Fine Lines (Meet the Author (Katonah, N.Y) [Hardcover]

Ruth Heller (Author), Michael Emery (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1996 | ISBN-10: 187845076X | ISBN-13: 978-1878450760

A children's book illustrator shares her daily routine and creative life, showing how the two are intertwined.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4?Two brief autobiographies by children's book authors. Heller relates the basic facts of her life, but does not communicate her love for her craft. The writing is thin and does little to reveal the author's personality or influences on her work. Lyon, on the other hand, speaks eloquently about her love of words. One of her most important memories is of her extended family telling stories around the dinner table. Some of these stories later became books, such as A Regular Rolling Noah (S & S, 1991). Lyon recounts the years of hard work it took to become a published author. She tells children that just as their teachers require revision, so her editor requires many revisions. Both books have excellent-quality full-color photographs and reproductions. However, the illustrations for A Wordful Child are not quite as effective as those in Fine Lines, which feature reproductions of Heller's striking artwork. Much of the information here can be found in Something About the Author (Gale, 1986), but these titles are on an easier reading level and are far more visually appealing.?Anne Parker, Milton Public Library, MA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Richard C Owen Pub (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 187845076X
• ISBN-13: 978-1878450760
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,856,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"Writing and illustrating my own books have given me the opportunity to choose subjects of interest to me."--Ruth HellerAfter receiving a fine arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley and completing two years of graduate work in design at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, Ruth Heller began her career designing wrapping paper, cocktail napkins, greeting cards, and coloring books. After five years of rejection and one complete revision, Heller's first book, Chickens Aren't the Only Ones, about egg-laying animals, was published in 1981. It was so successful that the sequel, and second book to be published, Animals Born Alive And Well (1982), about mammals, quickly followed. In 1983 and 1984, her third and fourth titles, The Reason For A Flower (about plants that have seeds and flowers) and Plants That Never Ever Bloom (about plants that do not) were published.She then began work on a collection of six books, the How To Hide series on camouflage and the magic of this phenomenon in nature, which covered the entire animal kingdom -- insects, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and sea creatures. The next collection of books became a five-volume series on parts of speech: A Cache of Jewels and Other Collective Nouns; Kites Sail High: A Book About Verbs; Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives; Merry-Go- Round: A Book About Nouns; and Up, Up and Away: A Book About Adverbs. She also wrote and illustrated the unique and fascinating book Color, a charming and instructive guide to how art goes through the four color printing process.Among the notable people who have had an influence on Heller's writing have been: Ogden Nash, Gilbert and Sullivan, Edward Lear, Hilaire Belloc, and Dr. Seuss. Heller says of her work, "All my books are nonfiction picture books in rhyme. I find writing in rhyme enjoyable and challenging, and I think it is an easy way for children to learn new facts and acquire a sophisticated vocabulary. Children are not intimidated by big words. I try to make my writing succinct and allow the illustrations to convey as much information as possible."On October 31, 1995, Grosset & Dunlap continues Heller's parts-of-speech books with the publication of Behind the Mask: A Book About Prepositions, a clever, thoughtful, eye-pleasing explanation of just how prepositions tell us about the "when" and "where" of things.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely book, February 15, 2009

By 

JacksonsMom "knarlee1" (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fine Lines (Meet the Author (Katonah, N.Y) (Hardcover)

I stumbled across this book in the children's section of our local library. Author and illustrator Ruth Heller describes her childhood and daily life, which are accompanied by photos and drawings. Her gentle prose shows the reader how her life has influenced her work and how that work influences her life, in terms of travels, meeting children, etc. A lovely book for anyone interested in children's books authors/illustrators.