The Carle Introduces the Barbara Elleman Research Library's (BERL) Lecture Series
August 30, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Carle Introduces:
The Barbara Elleman Research Library’s (BERL)
Lecture Series
First lecture to feature master editor/writer Patricia Lee Gauch
Amherst, Mass. (August 9, 2011) - The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is pleased to announce a new scholarly annual lecture series designed to feature the country’s preeminent scholars, book collectors, researchers, editors, authors, and illustrators in the field of children’s literature. The first BERL lecture will be Saturday, October 22, at 1:00 p.m., with award-winning editor and author Patricia Lee Gauch presenting “The Picture Book as an Act of Mischief.” Gauch, a 24-year veteran of Philomel Books, will celebrate the magic and mystery inherent in the best picture books. The lecture is free with Museum Admission and a reception and book signing will follow. Additional programming is offered throughout Gauch’s visit.
Brunch and Feiffer Exhibition Sneak Peek:
Prior to the BERL lecture on October 22, participants are invited to join Gauch for an informal brunch and conversation. Using a number of pieces of art from books she has ushered through the publishing process, Gauch will reflect on what makes a great book. Following the brunch, Chief Curator Nick Clark will lead a pre-opening tour of the upcoming Jules Feiffer exhibition, Growing Every Which Way But Up: The Children’s Book Art of Jules Feiffer. The brunch and tour is $25.00 per person and runs from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Reservations are required. Please call the Museum Admissions Desk at (413) 658-1126.
“Creating a Picture Book: An Editor’s Eye View”: A Master Class with Patricia Lee Gauch Drawing on her years of experience and her great sense of “the rhythm and rightness of things,” Gauch will share her process for making each book she works on a piece of art. Participants will learn what makes the words on a page effective and how to develop a good story. A reception and opportunity to share one’s own work with Gauch will follow. To be held Friday, October 21, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., the workshop is for participants 18 and up and is $50 (Members $45). Registration is required. Visit www.carlemuseum.org/Register or call (413)658-1141
Patricia Lee Gauch has been instrumental in publishing books that have touched the hearts of children everywhere. For 24 years she served as Vice-President, Editorial Director, of Philomel Books where she was Eric Carle’s editor and where she acquired and edited numerous novels and picture books, among them Caldecott Medal winner Owl Moon and Lon Po Po and So You Want to Be President?. Gauch has written 39 books for young readers, among them Thunder at Gettysburg, This Time, Tempe Wick?, Christina Katerina and the Box and Dance Tanya and the Tanya books. Her most recent title, The Knitting of Elizabeth Amelia, was published in fall 2009. Following retirement, Gauch has been working on her own projects, including teaching, writing for The Horn Book Magazine, and once more creating her own books.
About The BERL:
Established in 2003, the BERL is a non-circulating research collection of roughly 3,000 volumes of professional resources and children’s books devoted to the study of children’s literature and the visual arts. The Library is named for former Museum Trustee and Book Links Magazine founding editor Barbara Elleman, who together with her husband Don, generously contributed the books that form the core of the collection and the support for its new home within the Museum. The unique organization of the collection highlights areas of interest such as author and illustrator biographies, literary criticism, illustration studies, and more. It is ideally suited for students, teachers, librarians and other professionals interested in the study and use of children’s literature and the visual arts.
About Barbara Elleman:
Barbara Elleman, who received her Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and her Master’s Degree in Library Science from the University of Denver, worked as a school and public librarian before accepting a position in 1975 as reviewer and an editor for the American Library Association’s Booklist magazine; in 1990 she created and became editor-in-chief of Book Links. After leaving ALA in 1996, Elleman was named Distinguished Scholar of Children’s Literature at Marquette University in Milwaukee where she lectured and promoted the use of children’s books in the School of Education. She guest curated highly acclaimed exhibits of original work Virginia Lee Burton and Tomie dePaola in 2009. During her career, Elleman was particularly attracted to the art of the picture book and her collection reflects that interest – books about the illustrated book as well as picture books themselves.
About the Museum:
Together with his wife Barbara, Eric Carle, the renowned author and illustrator of more than 70 books, including the 1969 classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar, founded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art as the first full-scale museum in this country devoted to national and international picture book art, conceived and built with the aim of celebrating the art that we are first exposed to as children. Through the exploration of images that are familiar and beloved, it is The Museum’s goal to provide an enriching, dynamic, and supportive context for the development of literacy and to foster in visitors of all ages and backgrounds the confidence to appreciate and enjoy art of every kind.
The Museum—which houses three galleries dedicated to rotating exhibitions of picture book art, a hands-on Art Studio, a Reading Library, an Auditorium, a Café, and a Museum Shop—is located at 125 West Bay Road, Amherst, MA. Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 am to 4 pm, Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday 12 noon to 5 pm. Admission is $9 for adults, $6 for children under 18, and $22.50 for a family of four. For further information and directions, call 413-658-1100 or visit The Museum’s website at www.carlemuseum.org.
IMAGES ARE AVAILABLE FOR REPRODUCTION For additional press information and/or images, please contact Sandy Soderberg, Marketing Manager (413) 658–1105 / sandys@carlemuseum.org
Sandy Soderberg
Marketing Manager
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
125 West Bay Road
Amherst, MA 01002
t (413) 658-1105
f (413) 658-1139