Lotus Seeds: Children, Pictures, and Books

by Marcia Brown

An award-winning children's book illustrator discusses bookmaking, art for children, working methods, and individuals in the industry

Genres: Essays, Childrens

Hardcover

First published February 1, 1986

About the author

An American children's book author and illustrator, and a high school teacher, Marcia Brown was born in Rochester, New York in 1918, and was educated at The New York State College for Teachers (now University at Albany). She taught at Cornwall High School in New York City, and published her first book, The Little Carousel, in 1946. She wrote and illustrated more than thirty books for children over the course of her career, winning three Caldecott Medals and six Caldecott Honors, as well as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal and the Regina Medal. She died in 2015.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I skimmed through illustrator Marcia Brown's collected speeches in this book for a paper that I'm writing about her life and work. She wrote these over a period of several decades. I was impressed with her as a person for her dedication to going with her inspiration and taking the time to develop herself between projects. She also strongly disapproves of artists and writers blindly copying others' style or trying to create stuff that obviously will sell. She doesn't believe in finding "one's style" in general, but rather constantly trying different styles in order to stretch oneself and choose what is best for the work. A very inspirational woman and I'm glad that I found something in her own voice to read for this project.