seasonal changes at a snack bar in her hometown in Vermont. Many of her books - The Awful Aardvarks Go to School [Viking 19971, The Missing Tarts [Viking 19891 - have received starred and notable reviews. Her awards include a Parent's Choice Award for illustration, Time Magazine "Best Books", and Parenting Magazine's "Reading Top Magic" Award. She is also the illustrator of the Claude and Shirley series, written by Joan Lowery Nixon, a Parent's Choice Award winner about an amusing couple who are Texas pioneers. Ms. Pearson moved to Vermont in 1982, where she lives with her husband, son, daughter, dog, cat and chickens ... all of whom have made guest appearances in her books |
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The Awful Aardvarks Go to School Price: $15.99 (OUT OF PRINT) "A funny, alliterative romp through the alphabet. Four friendly and frolicking aardvarks arrive at school, where they disturb and distress everyone in the class, blacken the boards, and cause quite a messÉ. The equally amusing watercolor illustrations are a good match, reflecting perfectly the satisfying actions of the text right down to when the dreadful creatures "Flicked Fleas at our Friend Freddie Frog." A flying success" School Library Journal |
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The Awful Aardvarks Shop for School Price: $15.99 (OUT OF PRINT) "The first week of September means the annual back-to-school shopping spree for school supplies, and even not-quite-civilized aardvarks need new backpacks, notebooks, and markersÉ. Pearson's loose watercolors are a busy delight, with expressive faces on the horrified store clerks and fellow shoppers and lots of little details to discover in multiple readingsÉ.A rollicking romp of a picture book that will make an excellent first-day-of-school story for primary-grade kids." Kirkus Reviews |
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Bob Price: $16.00 "A rooster with a bit of an identity crisis takes center coop in this lighthearted picture book about the sounds various animals make. Bob the rooster has always clucked right along with the chickens he lives with. But when Henrietta the cat tells Bob he needs to learn how to crow in order to "wake up the girls every morning" he's thrown. Henrietta offers the only help she can and teaches Bob to meow. Further farm and countryside research results in Bob mimicking all manner of noises "Woof,... Moo... and Ribbet-Ribbet-Hop-Hop" among them. At last, he happens upon a bird that resembles him and learns to deliver a rousing "cock-a-doodle-do!" However, it's Bob's mastery of other animals' expressions that proves particularly handy when a fox comes slinking around." Publisher's Weekly |
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Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling Price: $5.95 "In two more nursery standbys, Tracey Campbell Pearson injects some humor into her delicate watercolors,: Little Miss Muffet and Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling. In the first, for instance, the heroine's pillow serves as a tuffet, and her pet cat has the last laugh: after the spider scares her away, the feline makes a play for the arachnid then laps up the milk." Publishers Weekly |
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Gator Aid Price: $16.00(OUT OF PRINT) "In the Fraser brothers' third appearance, second-grader Edward can't convince anyone that he has seen a baby alligator in the lake at the local parkÉ Young readers will enjoy this light tale of neighborhood adventure, and will be pleased with the ending, happy for all." School Library Journal |
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G-Rex Price: $16.95 "Fed up with his older brother always having the advantage, Gregory grows into a G-Rex that threatens to eat Mark unless he's given more meat. The family frantically runs all over town trying to satisfy their new monsterÉ.. Pearson's zany artwork races across the pages with humorous details of chaotic family life, and readers will readily see that G-Rex's threat to eat his brother is part of the fun, not a cause for alarmÉ, the art is exciting and engaging. Tie-ins with emotions and dealing with older siblings are obvious, but children will love the power trip." School Library Journal |
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Hector Protector Price: $5.95 |
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Leap, Frog Price: $16.00 "When a karate-chopping kindergartner named Charley moves in next door, Edward Fraser and his older brother, Jason, see mischief in the making. Charley is good at kicking, jumping, noise-making, and running wild. He's not so good at staying out of trouble. Charley leads Edward a merry chase, complicating everything. A fragile egg baby is imperiled by his antics. The First Annual Mark Twain Memorial Jumping Frog Contest ends in controversy because of him. And Edward's ninth birthday celebration, an afternoon at the theater, requires special planning and has unpredictable results when Charley takes it for granted that he's invited. " (from the publisher) |
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Little Bo Peep Price: $5.95 "In this series of board books, familiar nursery rhymes have been given a more up-to-date visual interpretation. For Little Bo-Peep, the young girl has a couple of stuffed sheep that she tosses out of her crib. Then she cries because she "can't tell where to find them." The parents who were obviously already asleep come to the baby's rescue and find the toys which they put back into the crib. Baby now seems content and ready for a good night's sleep, but the last page shows her once again tossing the sheep over the side of the crib. The scenes are ones that today's kids can relate to." Children's Literature |
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Little Miss Muffet Price: $5.95 "In two more nursery standbys, Tracey Campbell Pearson injects some humor into her delicate watercolors,: Little Miss Muffet and Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling. In the first, for instance, the heroine's pillow serves as a tuffet, and her pet cat has the last laugh: after the spider scares her away, the feline makes a play for the arachnid then laps up the milk." Publishers Weekly |
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The Moon Price: $16.00 "Pearson's watercolor-and-ink illustrations add an entirely new dimension to
Stevenson's classic poem. They begin with the cozy image of a father perched
