S&S Partners with Guggenheim on Interactive Children’s Programming
Children’s musician and S&S author Laurie Berkner at the Guggenheim’s Peter B. Lewis Theater.
The series kicks off on April 22 with a reading and workshop led by Caldecott Honor artist Bryan Collier, illustrator of Between the Lines by Sandra Neil Wallace, which tells the story of NFL-star-turned-artist Ernie Barnes. The 2018 lineup for the Children’s Book Illustrator Series also includes award-winning illustrator, author, and animator Evan Turk, who will discuss his new picture book, Heartbeat, following the life journey of a baby whale; Tomie dePaola, beloved creator of the Strega Nona series, whose book Quiet features a lesson in mindfulness; and artist Leah Tinari, who will present her nonfiction picture book Limitless, a collection of portraits celebrating the achievements of 24 American women.
Lauren Hoffman, v-p and director of marketing and publicity at Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, told PW about the origin of the series. The initial spark came in November 2017, she said, when children’s musician Laurie Berkner was invited to give a performance in honor of her lullaby-based picture book, Pillowland, at the Guggenheim’s Peter B. Lewis Theater. Hoffman said, “[After the show] attendees were invited to construct colorful shadow boxes based on illustrator Camille Garoche’s cut-paper technique, in the Guggenheim’s smaller workshop rooms. Watching the children connect with the book in such a creative, hands-on way was remarkable. We wanted to be able to share that amazing experience with families in N.Y.C. year-round, and invite other talented author-illustrators to participate.”
On developing the roster of artists for the 2018 series, she said, “After the Berkner event, we met with the Guggenheim’s School, Youth, & Family Program to discuss additional opportunities. We reviewed a number of upcoming picture books, and together we selected [the lineup]. Some titles complement existing installations or upcoming exhibits, and the team was very interested in the illustrators’ process and art.”
Noting that this is the first series of its kind for S&S Children’s, Hoffman said, “This partnership is a refreshing update to the standard storytime event model, in that attendees learn about award-winning illustrators’ art processes, and then create their own book-inspired projects—all while inside the historic landmark museum. A young attendee of an illustrator event may very well be tomorrow’s next Caldecott-winning artist!” As far as the potential for extending the program, Hoffman said, “Both S&S Children’s and the Guggenheim are open to continuing the series beyond 2018.”