SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Spread YourWings
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: London
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
LAST VOLUME: SATA 394
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born June 7, 1969, in Guildford, Surrey, England; daughter of Robert Dodd and Fay Hillier; married; children: one son, one daughter.
EDUCATION:Attended Kingston Polytechnic; Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design, degree (graphic design and illustration), 1992.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author and illustrator. Worked as a editorial illustrator and graphic designer for advertising clients. Presenter at festivals.
AVOCATIONS:Walking, surfing.
AWARDS:Booktrust Early Years Award nomination, 2006, for What Pet to Get?, and 2009, for Miaow said the Cow; (with Giles Andreae) Booktrust Early Years Award for Best Book for Babies, 2010, for I Love My Mummy; Kate Greenaway Medal nomination, 2011, for I Love Bugs!; Peter’s Picture Book of the Year award, 2018, for Cinderelephant.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
British author and illustrator Emma Dodd specializes in creating illustrated stories for young children, especially the toddler set. Beginning her career creating art for stories by others, Dodd soon began illustrating her own stories, and among the picture books Dog’s Colorful Day: A Messy Story about Colors and Counting, What Pet to Get?, I Believe in Me, Just like You, Meow Said the Cow, Baby and Me, and Cinderelephant. Her brightly colored, cartoon-style images are widely praised for their ability to engage young pre-readers; bringing to life texts by authors such as Louise Borden, Mandy Ross, Anna Nilsen, Jane Clarke, and Giles Andreae, she also created the sequential artwork for K.A. Gerrard’s time-slip graphic novels A Roman Rescue and An Egyptian Escape.
Raised in London by parents who were trained designers, Dodd decided to become an artist at an early age. After earning a degree in graphic design at London’s Central Saint Martin’s School of Art, she worked in advertising and editorial art. Dodd’s first illustrations for the children’s book market appeared in 1993, in the pages of Andrew Montgomery’s The Boy Who Wanted to Sing .
Dodd’s first self-illustrated picture book, Dog’s Colorful Day, was released in 2001 and stars a large canine that is blessed with a prominent patch of black fur on his left ear. As the day progresses, other patches gradually appear on Dog’s fur: a blob of melted dark chocolate, several smears of raspberry jam, and a blob of blue paint. By evening, Dog sports a multicolored pattern of splots, but a bubble bath soon restores his original one-spot coloring. “Dog’s zaftig physique and wide-eyed good humor are doggone charming,” maintained a Publishers Weekly critic in discussing Dodd’s picture-book debut, and in School Library Journal, Beth Tegart described Dog’s Colorful Day as “a charming story” complimented by “vibrant, snappy, and exciting” artwork.
Dodd went on to cast Dog in several other books, including Dog’s ABC: A Silly Story about the Alphabet and Dog’s Noisy Day: A Story to Read Aloud. Originally appearing in England as ABC Dog: A Silly Story about the Alphabet, Dog’s ABC offers young pre-readers help in learning the alphabet via a story chronicling the activities of the playful pup. When an apple falling from a tree hits Dog on the head, it begins a chain of events that leads him around his family’s yard and inside the house. Dog’s Noisy Day follows Dog to a neighboring farm as he tries to imitate the sounds of the barnyard animals, including a rooster, sheep, and cow.
In Booklist, Ellen Mandel noted of Dog’s ABC that “much deliberate thought and humor underlie this deceptively simple, totally winning presentation.” Similar positive reviews accompanied Dog’s Noisy Day. Dog’s “enthusiasm bounds off the pages” of Dog’s Noisy Day, asserted Julie Cummins in the same periodical, while Alison Grant cited Dodd’s artwork in particular, writing in School Library Journal that the book’s “vivid colors” are well paired with its “wonderfully expressive” cast of characters. A Kirkus Reviews critic also praised Dog’s Noisy Day as “a merry cacophony that welcomes young listeners to become active participants.”
Many of Dodd’s stories highlight the special relationship connecting parent and child. Appearing first in England under the title When …, Just like You depicts the bond between a baby bear and his mother as the cub dreams about what he will grow up to be. Animal characters also appear in No Matter What —published in England as Sometimes … —as a mother elephant reassures her child that her love is enduring, while More and More finds monkeys taking the role of loving parents and children. In School Library Journal, Catherine Threadgill described Just like You as a “warm, honest tribute” to the parent-child bond that “is almost flawless in its execution.” According to Shelle Rosenfeld in Booklist, Dodd’s “moving pictures” here employ “color and composition” to produce a “comforting, sweet little book.” Appraising More and More in Kirkus Reviews, a contributor gave the “gold-foiled illustrations” particular praise, explaining that by giving her monkey character “a very human visage” the author/illustrator “conveys her message of unconditional love.”
