SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: 13 Stories About Ayana
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: New York
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 363
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born April 2, 1954, in San Diego, CA; daughter of I. Henry (a writer) and Eva (a professor of chemistry) Schwartz; married Leonard Marcus (a children’s book author), May 20, 1990; children: Jacob Henry.
EDUCATION:Attended Antioch College; California College of Arts and Crafts, B.F.A., 1976.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and illustrator. Freelance illustrator, 1976—. Windrush School, Berkeley, CA, art teacher, 1977-78; Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, NY, production assistant, 1981.
AWARDS:100 Best Children’s Books citation, New York Public Library, 1982, for Bea and Mr. Jones; National Jewish Book Award for Illustrated Children’s Books, and Association of Jewish Libraries Award for Best Picture Book, both 1984, and Sydney Taylor Book Award, Association of Jewish Libraries, 1985, all for Mrs. Moskowitz and the Sabbath Candlesticks; Parents’ Choice Award, Parents’ Choice Foundation, and 100 Best Children’s Books citation, New York Public Library, both 1984, and Children’s Choice citation, International Reading Association/Children’s Book Council (IRA-CBC), 1985, all for The Crack-of-Dawn Walkers; IRA/CBC Children’s Choice citation, 1985, for Her Majesty, Aunt Essie; Christopher Award, 1987, for The Purple Coat; Parents’ Choice Award, 1989, for The Lady Who Put Salt in Her Coffee, and 1991, for Magic Carpet; New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book designation, 1995, for A Teeny Tiny Baby; Charlotte Zolotow Award Highly Commended selection, 2000, for How to Catch an Elephant; Charlotte Zolotow Award, 2004, for What James Likes Best; Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Best Book Award, 2007, for Oscar.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Author and artist Amy Schwartz is known for creating gently humorous tales that she brings to life in distinctive illustrations. Her stories, which include Tiny and Hercules, A Teeny Tiny Baby, and Dee Dee and Me, have earned praise for featuring comforting narratives that examine issues from a child’s point of view. In addition to her self-illustrated works, Schwartz has illustrated books by writers such as Heather Vogel Frederick, Kathryn Lasky, and Amy Hest.
A quiet, studious child, Schwartz spent much of her time reading and drawing. “Some of my strongest memories from my childhood involve books,” she once told SATA. “I remember attempting to read as I walked home from school every day, trying not to run into someone’s hedge, or fall off the curb, or lose my place in my book when I crossed the street.” Graduating from high school early, she attended Antioch College for several semesters before returning to her native California to study art. After Schwartz obtained her degree in drawing, a friend introduced her to children’s book illustration and she began to consider the field as a possible career. Although a trip to New York City did not result in job offers, the encouragement she received motivated her to relocate there permanently to continue pursuing her goal. After several editors suggested that she might have a better chance selling her illustrations if she wrote a story to accompany them, Schwartz took several classes in writing and illustration.
Schwartz’s first picture book, Bea and Mr. Jones, was published in 1982. The self-illustrated work introduces a kindergartner who, tired of the childish activities in class, switches places with her father, an over-stressed advertising executive. Kenneth Marantz noted in School Library Journal that the “efficiently trimmed and noncondescending story” in Bea and Mr. Jones serves as “a parable about the way we organize our lives.” “Best of all are the pictures,” Janice Prindle declared in a Village Voice review. “Full of chubby little dumpling people bearing purposive expressions, they form an extended cartoon satire.”
In Begin at the Beginning: A Little Artist Learns about Life, Schwartz’s “refreshingly unique style” captures a girl’s frustration while working on an art assignment, according to Nancy Palmer in School Library Journal. The little girl’s difficulty starting her project and her family’s bothersome attempts to help “will all strike a sympathetic chord,” the critic added, “as will the lesson to bite off what you can chew.” Reviewing a new edition of the story, which features new illustrations, Booklist contributor Gillian Engberg wrote that Schwartz’s “watercolor-and-pencil drawings … extend the spot-on emotions in the smooth, well-paced text.”
Schwartz’s Jewish upbringing informs several of her books, among them Mrs. Moskowitz and the Sabbath Candlesticks. When her son arrives with a misplaced box of belongings, elderly Mrs. Moskowitz discovers her Sabbath candlesticks and recalls the happy times her family shared around them. After she polishes the candlesticks, the woman begins to fix up her new quarters to match, and soon she is ready to host a family Sabbath dinner. The “warm story” is complemented by Schwartz’s drawings of “the appealing characters and their neighborhood,” wrote a Publishers Weekly critic. These illustrations are “full of emotion and humor,” stated Booklist critic Ilene Cooper; “even more than the text, they show that when one door is closed, another can be opened.”
A sibling relationship is at the heart of Dee Dee and Me. Frustrated by the mischievous antics of bossy older sister Dee Dee, Hannah decides to play alone, in the process realizing that she does not have to bow to her sister’s every whim. “In both heartfelt words and sympathy-inducing art,” remarked Booklist critic Cooper, “Schwartz captures the push-pull of sibling love.” A critic in Publishers Weekly described Schwartz as “a master of restraint and insight” and complimented Dee Dee and Me for its “economical yet deeply empathic prose and carefully inked scenes of family life.”
