All memorable children’s books feature original art that is filled with colors and depth to draw readers of any age into the magical world of words.
To celebrate the vibrant work of illustrators, Tulsa City-County Library presents the 16th annual “Books to Treasure,” promoting the beauty of children’s literature and introducing the community to popular book illustrators.
Shadra Strickland is the featured illustrator for Tulsa City-County Library’s 2018 “Books to Treasure.” Strickland will speak, answer questions and sign copies of her books during a special visit on Nov. 9, 7 p.m. at Hardesty Regional Library’s Connor’ s Cove, 8316 E. 93rd St. This event is free and open to the public.
Strickland grew up listening to her family share stories around the kitchen table. For hours on end, her young imagination would create magical scenes of the stories her grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins would tell.
Her passion of visual storytelling led her to study design, writing and illustration at Syracuse University. After graduation, she taught art with Atlanta Public Schools for three years. She then completed her M.F.A. at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
In 2009, Strickland was awarded the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent for work in her first picture book, Bird. The award is presented by the American Library Association to acknowledge excellence of an illustrator at the beginning of a career.
She also received the 2009 Ezra Jack Keats Award for her illustration of Bird. This award was special to her since one her favorite books as a child was, The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats. As a co-illustrator, she was awarded the 2010 NAACP Image Award for Our Children Can Soar.
She has illustrated more than 20 books during her career where she recalls, “My road, like my work process, was long and crooked. I stumbled many times, but I never gave up.”
“We focus on illustrators as part of Books to Treasure because children who are at the beginning of their journeys as readers benefit from the visual aspect of picture books. The illustrations literally help young readers use both sides of their brain as they read,” said Laura Raphael, TCCL’s children’s services coordinator. “Their left brains are transferring the words into meaning while their right brains are carried away by the images; putting them together enhances the reading experience. You need only look at the popularity of graphic novels – for all ages, adults included – to see this idea in action.”
“Books to Treasure” is sponsored by the Tulsa Library Trust through a grant from the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation. The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation is providing one free copy to each second-grader in Tulsa County of the book, Please, Louise, illustrated by Strickland, and written by Toni Morrison and Slade Morrison. Every student also receives a bookmark and bookplate featuring illustrations from the featured book. Students have the opportunity to receive a special library card featuring artwork from the featured book.
To enhance the author’s visit, Tulsa City-County Library children’s librarians will visit second-grade classes at all public and private schools in Tulsa County to promote the program. Librarians will provide specific lesson plans using Strickland’s books focusing on curriculum areas such as reading, math, writing, science and social studies.
Previous recipients of the Book to Treasure award include: Hannah E. Harrison (2017), Rafael Lopez (2016), Derek Anderson (2015); Philip C. Stead (2014), Peter Brown (2013), Mo Willems (2012), Grace Lin (2011), Steve Jenkins (2010), Brad Sneed (2009), Jim Arnosky (2008), Floyd Cooper (2007), Lisa Campbell Ernst (2006), Janet Stevens (2005), Arthur Howard (2004) and Marla Frazee (2003).
For more information on “Books to Treasure,” call the AskUs Hotline, 918-549-7323, or visit the library’s webpage, www.tulsalibrary.org.
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