In Wish, a wolf parent and its cub are shown traversing the woods. The text is from a parent’s perspective, telling their child how much they are loved and wanted and expressing wishes for their lives. Meanwhile, a kitten and its parent discuss what makes their house unique in Home Is Where the Heart Is. They comment on the activities they take part in at home, including resting, playing, and snuggling. Home is a place where they can feel comfortable being exactly who they are, and it is a place where they feel safe. Even if they leave for a time, they know they will eventually return home. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews suggested: “Though it’s unquestionably sentimental, Dodd keeps it just this side of syrupy.” Dodd returns to a family of felines in Just the Way You Are. In this volume, a tiger parent walks through its habitat with its child. During their journey, the parent tells of its undying devotion to the child. A Kirkus Reviews critic described the book as “a delightful offering that will be especially welcome as a gift for baby showers and new parents.”
Given parental permission to choose a pet of his own in What Pet to Get?, young Jack considers the possibilities. Responding to each of the boy’s suggestions—an elephant? a rhinoceros? a crocodile?—his mother sensibly considers the downside of housing these exotic creatures. By book’s end, mother and son agree that a puppy would be best, but each has a different idea about how large that puppy should be. “Funny foreshadowing and clever visual details abound,” remarked a critic in Kirkus Reviews, and a Publishers Weekly contributor noted of What Pet to Get? that its “daffy, winning cast of googly-eyed creatures” present youngsters with “lots of fun” at every turn of the page.
I Don’t Want a Posh Dog! and I Don’t Want a Cool Cat! focus on children of the most determined sort. In the first book, a little girl rejects her mother’s suggestion about acquiring a status pup and instead searches among dogs both small and large and of all colors to find one that is just right for her. An equally discriminating cat lover stars in I Don’t Want a Cool Cat!, as the looks and personality of various kittens are appraised during a little girl’s search for the perfect feline companion. Recommending I Don’t Want a Posh Dog! as effective for group sharing, a Kirkus Reviews writer added that its “large images with broad, black outlines … draw readers’ eyes to the almost-tactile surfaces” of Dodd’s illustrations. In Booklist, Ilene Cooper cited the “pithy text” in I Don’t Want a Cool Cat!, while Kara Schaff Dean wrote in School Library Journal that the same book playfully poses a range of alternatives “for cat connoisseurs” as well as “emerging readers who like to have fun with sound and words.”
Nominated for the prestigious Kate Greenaway Award, I Love Bugs! allows readers to follow along with a young naturalist as he brings his picnic lunch out into his backyard ecosystem and attracts the wealth of insects that call it home. Here Dodd uses “punchy adjectives … to describe the plethora of up-close critters that festoon the pages,” according to a Kirkus Reviews contributor, and her energetic text pairs well with her black-edged graphic art. I Love Bugs! “juggles sounds and rhymes skillfully,” wrote Carolyn Phelan in her Booklist review, and the “cartoon-style eyes” that appear on every pill bug, wasp, centipede, and spider “give individual critters personality.” “This lively, sound-filled selection will make … storytimes buzz,” predicted Maryann H. Owen in her positive appraisal of I Love Bugs! in School Library Journal.
In Foxy, Dodd addresses children’s fears of the first day at school, as a girl dreams about a magical creature whose gifts help make that upcoming day less scary. In her dream about Foxy and his magical tail, Emily learns that mistakes are okay and expected at school. Highlighted by Dodd’s characteristic “silly humor,” Foxy comes to life in multimedia “illustrations pairing seamlessly to create chuckles,” according to a Kirkus Reviews writer. Emily worries again in Foxy in Love, as Valentine’s Day approaches, but a dream about the bushy-tailed fox uses good-hearted humor to quell her fears about the holiday rituals. “Silly misunderstandings” are resolved in a “happy ending” that “sweetly satisfies,” noted a Kirkus Reviews critic in appraising Foxy in Love, and Dodd’s engaging dreamtime character soothes all worries “with a magical swish” of his fluffy red tail.
Dodd riffs on a popular fairy tale in Cinderelephant, which finds the rotund titular heroine acting as a full-time servant for her demanding warthog cousins. When the Warty Sisters leave to attend a soiree hosted by the handsome Prince Trunky, Cinderelephant meets her Furry Godmother and finds her life magically transformed. Full of visual funnies and goofy wordplay, Cinderelephant spins a story “in tune with a kid’s sense of humor,” according to a Kirkus Reviews critic, and a Publishers Weekly critic announced that Dodd’s modernized version “proves there’s still plenty of life in the oldest … fairy tales.”
