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Meet Some of Our Writers and Illustrators! Wee Ones has been blessed over the years with very talented writers and illustrators! We thought we'd share a few with you here. Be sure to check out our Feature Author or Illustrator in each issue! Introducing Author- Eileen Spinelli
My father gave me his old black manual typewriter. The key of Z stuck. Fine. I would not write stories about zebras or zippers. My father made me a desk from orange crates. My mother filled a box with paper. And that's how I began. In high school I nearly failed geometry. But I won first prize for my poetry. A check for 50 dollars. After high school I worked at an assortment of jobs. I was a waitress at a local diner. I was a secretary. I answered phones at an airplane factory. And in between the cracks--on the bus, on my lunch break, behind the coffee counter--I wrote. I married. Had children. And continued to write. At the laundromat. In the grocery line. At home when the children were asleep. Long into the night I wrote. My husband, Jerry, was writing too. We encouraged each other. Shared ideas. Dreamed. Years passed. The children grew up. Grandchildren arrived. Our writing dreams came true. I love my writing life. My office is on the second floor of our home. It's quite cozy. Plants at the windows. My desk, our old dining room table. A Teddy bear. Photos of my favorite people. An overstuffed chair. An electric typewriter. (No, I don't use a computer.) Sometimes I'm so eager to get to work that I don't take time to get dressed in the morning. I just run upstairs in my nightie, with a cup of tea and an idea or two. Such was the morning I began THREE PEBBLES AND A SONG. I looked at the trees outside my window. They were turning red and gold. I heard geese honking across the pond. I thought of how much I loved the changing of the seasons. How much I enjoyed getting ready for each one. Summer: dust the patio furniture. Spring: plant my herb garden. Fall: scour soup pot. Winter: play my Christmas cd's. I thought, too, about how important the arts are in all the seasons of my life. I thought about my playful--but unsuccessful--attempts at juggling. And I put the thoughts into words. And it was a good day. Introducing Illustrator- Brian Demeter
Brian moved to Ormond Beach, Florida when he started first grade and discovered that the small beach town was a great place to explore. Riding his BMX bike and playing in the woods were some of his favorite activities. “Ever since I was little I would dress up like my favorite movie or TV characters and go traipsing through the woods with my toy blaster or sword in hand. The more authentic my props were, the better!” When his parents put in their new pool, Brian, his Sister Lori, and Brother Derek enjoyed splashing the day away. As the years advanced, so did Brian’s talent as he continued creating wonderfully colorful pieces of artwork throughout Elementary school and Junior High. “I remember drawing cartoons of my teachers. I’d make sure to over-exaggerate their features and place them in funny situations. The pictures would crack my friends up!” In 1990, Brian’s family moved to Winter Springs, Florida, where he attended High School. “High School is where I really started to develop my painting skills. I remember that my first period class was Art, and it was a great way start to the day!” Now, with a Degree in Design Technology and years of hand-rendering experience, Brian prides himself in combining traditional-styled artwork with subtle digital enhancements to his illustrations. He lives and works in Oviedo FL, with his wife Lindsay and cat Alex. If you would like to see more artwork from Brian Demeter, please visit his website at: www.demeterillustration.com. Introducing Author- Katy Burke
I have always enjoyed both writing and reading and my favorite books as a kid were the Boxcar Children series. I loved that the main characters, the kids, were independent and had so many adventures. I have had many of my own adventures now and I want to share them through writing. My most recent explorations have been near the South Pole. I have spent a combined two and a half years working at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Many people go to Antarctica for scientific research. My job was to help those people make their travel arrangements to and from that frozen land. Penguins have always been one of my favorite animals because I think they are so silly. I like they way they waddle when they walk. I had never seen them except in a zoo until I went to Antarctica. Getting to see them in their natural environment is an experience I will never forget. They are curious and social creatures and very lovable. I learned a lot about emperor penguins writing this article and I hope you do too! Introducing Illustrator- Chris Cockcroft
When the time came to enter the working force, I knew that it would have to be in a visual field. I began as a graphic artist, and designed for large corporations for many years. While I appreciate the opportunities I was given, it didn't serve as the creative outlet I needed. I knew the time had come to take a risk and become a full-time freelance illustrator. Many years later, the amazement I felt as a child creating his own world, was revived. Children's illustration allows me to not only share my world, but with each idea, character and story I illustrate, watch the world as it grows and changes. Each day is filled with the excitement of creating things I never thought I could imagine. Introducing Author- Vijaya Khisty Bodach
