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Northwest Passages: Cynthia Rylant and Nikki McClure
- LATEST COMMENTS
- I discovered Cynthia Rylant when I was 65 years old ... - erichcarlson
- I help coordinate a SMART program in Washington county and ... - normanad
- The day in early December I found the book All ... - jaylen
Half a dozen young reader series, one starring the popular boy Henry and his dog Mudge. Memories of her childhood in Appalachia. Poetry. Author Cynthia Rylant has written over 100 books, including the Newbery Award winner Missing May. Her story, All In A Day, just won the 2010 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association award, for both the charming, simple text and the beautiful papercut illustrations by Olympia artist Nikki McClure.
McClure and Rylant have never met in person, but admired each other's work before this collaboration. They join us together to kick off a new year of Northwest Passages.
Do you have a Nikki McClure calendar hanging in your kitchen? Do you know some of Rylant's celebrated characters, such as Henry, Mudge, Mr. Puttter or Tabby? What stands out to you, from the texts or illustrations, of your favorite children's books?
GUESTS:
- Cynthia Rylant: Newbery Award-winning writer; author of novels, picture books and poetry; creator of Henry and Mudge, Mr. Putter and other young readers series.
- Nikki McClure: Papercut artist, illustrator and author of children's books, calendars, cards and more.
Tagged as: books · cynthia rylant · nikki mcclure · northwest passages
Photo credit: Copyright 2009 Nikki McClure, with permission granted by ABRAMS Books For Young Readers
COMMENTS: (14 total)
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My pre-K age son loves the "Henry & Mudge" series, and I really love it too. I really appreciate the simplicity of the stories, that Henry finds joy in the outdoors and his attachment to animals. My son is an only chlild, a dog and 3 chickens, and we love the outdoors. I think that is why we both love this series. When we read The Cozy Nest, my son loves at the end when Annie's bunny Snowball, curls up on Mudge for a nap, he will literally roll on the floor laughing when it says that Snowball's nest snores. We have read the books dozens of times. I can't wait until my son is ready to practice reading these books on his own. Thank you so much for writing these books.
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what a perfect combination-- both Cynthia rylant and nikki mcclure are old friends of ours, they both evoke a sense of peace and gentleness in the universe. thank you both of you for giving my children a place to rest every night. they especially love mr. putter!
elizabeth graham
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i am wondering how living in the northwest affects cynthia and nikki's work.
elizabeth graham
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Hello Ms. Rylant. I more than love your work; your books (particularly the Poppleton series) are the most creative, loving and loved books my young children ever looked forward to! I appreciate the way you chose the most creative illustrators....delightful....and each series being different. We even loved YOUR illustrations! I am a school teacher and greatly appreciate the ethical values you teach through your stories. Though my children are older, they treasure the copies of your books they still have. By the way, Marysville School (my school) would like to invite you, a local and much loved author, to visit our school. Do you ever do this?
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Hi!
The conversation about word selction reminds me of Charlotte's Web. She, too, had the important job of selecting just the right word for her community.
Thank You Nikki for your work!
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When I was driving to work today, I heard an author reading from a book, and I immediately thought, "Boy, this reminds me of that book I used to read to my kids, "The Everyday Garden". I laughed out loud when I realized it was Cynthia Rylant reading! We loved her books, and I could recite them from memory after so many readings. We've saved our copy of Everyday Garden, and I'm sure I'll read it to my grandkids some day.
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For anyone who hasn't read Gooseberry Park... it is so wonderful. Over the life of our son, now almost 8, we have read and reread this book, a lovely group of unlikely friends a professor, dog, hermit crab, and red squirrel. The story never gets old, just richer each time we visit these friends in the book.
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As a long-time elementary school librarian (now retired), Cynthia Rylant was one of my favorite authors, and one whose books I recommended for all ages. A stuffed Mudge sits on my bookshelf, and makes me smile whenever I look at him.
