Barely six months after the release of her first children’s book, “The Boston Terrier Who Thought He Was a Loon”, Raymond author Michelle Patch, illustrator Thomas Block and design artist David Allen, have won the prestigious Excellence in Graphic Arts Award at the New England Book show – held earlier this month at Boston Symphony Hall.
Jane
Karker, president of Maine Authors Publishing (MAP) accepted the award for
Patch, who could not attend the event. Karker proudly acknowledged that, in its
16 years, it was the first win at the Book Show for MAP.
The
event, founded by Bookbuilders of Boston, is in its 60th year and
was established as a nonprofit organization to exchange information and promote
improvements in the quality of books. Finalists are selected for the quality of
design and production.
According
to the selection committee, Patch’s book was chosen “…for its charming and
emotive illustrations that combine with a sweet family story of a summer on a
beautiful lake in Maine.”
Said
Patch upon learning of the award, “I’m really proud of the collaboration on my
book. Thomas Block (MAP’s art director) and David Allen did an amazing job of
really listening to what I envisioned – taking the pictures I had in my head
and bringing them to the pages. Rollie (the Boston Terrier) is beautifully
represented; I want readers to enjoy him as much as I did, and I think between
the art work and the story, that really happens.”
As
reviewed in The Windham Eagle (Feb. 24, 2017), “The Boston Terrier Who Thought
He Was a Loon” tells the story of the Patch family dog who tries to befriend a
group of illusive loons who live on Thomas Pond in Raymond, Maine. With its
themes of friendship and sense-of-place, the book already has demonstrated
appeal with young readers.
According
to Worlds of Words (WOW/University of Arizona), a blog that promotes excellence
in children’s book reviews, “Illustrators have license to participate in the
authorship (because the pictures) affect the tone of the story.”
And
just as music melds with the lyric, WOW defines good children’s literature as
“…an exquisite weave of both words and images.
Just
as important as text, is the close examination of illustrative style and
whether it indicates a particular location of where the story takes place; and
whether the style and details in the images are authentic to the culture
depicted by the book.”
It
appears The New England Book Show felt “The Boston Terrier Who Thought He Was a
Loon” passed that test.
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