Especially for You

Jerry Pinkney signed copies of his 2010 Caldecott Medal book The Lion and the Mouse at this afternoon's Naomi C. Chase Lecture in Children's Literature.

Listening to him speak about the building blocks of his life and career gave me many things to share with students when I also share one of his books. He sketched between selling newspapers at age 12 in Philadelphia. "My private space was the size of the sketchbook," he said of growing up as one of six kids in a five-room house. He listened to stories told by his family and neighbors who migrated from the south to their neighborhood. Going to the barbershop for a haircut meant listening to men share stories, language, and Uncle Remus stories. What he needs and what feeds him are the 3,000+ books in his personal library collection. John Henry was the story he would have wanted to do if ever given a choice by his editor.

It is always a gift to spend an hour in the company of others who love children's literature as much as I do and especially nice to hear about the important things that shape the literature I love to share.