In Christmas Is Joy, Dodd takes on the wintertime holiday. The book finds a reindeer describing to its calf what Christmas is like. The reindeer refrains from mentioning the religious significance of the holiday, but it does note that gifts are given at Christmastime. The illustrations find the two reindeer traversing snowy scenes in daytime and at night. A Kirkus Reviews writer described the volume as “calm and bright.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 15, 2001, Connie Fletcher, review of Dog’s Colorful Day: A Messy Story about Colors and Counting, p. 1140; February 1, 2002, review of Dog’s ABC: A Silly Story about the Alphabet, p. 945; February 15, 2003, Julie Cummins, review of Dog’s Noisy Day: A Story to Read Aloud, p. 1073; April 1, 2005, Jennifer Mattson, review of All Sorts of Clothes, p. 1370; March 1, 2008, Julie Cummins, review of What Pet to Get?, p. 74; April 1, 2008, Shelle Rosenfeld, review of No Matter What, p. 56; April 15, 2009, Daniel Kraus, review of I Don’t Want a Posh Dog!, p. 47; March 15, 2010, Carolyn Phelan, review of I Love Bugs!, p. 47; June 1, 2010, Ilene Cooper, review of I Don’t Want a Cool Cat!, p. 69; June 1, 2011, Angela Leeper, review of Big Brothers Don’t Take Naps, p. 90.
Guardian (London, England), March 22, 2008, Julia Eccleshare, review of I Don’t Want a Posh Dog!, p. 22; April 23, 2011, Julia Eccleshare, review of I Love My Daddy, p. 14.
Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2001, review of Dog’s ABC, p. 1547; December 15, 2002, review of Dog’s Noisy Day, p. 1848; June 15, 2005, review of Hetty’s 100 Hats, p. 691; January 1, 2008, review of Just like You; February 15, 2008, review of What Pet to Get?; September 1, 2008, review of Best Bear; December 15, 2008, review of Rainbow Fun!; May 1, 2009, review of I Don’t Want a Posh Dog!; February 15, 2010, review of I Love Bugs!; July 15, 2010, review of I Don’t Want a Cool Cat!; April 1, 2011, review of I Love My Mommy; May 1, 2011, review of Meow Said the Cow; May 15, 2011, review of Big Brothers Don’t Take Naps; August 15, 2011, review of I Am Small; April 1, 2012, review of I Love My Daddy; June 1, 2012, review of Foxy; August 15, 2013, review of Cinderelephant; October 1, 2013, review of Foxy in Love; December 1, 2013, review of Baby and Me; July 15, 2014, review of More and More; October 1, 2015, review of I Love You, Baby; October 15, 2015, review of Wish; January 1, 2016, review of My Family Is a Zoo; December 1, 2017, review of I Saw Anaconda; January 1, 2020, review of I Love My Teacher; September 1, 2020, review of Christmas Is Joy; May 15, 2021, review of Home Is Where the Heart Is; October 1, 2022, review of Just the Way You Are.
Publishers Weekly, January 15, 2001, review of Dog’s Colorful Day, p. 74; February 11, 2008, reviews of Just like You, No Matter What, and What Pet to Get?, all p. 68; June 8, 2009, review of I Don’t Want a Posh Dog!, p. 42; February 15, 2010, review of I Love Bugs!, p. 127; December 13, 2010, review of I Love My Mommy, p. 55; April 4, 2011, review of Meow Said the Cow, p. 51; April 18, 2011, review of Big Brothers Don’t Take Naps, p. 50; July 25, 2011, review of I Am Small, p. 49; September 9, 2013, review of Cinderelephant, p. 54.
School Librarian, summer, 2010, Prue Goodwin, review of A Roman Rescue, p. 100.