I still give Cynthia's books frequently as gifts, and not just to children. Two of my favorites (besides all the Henry & Mudge books) are Dog Heaven and Cat Heaven. I have often wished that these were available in paperback, since I have wanted to give them as gifts to friends grieving the loss of a pet. I also loved her memoir, But I'll Be Back Again, which gives a hint about the autobiographical nature of many of her picture books. Parents who have read Cynthia's picture books to their little ones should discover the person behind those wonderful stories! -
I had not heard of these two guests before. They are very interesting and I bet that I would like their creations.
I really like to hear artists talking about their process, about how they go about doing what they do.
And I can relate to loving to read a dictionary, to loving words and the sounds of them. I have spent hours lost in dictionaries following words and meanings around from page to page. Lovely times!
And I am old enough to have learned reading with "Dick and Jane".
I remember as a little kid sitting in the kitchen while mom cooked and asking what some word meant and she would just say "look it up in the dictionary", even though she had a college degree and knew what it meant. She taught me more by guiding me to search things out for myself than she would have by just answering. I guess she "taught me to fish", instead of "giving me the fish".
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I am a recently retired elementary teacher. I used Cynthia's books when I was teaching writing. The language in books such as When I Was Young in the Mountains, The Relatives Came, Christmas in the Country and Snow as well as others was so rich. These books turned the children on to words and made them want to attempt the use of descriptive words. I was also able to use Cynthia's books to demonstrate to the children to think of small moments in their lives to write about as her books were a window into a small moment in time. Thank you for your beautiful books!
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The day in early December I found the book All in a Day at Powell's I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Two of my favorite artists in one book! What a gift! Thank you.
Nikki's calendars have been hanging on our wall and our friends and families' walls for years and we have been reading Henry and Mudge books for the past 7 years to both my boys. I love that I never get tired of reading the stories even when they want to read them over and over again. The stories are so gentle and pure. The Best Day of All has been a family favorite and we even "copied" Henry's birthday party one year for my older son. And Nikki - Revive is the PERFECT title for your calendar this year.
Thanks for having both of these great artists on the air together today!
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I help coordinate a SMART program in Washington county and many of our volunteer readers are retirees. I love the way the Mr. Putter and Tabby appeals to both of the age groups in this program, and love the series in general.
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I discovered Cynthia Rylant when I was 65 years old. The discussion today focused on books for children through about age eight. Several of Cynthia's earlier books were written for teenagers, and I have found them to be immensely rewarding.
I Had Seen Castles is the story of a seventeen-year old living in Pittsburgh on Dec. 7, 1941, told in the first person when the narrator is in his sixties. In the first part of the book, the narrator, Robert, describes the visceral anger that he and his friends, and the whole community, felt towards the Japanese and Germans, and his eagerness to join the military to fight. His friend, Ginny, does not believe that war is a glorious adventure. In the second part, Robert recalls what war is actually like, on the ground, for men serving in the infantry, and his difficulties in coming to terms with the things he has seen and done.
In a sense the book is a love leter and an apology to Ginny, who he has not seen since he joined the army. It's a short book, less than 100 pages. If you want to have a discussion with your teenager about the effects on people of engaging in violent acts, especially as part of a community, this would be good place to start. It's not necessarily an anti-war story, but it does say that there are consequences, and we ought to think about them before we go to war, not after.
A Fine White Dust is also a first person narrative, in which Pete, an eighth grader, describes his desire to be saved, his attraction to a travelling preacher, and his friend Rufus, a confirmed atheist. The preacher betrays Pete's faith in him, and we learn how Pete works through that.
The Van Gogh Cafe is set in the middle of Kansas. Clara, age 10, helps her dad run the restaurant. Magic happens in the cafe, and in our heads as we're reading. It's a hard book to describe, but as with all of Cynthia's books, every word counts, and every word helps us think about who we are.
And my three-year-old granddaughter thinks I should mention The Great Gracie Chase, which has lots of action and a satisfying conclusion.
eric carlson
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My third-grader son loves the "Henry & Mudge" and "Mr. Putter & Tabby" books. He was disappointed that he was going to be in school during this interview. He intends to tell his teacher first thing this morning in the hope that she will let the class listen to part of the broadcast.
Thank you, Cynthia, for providing good, thoughtful and age-appropriate reading material for kids and for coupling with good illustrators to provide quality art to accompany quality text.