Ashley Bryan (1923–2022) was an eclectic artist who used painting, poetry, music, collage, and prose to tell stories. Bryan fused these seemingly separate art forms within his books for children. “I try not to accept walls and boundaries and definitions in a strict way,” he says. “I would hope that everything I do is interrelated.”
Bryan is known for retelling African folktales in a distinct, rhythmic prose that is heavily influenced by African-American poetry. In 1981, his collection of Nigerian folktales, Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum, received the Coretta Scott King Book Illustrator Award. In 2012, Bryan was awarded the Coretta Scott King — Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Audrey and Don Wood have collaborated on more than 50 books for children. Their internationally known books — including The Napping House, Heckedy Peg, and King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub (a 1986 Caldecott Honor book) — have been translated into many languages including Gaelic, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, French and Spanish. Both Audrey and Don write and illustrate their books, depending on the particular project.
Avi is the 2003 Newbery Medal award winning author of Crispin: A Cross of Lead, and widely acclaimed for his works of historical fiction for middle grade readers. In this exclusive video interview with Reading Rockets, Avi talks about the challenges of writing, his years as a librarian, and his symptoms of dyslexia. He also recalls what it was like to win the 2003 Newbery Medal in this engaging and wide-ranging conversation.
