Twenty Years Ago this Month - Olympic Flashback

Are you old enough to remember the "Miracle on Ice," the ice hockey game in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY? Russia was highly-favored to win the gold but the US team, made up of college and non-professional hockey players, defeated them in one of the medal rounds and went on to take the gold.

So inspirational was the victory, that twice the story was told on the big screen. The first movie, Miracle on Ice came out in 1981. In the second movie, Miracle (2004) there is a well-known scene where Herb Brooks (played by Kurt Russell), the coach gives a pre-game pep talk to the US team. For reference, you can see the clip here:

Miracle - Coach Brooks Addresses Team Pre Game

Here's a young boy who has memorized that speech and delivers it here. Cute.

BookBook

Hardback leather case for MacBook Pro available at Twelve South

February 14th Birthday: Paul O. Zelinsky

For the past few weeks I have been reading folktales from various countries to my students in preparation for Rockwood Reading Week: Read Around the World. One of my (many) favorites is Paul O. Zelinsky's version of Rapunzel.


Not only has Zelinsky crafted the words, but he is the illustrator as well. I love how he has captured the Italian Renaissance style in his oil paintings. He truly is a gifted artist.

He has shown similar style in other picture books, two of which are Rumpelstiltskin









and Hansel and Gretel



So I am always interested when an artist takes on another style that seems so unassociated to what I have come to expect from him/her. Here's Zelinsky's cover art for a more current book called Shivers in the Fridge, written by Fran Mahushkin.



This is the story of a family who live in a cold, dark place. They are not happy here, always startled and frightened by sudden blinding light accompanied by a monster's hand reaching in to remove part of their edible furnishings. They need a new place to call home.

Clever story and artwork, but I find it's always good to look at other examples of work in order to get a better picture of the scope of the artist's talent.

Known for his versatility, Mr. Zelinsky does not feel his work represents a specific style. He said the following in an interview:

"I want the pictures to speak in the same voice as the words. This desire has led me to try various kinds of drawings in different books. I have used quite a wide stretch of styles, and I'm fortunate to have been asked to illustrate such a range of stories."

You can find out more about Zelinsky and his books at his website.

Happy Valentine's Day

Here's a nice, inspirational website:

Photo of the Day

Today's photo is "True Hearts" by Mark Westlake. Awwwww...fitting for the day!