Vera Williams

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Vera B. Williams

Born January 28, 1927 (1927-01-28) (age 81)[1]
Hollywood, California[1]
Occupation Writer and illustrator
Nationality American
Writing period 1975-present
Genres Children's literature

Author
It's a Gingerbread House (1978)
Spouse(s) Paul Williams (-1970)
Children Sarah
Jennifer
Merce

Vera B. Williams (b. January 28, 1927) is an American children's writer and illustrator. Her best known work, A Chair for My Mother, has won multiple awards and was featured on the children's television show Reading Rainbow.[2] She was the U.S. Illustrator Nominee for the 2004 Hans Christian Andersen Award.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life and education

Vera Baker was born January 28, 1927 in Hollywood, California. She has one sister, Naomi.]][3] As a child, her family moved to the Bronx, New York, where her father was frequently absent during her early childhood. Encouraged by their parents to explore the arts, she studied at The High School of Music & Art[3] and Black Mountain College in North Carolina, where she received her BFA in Graphic Art in 1949.[1]

[edit] Marriage and children

While at Black Mountain College, she married fellow student Paul Williams. The couple divorced in 1970. Together they had three children:

  • Sarah Williams
  • Jennifer Williams
  • Merce Williams

[edit] Career

Williams was a co-founder of the Gate Hill Cooperative Community and served as a teacher for the community from 1953-70. She taught at alternative schools in New York and Ontario throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Following her divorce, she emigrated to Canada, where she committed to becoming a children's author and illustrator. In 1975 she was invited by Remy Charlip to illustrate Hooray For Me, which she did while living on a houseboat in Vancouver.[3] She established a publishing relationship with Greenwillow Books that continues to this day. Today, Ms. Williams lives in New York City and remains active in local issues such as the The House of Elder Artists[4] and participated in the 2007 PEN World Voices literary festival.[5]

[edit] Philosophical and political views

Ms. Williams has long supported nonviolent and nuclear disarmament causes. In 1981 she spent a month in Alderson Federal Prison Camp following arrest at a women's peaceful blockade of the Pentagon.[6] She served on the executive committee of the War Resisters League from 1984 to 1987.

[edit] Works

[edit] As author

  • It's a Gingerbread House (1978)
  • The Great Watermelon Birthday (1980)
  • Three Days on a River in a Red Canoe (1981)
  • A Chair for My Mother (1982)
  • Something Special for Me (1983)
  • Music, Music for Everyone (1984)
  • My Mother, Leah and George Sand (1986)
  • Cherries and Cherry Pits (1986)
  • Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea with Jennifer Williams (1988)
  • "More More More" Said the Baby (1990)
  • Scooter (1993)
  • Lucky Song (1997)
  • Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart (2001)

[edit] As illustrator

  • Hooray For Me!, Remy Charlip (1975)
  • Long Walks and Intimate Talks, Grace Paley (1991)
  • Home: A Collaboration of Thirty Authors & Illustrators (1996)

[edit] Awards

  • 1983: Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Picture Book category, A Chair for My Mother
  • 1983: Caldecott Honor Award, A Chair for My Mother[7]
  • 1985: Jane Addams Children's Book Award, Honor Book, Music, Music for Everyone
  • 1991: Caldecott Honor Award, "More More More" Said the Baby[8]
  • 1994: Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Fiction category, Scooter
  • 1995: Library of Congress exhibition, "Family, Friends, and Community: The Art of Vera B. Williams"[9]
  • 1998: Charlotte Zolotow Award, Lucky Song
  • 2002: Jane Addams Children's Book Award, Honor Book, Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart
  • 2008: Regina Medal of the Catholic Library Association; body of work

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "Williams, Vera B." Something About the Author, vol. 102, pp. 200-205.
  2. ^ PBS. Reading Rainbow episode "A Chair for my Mother".
  3. ^ a b c Williams, Vera B.. Interview with Neela Sakaria. BookWire speaks with... Vera B. Williams, author of Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart. BookWire. January 2002. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
  4. ^ Brown, Patricia Leigh. "GENERATIONS; Raising More Than Consciousness Now", New York Times, 2000-08-24. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  5. ^ PEN World Voices 2007
  6. ^ Williams, Vera B.. Interview with Molly McVeigh. Vera B. Williams. KidsReads.com. 2001-12-12. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
  7. ^ McDowell, Edwin. "Newberry, Caldecott Book Prizes Awarded", New York Times, 1983-01-12. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. "...Caldecott Honor books are When I Was Young in the Mountains (E.P. Dutton), written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Diane Goode, and A Chair for My Mother (Greenwillow Books), illustrated and written by Vera B. Williams." 
  8. ^ McDowell, Edwin. "Children's Book Award Winners Named", New York Times, 1991-01-15. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  9. ^ Library of Congress Exhibition Features Work of Children's Author/Illustrator Vera Williams
Persondata
NAME Williams, Vera B.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION American children's author and illustrator.
DATE OF BIRTH January 28, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Hollywood, California, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH