Thursday, February 3, 2011

5th February Betsy Duffey (1953) David Wiesner (1957)



I wrote about the ever-so-clever David Wiesner last year on this date, but since then he has brought out a new book Art and Max and every library needs to have it. It is about an artist (Art) and someone who wants to be an artist (Max), two lizards with personality-plus. The book explores the creative process and the media in which it is created. See Wiesner talking about it here.

Today is also Betsy Duffey's birthday. I knew very little about her, other than that I loved using her books Boy in the Dog House and its sequel, Lucky on the Loose with Year 1 classes to look at how writers give us point-of-view. The chapters in these books alternate narrator from George, the dog owner in one chapter to Lucky, the dog in the next chapter. Often this means that the reader hears about the same event from two different points of view. And the plot is action driven and humorous, perfect for six and seven year olds who are learning to read and write. Since researching Betsey further I have learned that she is author, Betsy Byars daughter and that she has written quite a few other books that I need to explore.

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