2014 HCA Award Winner for Illustration – Part 6/6:

Roger Mello is the recipient of the 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration, for his complete work in children’s literature (more than 100 titles, 20 of which he wrote himself!). And he also writes plays. GO, Roger!

The jury said his “illustrations provide avenues to explore the history and culture of Brazil. He does not underestimate a child’s ability to recognize and decode cultural phenomena and images. His illustrations allow children to be guided through stories by their imagination.” According to Project Muse, ‘All his books deal with the concept of time passing and bringing with it transformation. The stories he creates are always found between the images and text, uniting the two through a continuous dialogue. Yet, despite this continuity, there is no set pattern to his work; he does not allow the reader to form expectations, as he continually plays with color, proportions, and perspective. Mello likes to experiment with different painting modes and media. His influences are innumerable, and he draws on the human creativity found in the world all around him, which allows him to look at the world with the pleasure and amazement of a child and the rich experience of an adults.’

Unfortunately, I could not find a single title of his through my library system, which I hope to remedy – SOON! Read a great post on Mello’s win at Literary Vittles – HERE ; excerpts from an interview in this article on Writing and Wandering – HERE

The Hans Christian Andersen Award is given biennially, and this year’s  winners (yep, there is one for authors too!) will receive their awards at the 34th IBBY Congress, to be held on September 10th, in Mexico City. The five finalists in alphabetical order: Rotraut Susanne Berner, Germany; John Burningham, UK; Eva Lindström, Sweden; François Place, France; Øyvind Torseter, Norway. Click on any of their names to read their post in this series.

2014 HCA Award for Illustration – Part 5/6: Øyvind Torseter

Read the posts on more nominees 1here, 2here, 3here, and 4here (winner post to follow soon).

Øyvind Torseter, is an artist, illustrator, comic book artist and author, who lives and works in Norway (Listen to the pronunciation of his name via google here). He debuted as a children’s book illustrator in 1999, and his first as author/illustrator was Mister Random in 2002, the release of which led to an intense discussion surrounding intended audience (can’t find any articles, but would be interested if anyone else does!).

From the IBBY site: “The pictures in his books normally appear as illustrations to the text, often authored by himself, but he also plays and experiments with perspective, cut-out drawings and other effects, before photographing it all and editing it with computer-assisted graphics tools. His comic books are influenced by Surrealism and some other works show traces, hints and tributes to art, literature, film noir from the 1950s and other expressions. Torseter has also decorated several public buildings, and his art can thus be found in many places in Norway.”

I am particularly fond of the effects he creates with 3-dimensional paper techniques in some of his picture books, but to get a quick feel for the scope of his art, google images  – WOW!

I recommended My Father’s Arms are a Boat, written by Stein Erik Lunde , illustrated by Torseter for Perfect Picture Book Friday – HERE

Øyvind Torseter, Sudden Mythology. Photo by Børre Høstland, Nasjonalmuseet

Read Maria Popova’s post (Brian Pickings) on The Hole – HERE 

PPBF: My Father’s Arms are a Boat

Author: Stein Erik Lunde
Illustrator: Øyvind Torseter

Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books, 2013
Age Level: 4 and up
Themes: fathers and sons, death
Opening: My dad isn’t listening to the radio. He’s sitting in the living room, where the only sound is the crackling of the fire. When I was there with him, I saw the tongues of the fire lick his face. I went over and put my hand on his arm, and he patted my hand. Then I went into my room and got into bed.
Summary: Unable to sleep, a young boy climbs into his father’s arms and asks about birds, foxes, and whether his mother will ever awaken, then under a starry sky, the father provides clear answers and assurances.

Why I Like This Book: I don’t think I need to explain why I think the artwork is breathtaking, but so is the story it tells, and the concept – too rarely found in American books. Looking for images I found a touching review which ‘hit the spot’ perfectly – HERE, at A Teacher’s Perspective. Life’s stories don’t usually end on a high note – it’s what we make of them that matters. I have to return this book to the library. I’ve had it out for the maximum of weeks allowed. But you can bet I ordered it.  It won’t take much convincing to have my local indie bookseller stock this one.

Activities: I feel the illustrations will motivate any child to draw and cut his or her own pictures, to sculpt the paper and create a three dimensional scene, or a diarama in a capsized shoebox – like the ones HERE at Art Lessons for Kids. And if a child wants to talk about death, what better opportunity than while creating and expressing? My own daughter’s first experience came with the coverage of Princess Diana’s death. We drew a lot of princesses after that. Once she drew a rectangle around hers, and another preschool mom asked her what the box is for . Olivia informed her, “She’s dead.”

Go to Susanna Hill’s blog for more Perfect Picture Book selections and activities.