At first, I wrote about my children and my cats. Then I wrote about my childhood in India. And I started to let my imagination soar the way it did when I was a child. I used to make up silly stories then. We used to play a game called Chain Story. One person starts a story, the next person adds to it. And so on and so forth. You never know how the story will end! I play Chain Story with my own children now. But lots of times I wonder, “What if a mouse dropped out of a book?” or “What if my daughter turned into a cat?” and a story is born. Everything I do, from cooking to gardening, taking walks in the woods or biking with my children, playing the piano or playing at the park, gives me ideas for stories. I like sharing my love of science with children. Check out my books for the youngest physicists (Perfection Learning, Fall 2005). I like writing about India. And I like writing other stories that have been brewing in my head for years. My stories appear in many children’s magazines: Odyssey, Ladybug, Highlights for Children and Wee Ones magazine. If you want to know more about me, where to find my stories or my favorite books, check out my website at www.VijayaBodach.com I’ll tell you a secret. I love writing for children. I think it’s because I never grew up. Introducing Illustrator- Candace Hardy
When I was very young, one student was chosen from each classroom at school to attend Saturday afternoon classes at the Toledo Museum of Art. In the 4th grade I was chosen. How I loved those classes! The classes introduced watercolors, oils, clay; any thing you could imagine we made into a piece of art. Sometimes we would go into the galleries to sketch. Later as an adult, I returned to the Toledo Museum of Art School of Design as a student. While I ended up being an elementary school teacher, my love of art never ended . Lots of times, a lesson I was teaching included an art lesson as well. When I no longer taught school, I began illustrating for writers. I love the challenge of drawing something that happened a long time ago. It’s so much fun to imagine how someone dressed 100 years ago, or what a parlor looked like at the turn of the century. Sometimes I put a drawing on the computer where I can play with different filters; and give the picture the look of an old photograph or a stained glass window. Often, illustrating gives me a problem to solve. I might be asked to show a boy on a bike, or a pair of twins that need to look like each other throughout an entire book. That’s when I’m glad I have a lightbox. I can put one drawing on top of the other and the light lets me see both drawings at once. Then I can move them around until they look just right. When I’m not in my studio, I love to take day trips with my family. But never without a sketch book and pens. You never know when a little girl eating an ice cream cone might be the perfect model for another illustration. I hope you’ll visit my website at: http://www.geocities.com/candy_gram47/index.html Introducing Author- Shirley Anne Ramaley
Before I owned my own horses, my father took my sister and me to a riding stable where we rented horses. My favorite horse was named Dusty and I wrote my first book about him when I was in grade school. I wrote many other books and stories about horses, dogs and cats. By the time I finished grade school I had a big drawer stuffed full of my handwritten stories. None were published but that didn’t matter. It was the writing that was important. In college I studied science and later worked in hospital laboratories. I wrote many articles for science journals. During this time we owned dogs, cats, horses, ducks and one chicken. My children grew up with lots of animals. We all loved going to the zoo. One day at the zoo I watched a family of mallard ducks, a mother and six babies, swimming on a lake. A big drake (male duck) swam up to the family and started to attack one of the babies! The mother duck squawked at the drake and chased him away. She was awesome! As I watched I thought, I want to write about this. I did, and it was my first article published in a national children’s magazine. Since then I’ve had many stories and articles published in children’s magazines. Some of the articles have been about animals I saw in Australia, including an article about koalas in Wee Ones (June, 2004). When I visited the Phoenix Botanical Garden Butterfly Pavilion my favorite butterfly was the Zebra Longwing. I wanted to learn more about this amazing creature and to write about it. I hope you enjoy reading my article as much as I did writing it! Introducing Illustrator- Janet Isat
I have always loved to draw and I am a self- taught illustrator. What this really means is that I listened to my mother and went to nursing school instead of art school! Although nursing is a great job, and you get to meet lots of people and make a difference in their lives, I still really wanted to write and illustrate stories for children. Now with the support of my husband and children, I am able to do that. Like many other authors and illustrators I am working on lots of projects that are all at different stages. They range from “The Empty Swing” a picture book that deals with the death of a young person from a child’s point of view, to a retelling of classical fairy tales that poses the question, “What would you do if it happened to you?” If you would like to see more of my pictures, please visit my website at http://www.janetisat.com. Introducing Author- Shae Cooke
