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August 20, 2017 by Travis Jonker

Putting Grunge Back in Art with Allen Say

August 20, 2017 by Travis Jonker   3 comments

Allen Say

Travis: When I first opened an advance copy Allen Say’s latest book, Silent Days, Silent Dreams, (out October 31st) I was taken aback – it’s unlike anything the artist has made before.

Silent Days Cover

Blame it on American artist James Castle, whom the book is about. Say channeled Castle so thoroughly that I assumed the book contained reproductions of Castle’s work (it doesn’t – it’s all Say). Have a look:

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It was an honor to sit down with the Caldecott Medal winner and talk about how this book was created, and how at age 79 James Castle helped Say put the grunge back in his art.

We hope you enjoy.

https://soundcloud.com/colby-sharp-3/52-allen-say-silent-days-silent-dreams-unraveled

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About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AnnMarie Hurtado says

    August 21, 2017 at 1:22 am

    Allen Say is so amazing. One of my all-time favorite author illustrators.

    • Travis Jonker says

      September 5, 2017 at 9:10 pm

      Thanks for listening – we had a good time talking with him

Trackbacks

  1. Morning Notes: Bookit Edition — @100scopenotes 100 Scope Notes says:
    October 25, 2017 at 12:07 am

    […] picture book biography of the artist, Silent Days, Silent Dreams (a book we talked to Say about in this episode of The Yarn podcast). Click here to […]

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