School Library Journal, March, 2001, Beth Tegart, review of Dog’s Colorful Day, p. 205; February, 2002, Cathie E. Bashaw, review of Dog’s ABC, p. 98; March, 2003, Alison Grant, review of Dog’s Noisy Day, p. 191; January, 2004, Shelley B. Sutherland, review of My Best Friends, p. 102; June, 2005, Gloria Koster, review of All Sorts of Noises, p. 124; August, 2005, Linda Ludke, review of Hetty’s 100 Hats, p. 106; February, 2008, Linda Staskus, review of No Matter What, p. 84, and Joan Kindig, review of What Pet to Get?, p. 160; April, 2008, Catherine Threadgill, review of Just like You, p. 106; December, 2008, Catherine Callegari, review of Best Bear, p. 86; June, 2009, Mary Elam, review of I Don’t Want a Posh Dog!, p. 84; June, 2010, Maryann H. Owen, review of I Love Bugs!, p. 68; July, 2010, Kara Schaff Dean, review of I Don’t Want a Cool Cat!, p. 58; March, 2011, Judith Constantinides, review of I Love My Mommy, p. 116; May, 2011, Maryann H. Owen, review of Big Brothers Don’t Take Naps, p. 72; July, 2011, Marge Loch-Wouters, review of Meow Said the Cow, p. 64.
ONLINE
My Book Corner, https://www.mybookcorner.co.uk/ (December 6, 2022), author interview.
Simon & Schuster website, http://authors.simonandschuster.com/ (February 15, 2012), “Emma Dodd.”
United Agents website, https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/ (December 6, 2022), author profile.*
Emma Dodd Author/Illustrator
Emma was brought an a family of artists and from as far back as she can remember she wanted to be an illustrator.
Emma studied Graphic Design and Illustration at Central Saint Martin's School of Art and has worked in advertising, editorial and book illustration.
Emma provided illustrations for the award winning book series "Amazing Baby" for Templar Publishing.
She was shortlisted for the Booktrust Early Years Award in 2006 for her book "What Pet to Get" and in 2009 for "Miaow said the Cow"
In 2010 "I Love My Mummy"(Orchard Books), by Giles Andreae and illustrated by Emma Dodd won The Booktrust Early Years Award.
Emma's book, "I love Bugs" (Orchard Books) has been long-listed for the 2011 Kate Greenaway Award.
Emma lives in her husband and two children, who provide inspiration for her work and keep her fit.
Bard, Maddy BE HAPPY Templar/Candlewick (Children's None) $14.99 3, 7 ISBN: 978-1-5362-2976-9
Two adorable pups have much to teach, if we listen.
Fluffy, white Hucky and squat little nugget Buzz are best friends who spend their days filled with contemplative, deliberate actions in order to be more present. Fourteen bolded suggestions throughout the book ("Be Thankful," "Show Love," "Talk to Someone") gently walk readers through the basics of mindfulness. On a page labeled "Be Happy," for instance, we're told that the canines "love to run in the park and feel the grass under their paws." On another spread, readers learn that Hucky and Buzz also like to breathe deeply. We see each doggo lying on the grass with a paw on their stomach, feeling the slow rise and fall of their breath. The canines encourage readers to notice what is happening around them and listen to their emotions. They also cheer readers on; a double-page spread shows the two friends intrepidly crossing a rope bridge ("With self-confidence, you can do amazing things!"). Questions posed to readers offer an extra layer of engagement ("What do you like to do?" "What are you thankful for?" "What are some of the ways you keep busy?"). Dodd's signature illustrations, outlined in thick black lines, are set against simple, uncluttered backdrops and bring the pups to vivid, endearing life. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An appealing primer on mindfulness for the youngest set. (Picture book. 3-6)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Bard, Maddy: BE HAPPY." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A729727404/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7e6b08f7. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.
DODD, Emma. Spread YourWings. illus. by Emma Dodd. 24p. Candlewick/Templar. Nov. 2023. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781536232554.
PreS--A charming book that encapsulates the profound love between parent and child--in this case, two cockatoos. The first pages act as a heartfelt letter to a child: "When you came into my life/I saw the world anew./ But nothing could prepare me/ For the love I feel for you," which then expresses the bittersweet journey of growing up and gaining independence, while assuring that home will forever be a welcome haven. The use of warm and inviting colors beautifully mirrors the depth a parent's affection, creating a visually comforting experience for both young readers and adults. Each page exudes a sense of security and love that resonates with readers of all ages. The simplicity of the book is its greatest strength; the text is tender and genuine, making it relatable. Scenes of the younger bird, flying alone at night, complement the message that no matter how far one may roam, the love of a parent remains a steadfast beacon in the journey of life. This quaint book, similar to Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny, is a testament to the enduring bond between parent and child, offering a gentle reminder that home is not just a place but a feeling of unwavering love and acceptance. VERDICT It's a perfect bedtime story to share with small children, imparting the timeless message of love, security, and family, and one to have on hand for classroom naptime story hours.--Jessica Calaway
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Calaway, Jessica. "DODD, Emma. Spread Your Wings." School Library Journal, vol. 70, no. 1, Jan. 2024, p. 49. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A778646529/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f57af311. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.