Although I didn’t consider myself lost, my camp counselors did, and before long, they found me and brought me back to my tent. While I never should have journeyed into the forest alone, and without telling anyone where I was going, it was exciting. The world is like that forest. As a writer, l get to explore and discover it! I uncover new facts and information about all sorts of things. I ask questions like, “Who?”, “What?”, “Where?”, “When?”, “How,” and “Why?” I visit libraries, talk to and listen to people, and try neat experiments. I enjoy writing for you, through Wee Ones, especially because you are curious, just like me. You are eager to explore your world, and eager to grow. I live in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada with my husband and son who is in Grade Two. Coquitlam is near the big city of Vancouver, future host of the 2010 Winter Olympics. I write for many different magazines and publications and my stories are featured in several books. My current project is a book series that features some of the neat jar crafts and experiments you’ll be reading about in upcoming issues of Wee Ones. Thanks for taking the time to learn more about me! Now . . . back to the magazine, because there is so much yet to discover! Introducing Illustrator- Kevin Scott Collier
Chapter books Kevin has written include "barthpenn@heaven.org" and "Esther's Channel" published by Tweener Press. He has co-written two books published by Tangerine Sky Productions titled "My Shadow is Missing" and "Natalie's Ark." Kevin also is contracted to Guardian Angel Publishing which has published his written and illustrated books "Diligence the Dragon," "Journeys of Hope" book one and two, "Fables From Kensington Forest," and "The Lonely Lightning Bug" written by Donna J. Shepherd (illustrated by Kevin.) His credits as an illustrator for other authors includes "The Adventures of Peter Potato," "The Little Sea Rock," "Mice In My Tummy" and "Benjamin Oliver Flanagan" published by New World Publishing, "Barnaby Gets Lost!" published by Heliographica Press, "Topsy Turvy Land" and "Chizzy's Topsy Tale" published by Hidden Picture Books, "If You're Gonna Be A Monster" published by Book Locker, and "According to Daisy" published by Writers Exchange. Kevin lives in Grand Haven, Michigan with his wife of 23 years, and is employed as Art Director of the Grand Haven Tribune daily newspaper. His newspaper work has earned him awards from the Michigan Press Association, United Press International and The Associated Press. Collier also teaches art and cartooning classes at local schools and colleges, and has had his original comic strips published in various West Michigan newspapers for 26 years. |
As a young child I spent Saturdays at the Sellers Memorial Library in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was there that I fell in love with words and decided to become a writer.
Born in New Jersey in 1975 and son of John and Janet, Brian Demeter (Dem-eh-ter) knew he wanted to become an illustrator ever since kindergarten. When the teacher displayed Brian’s giraffe drawing on the board, fellow students offered to trade candy for unique pieces of original artwork for their own collection.
The first book I ever wrote was called "The Cat and the Dog". I wrote this in first grade and drew pictures to go with it. My teacher put a real cover on it and a library checkout card in the back. Ever since then I have
wanted to write more books for kids that could be checked out of the
library.
When I was a kid, my father was always painting and drawing. I would
spend hours looking through his sketchbooks, hoping that someday I
would be able to draw like him. The idea that I could create my own
world, filled with my own creatures, secrets and stories, was just so
amazing to me at that age.
Long ago, I was a child. I had lots of dreams – to become a doctor, a scientist, a musician and a writer. I was very curious, and I liked to figure things out, so I became a scientist. I worked on bacteria. I enjoyed solving puzzles. I didn’t have much time to write. Still, my nose was always buried in a good book. When I had two children of my own, I returned to my love of children’s stories. And I began to write. It was a dream come true.
I love to illustrate! It’s so much fun to see a writer’s ideas come to life. My favorite medium is layered colored pencil, but I also love to use pen and ink. Sometimes I will even use crayons.
I’ve always loved all kinds of animals. Since I also love to write, my first stories were about animals.
I grew up in England but now I live with my family and our dog in Texas. We love to travel and just came back from a very long trip to see our families who still live overseas. We have lived in England, the United States and Israel and I really enjoy meeting people from other cultures and learning about their lives.
Do you like adventures and discovery? I do! When I was young, I always wanted to see what was over the next hill or around the corner. In one of my earliest adventures, I left my group at summer camp, and traveled into the forest by myself. I was only seven, and the lure of it to this big city girl, was great. With my knapsack on my back, I traipsed through the wood, in no particular direction. Sunlight filtered through the trees and cast beautiful shadows along the trail. Huge fungi grew on old tree trunks, and chipmunks scolded me as they flitted back and forth across my path. I saw a doe with her fawn nibbling on low branches, and huge spider webs that sparkled like diamonds from the early morning dew. I felt like an explorer, as I followed rabbit prints through a blanket of soft, mossy earth.
Kevin Scott Collier is a youth fiction book author and illustrator, and also writes online columns about youth literature, is the publisher of Inspirationstation Magazine online, and co-owner of Tangerine Sky Productions, Inc., a publishing services company.