In the Heart - Hardcover

Turner, Ann

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060237309 ISBN 13: 9780060237301

Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books, 2001

Synopsis

Offers young readers a vibrant picture book with three-dimensional artwork and poetic verse that captures the simple pleasures in the world as seen through the eyes of a child.

About this title

About the Author:

Ann Turner is the author of many novels, picture books, and poetry collections for young children. Her novel A Hunter Comes Home was an ALA Notable Children's Book of 1980, and her first picture book, Dakota Dugout, received the same honor in 1985. Among her other books are Rosemary's Witch, a School Library Journal Best Book of 1991 and Through Moon and Stars and Night Skies, a Reading Rainbow selection. Ms. Turner lives in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, with her husband Richard, and their two children, Benjamin and Charlotte.

In Her Own Words ...

I was one of those children who sniffed, slept on, and sometimes ate books. Once a week my father would go to the library and bring back seven books, one for each day of the week. I would open my mouth like a baby bird to devour food. I really think I would have died, had I not had books.

I wrote my first story when I was eight, about a dragon and a dwarf named Puckity. I still have it and use it when talking to children. The story shows that children have tales to tell, and ones worth telling. I was encouraged in my writing through school and college, but was afraid I could not do it. I trained as a teacher and taught for one year, but quickly decided that I would rather write books than teach them. I tried my hand at poetry for two years and had one poem published.

It wasn't until my mother, an artist, suggested that we do a book together about vultures that I tried writing for children. So my first book was about natural history, and I loved learning about vultures and watching them in Florida.

The queerest thing about writing is how a story chooses you, instead of you choosing it. I often feel as if I am walking along quietly, minding my own business, when a story creeps up behind me and taps me on the shoulder. "Tell me, show me, write me!" it whispers in my ear. And if I don't tell that story, it wakes me up in the morning, shakes me out of my favorite afternoon nap, and insists upon being told.

Writers write for the same reason readers read - to find out the END

of the story. I never know the endings of my stories when I start out; I must wrestle my way through them, punching out unnecessary words, arguing with self-important paragraphs, until I arrive at the END

thirsty, tired, but victorious. This tells you, of course, that writing is not easy for me. Once in a blue moon it is, but most of the time it is hard, hard work. And I work every day. I sit down at my computer and write. It could be about anything, or anyone - my husband, Rick, my children Ben and Charlotte, or the woods that surround our house in Williamsburg, Massachusetts.

Remember that you have stories to tell, too. Remember that you have a voice that is worth being heard. Write your stories down, keep journals. Learn to be a spy. I am a nosy, curious spy who eavesdrops on people at the beach, or as they stroll along at the mall. I always wonder; "Why is she walking so fast? Is she mad? How come his mouth looks like that? What is that lady saying to her child?" If you keep your eyes and ears open, you will see that you are surrounded by drama and astonishing things, even in the midst of everyday life. Notice it; write it down, and who knows, maybe someday you will be a writer, too.

From Publishers Weekly:

Mavor's (Mary Had a Little Lamb) distinctive, multidimensional art, a satisfying pastiche of curios, fabrics and creative needlework, is surely the heart of this visually enticing volume. Doll-like characters pop from the pages as Turner (Drummer Boy) follows a girl through a day. Brief poems describe the narrator's world, e.g., "The heart of the house/ is my kitchen:/ orange cat by my seat,/ a muffin warms my hand,/ talk like clouds of steam." With similar phrasing and cadence, she observes, "The heart of the street is my sidewalk," "The heart of the town is my school," "The heart of the afternoon is my friend" and so on. Observant youngsters may wonder at an inconsistency: the text concludes with the words that the moon "comes back to me /deep in the pillow,/ deep in the bed,/ deep in the heart of/ the house" this last no longer referring to the kitchen. But most will probably be too caught up in the pictures to notice. The girl's bedroom, for example, is a 3-D fantasy incorporating wood (bedposts, chairs, window frame), tiny stuffed animals, a beautifully embroidered rug edged with rickrack, and more. Arts and crafts enthusiasts will find inspiration in Mavor's work; nearly everyone will find something to admire. Ages 4-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0060237309
• ISBN 13: 9780060237301
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Mavor Salley