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November 03, 2007
Blogging for a Cure: Featuring Ellen Beier
I am a big fan of the Pets to the Rescue series written by Andrew Clements and illustrated by Ellen Beier, so when I saw Ellen’s name on the list of illustrators participating in this year’s Robert’s Snow fundraiser, I jumped at the chance to feature her as part of Blogging for a Cure. When I looked further into her work, I saw that Ellen has illustrated other books I know, including The Blue Hill Meadows by Cynthia Rylant and the Miss Peachtree books by Erica Silverman. In recent years, she’s been researching the work of Hans Christian Andersen, which led to her creation of “The Little Match Girl” for this year’s auction:
How much do I love that? A lot.
It turns out this is Ellen’s third year participating in Robert’s Snow (woot!). When I asked her to tell me how and why she got involved, she shared:
“I first got involved with Robert’s Snow through www.picturebookartists.org of which
I am a member. Grace Lin, who started Robert’s Snow in honor of her husband, who recently died of cancer, is also a member of that group. The first RS started with artwork mostly by members of our group and then escalated to include many well-known illustrators who were happy to participate.”
About her choice of “The Little Match Girl,” she says:
“The first year I illustrated an image from a book by Cynthia Rylant which I had illustrated about 10 years ago. It was of a boy in the snow and felt appropriate to the theme. But then last year, I was busy researching the life of Hans Christian Andersen, with whom I have always been fascinated, especially as I lived in Germany for many years and had visited the birthplace of HCA and the museum there. So when the Robert’s Snow auction came up, I chose an image from his story of the 7 Swans. And then again when this year's auction came up, I decided to continue the theme with the Little Match Girl in the snow. Perhaps the snow connection had something to do with it, but also I always wanted to illustrate this theme.”
You can bid on Ellen’s snowflake during Robert's Snow Auction 2 from November 26-30, 2007.
Posted by adrienne at November 3, 2007 07:53 AM
Comments
Oh how much do I love that, too? A whole bunch, 'cause you know what? When I was a child, I was absolutely fascinated -- in some weird (I dunno, maybe not-so-weird) -- way with tragic stories. And The Little Match Girl....well, could there BE a more tragic story? I think not. I was obsessed and almost haunted by it.
Thanks for this feature, Adrienne (and Ellen, too)!
Posted by: Jules at November 3, 2007 02:16 PM
Ouch. Knowing the story of The Little Match Girl, this one is a bit sad -- but beautifully rendered.
Posted by: TadMack at November 3, 2007 04:19 PM
I love the intimate feel of this one. Jules, I'm with you on The Little Match Girl. I don't think I've ever gotten over the first time I discovered that story. But this snowflake seems to have hope in it, too...she holding that light so gently and carefully.
Posted by: Sara at November 3, 2007 06:47 PM
The illustrations are beautiful, but Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark--not in Germany.
Posted by: Susanne at November 4, 2007 05:54 PM
TadMack, So true. This is such a sad story, but the snowflake is so sweet and hopeful.
Posted by: Vivian at November 6, 2007 11:50 AM