on the edge of his son's bed, but this father is not reading the boy a bedtime
story or tucking him in, as readers might expect. This father is actually coaxing
his sleepy son out of bed for a nighttime boat-ride. The two venture out into
a world that, though ordinary and familiar on one level, is imbued with a kind
of magic and mystery in the moonlight. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BOOK OF THE YEAR |
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Myrtle Price: $15.00 "A mean-spirited neighbor torments a young mouse and her baby brother until their aunt teaches them a timely lesson about coping with bullies. Myrtle is confident in her role as the cynosure of her family's universe-until Frances moves in next door. Frances revels in saying hurtful things and laying spiteful traps in Myrtle's yard. Soon enough, Myrtle is hiding in her closet in hopes of avoiding her nemesis. An urgent call to Myrtle's exotic Aunt Tizzy out in the wilds of Africa proves to be the solution to the dilemma. Aunt Tizzy explains to Myrtle that just as you cannot let fearsome lions keep you out of Africa, nor can you let mean bullies keep you from enjoying life. Aunt Tilly's non-confrontational, yet affirming solution is the ideal antidote to Frances's machinations. Soon Myrtle and her baby brother are having so much fun that all of Frances gesticulations go unnoticed. The lively illustrations are a perfect foil for the text; Frances is depicted as appropriately sly without being terrifying, subtly illustrating Pearson's point that a bully's roar is often worse than its bite" Kirkus Reviews |
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No Dogs Allowed Price: $4.95 OUT OF STOCK "Five short stories about Jason and Edward Fraser. The characters are realistically drawn as they face different situations: meeting the neighborhood bully; getting eyeglasses; going camping with their parents. Black-and-white drawings help to produce an overall tone that is upbeat and lightweight." School Library Journal |
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Rats! Price: $5.95 OUT OF STOCK "In this sequel to No Dogs Allowed (Farrar, 1992), Cutler presents five, self-contained stories about seemingly routine events in the lives of Jason and his six-year-old brother Edward. The book begins just before the school year starts when the boys go on their annual shopping trip. What makes these stories so inviting and funny is Cutler's exceptional talent for describing events from the boys' rather literal point of view. The brothers are believable characters whose escapades and lively dialogue ring true. The subject matter and short chapters nicely broken up by Pearson's pen-and-ink illustrations should attract beginning chapter-book readers, but the author's wonderful sense of timing and the cadence and symmetry of her language make this title a natural for reading aloud to an even wider audience." School Library Journal |
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School Days Price: $5.99 "In this book with lighthearted, rhyming couplets and cheery watercolors, readers glide through a typical day in a primary-grade classroomÉ.Routines such as art class, lunch, recess, story time, fire drill, and packing up at day's end occupy this rambunctious collection of children who reflect a mix of ethnic groups. A runaway class pet, a rabbit, romps from page to page as an ongoing visual joke. The illustrations use a fairly loose cartoon style and convey an infectious sense of movement. The text is reproduced to imitate children's block-style writing along a ruled guide that will be familiar to beginning printers; the page design effectively integrates text and pictures." School Library Journal |
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Where Does Joe Go? Price: $16.00 "One of the cleverest entries this season looks nothing like a holiday book. Cartoon illustrations chockablock with witty details serve as a red herring for readers, who will have fun speculating along with the customers of a popular snack bar as to the off-season destination of Joe, the plump, white-bearded owner. "`He's gone to the moon,' cried tiny June," who pictures Joe handing ice cream cones and hot dogs to astronauts. " `He's in the city,' suggested Kitty," who envisions him on a crowded street, serving throngs of pedestrians from a sidewalk stand. Fresh and funny, this light-hearted romp concludes with a wordless surprise ending: Joe is none other than Santa." Publisher's Weekly |
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Author Current Location: Jericho Center, Vermont Honorarium: out of state
Program Description My program has two parts. The first part is a 45-minute presentation suitable for small or large audiences. This is usually followed by a 30-40 minute workshop appropriate for smaller groups. I will present to parent/family groups or community libraries in combination with school visits for an additional fee. I have spoken to audiences that range from 2 months old to 80 years in the same group! The Presentation No matter what the size, I work to keep my presentation very hands on arid interactive with my audience. I begin by drawing and storytelling about where I get my ideas. I then take the students through the process of creating a book. I bring sketches, dummies, original draft and proof sheets. Students in the audience help me hold dummies that can stretch the length of ten children. The older the students, the more involved I get in the writing, editing and process of making picture books. The final part of my presentation involves slides of my family, studio, home and town. Because the books that I write-and-illustrate-are based on my family and community, the students can see where these stories come from. I end by answering questions from the students and teachers. Group Size
The Workshop The presentation can be followed directly or later that day or the next, by the workshop. In the workshop I become the publisher and the students become the illustrators. Using a short simple poem, first we brainstorm ideas together and then the children do their own illustrations. They each create their own dummy. The workshop is a lot of fun for everyone. But it also pulls together everything that I have talked about in my presentation. The students see that even though they all have the same text, they are different artists. As long as they are true to the words, they can go crazy with their own illustrations. Like each child, each book is unique. |
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