A youngster finds excitement and adventure with a beloved relative in Willie and Uncle Bill, a “stylish and loving tribute to a modern-day, male Auntie Mame,” according to a reviewer in Publishers Weekly. With his enthusiastic uncle Bill serving as babysitter, young Willie gets treated to a late-night haircut, cooks up a batch of Icky Stew, and hops aboard the subway to watch a garage-rock band rehearse. “Schwartz’s finely lined and candy-colored gouache art gives things a sprightly feel,” Daniel Kraus noted in Booklist, and a writer in Kirkus Reviews predicted that the “dynamic duo will surely be adored (and envied) by all ages.”
Inspired by the birth of her own child, Schwartz’s A Teeny Tiny Baby finds a two-week-old infant relating how he commands the family’s attention and can “get anything I want.” The author/illustrator’s “pitch-perfect ear and her comedienne’s timing find visual expression in her upbeat, inviting gouaches,” a Publishers Weekly reviewer remarked, suggesting that this work is “sure to be appreciated and enthusiastically revisited.” A companion book, Some Babies, attracted equal praise. Writing in School Library Journal, Joy Fleishhacker commented that “the soothing tone of [Schwartz’s] … repetitive text balances nicely with the high-energy illustrations,” making Some Babies “an engaging choice for toddlers who like to look at other toddlers.”
Schwartz explores familiar childhood concerns in the easy-reading stories Starring Miss Darlene and What James Likes Best. Darlene, a young hippo, pursues her dream of becoming an actress by taking an acting class, attending auditions, and ultimately being cast in a series of humorous stage shows. In pastel-tinted line drawings, “Schwartz indicates the full array of the hippo’s emotions … in a perfect extension of her brisk, uncomplicated but goofy text,” according to School Library Journal contributor Kate McClelland. What James Likes Best finds a little boy traveling to a country fair, riding in a city cab to visit Grandma, taking a bus trip, and walking next door to play with his friend. Writing that the author/illustrator “is known for capturing the moods and motivations of young ones,” Cooper praised the “signature paintings” in What James Likes Best as “simple, bright, and touched with patterns.”
Another young boy is the star of Things I Learned in Second Grade, which features Andrew’s narrative of how second grade enriched his life and how third grade promises even more adventure, learning, and fun. Giving the red-haired boy’s recollections a “dignity usually reserved for grownups, Schwartz introduces to young readers the idea that their memories are worth preserving,” concluded a Publishers Weekly contributor. Schwartz offers a compendium of life’s simple pleasures—from building blocks to starry nights to sitting in a grandparent’s lap—in 100 Things That Make Me Happy. “Lollipop colors and utterly cheery simplicity make for a rousing read-aloud chant,” a critic observed in Kirkus Reviews.
Schwartz celebrates the power of friendship in Tiny and Hercules, “a droll, upbeat tale with cheery watercolor-and-ink illustrations,” according to Susan Weitz in School Library Journal. The collection offers five tales centering on the relationship between Tiny, a kindhearted elephant, and Hercules, an equally amiable mouse. Booklist reviewer Kara Dean predicted that audiences “will appreciate the message that odd couples can thrive when each partner genuinely cares for the other.” Told in rhyme, Lucy Can’t Sleep follows a restless youngster’s nocturnal adventures. A writer in Kirkus Reviews described Lucy Can’t Sleep as “a bedtime book with sweetly anarchic undertones … in which verse and artwork lull and soothe to soporific effect.”
Schwartz has written several titles celebrating all the things that children enjoy in life. 100 Things That Make Me Happy highlights everything from socks and blocks to braids and parades and all kinds of delicious treats. A Kirkus Reviews writer remarked that the “lollipop colors and utterly cheery simplicity make for a rousing read-aloud chant,” with “much to revel in visually.” 100 Things I Love to Do with You celebrates climbing trees, making mud pies, concocting secret codes, eating ice cream, and many other activities perfect for friends to share. A Publishers Weekly writer appreciated that “children of all types—rowdy, contemplative, mischievous, sporty, imaginative, always hungry—will find some of their own ‘loves’” in the book.
[OPEN NEW] Schwartz followed up with 100 Things I Know How to Do, a celebration of all the things little ones can do. [CLOSE NEW]
In I Can’t Wait!, Schwartz shows young readers both how difficult it can be to wait for something, and how others—neighbors, a grandparent, a pet—can help pass the time, whether by sharing riddles, imagining possibilities, or simply listening. A Kirkus Reviews writer observed that the “cheerful gouache and ink vignettes … carry the flavor of a bygone era,” with Megan Dowd Lambert adding in Horn Book that Schwartz excels at “capturing homey, domestic details and characters’ gestures and movements.”
Featuring line-and-watercolor illustrations and rhyming couplets, Busy Babies portrays the youngest children in all their daily activities. Booklist reviewer Carolyn Phelan affirmed that the verse “flows beautifully” and the book makes for “a wonderful focal point for conversations with young children.” The focus is on one particular blond-haired preschooler in 13 Stories about Harris, as the boy has such experiences as making butter, discovering hamster babies, and going to a birthday party, often with best friend Ayana along. In Booklist, Lucinda Whitehurst praised the story’s “gentle and warm” tone, and a Publishers Weekly writer hailed the book’s “nostalgic snapshots that demonstrate the way magic can be found in the mundane.”
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In 13 Stories about Ayana, Schwartz offers thirteen short scenes of a toddler’s everyday life. These include a playdate, having her face painted at a block party, and visiting a garden with her father. The text is short and witty, and Schwartz’s illustrations are bright and cheerful. Allison Tran, for School Library Journal, called the book a “delightful experience” and the “very definition of a cozy picture book.” Tran was particularly taken by the stories’ “comfortable rhythm” and the “satisfying conclusion.” The reviewer for Kirkus Reviews was equally positive, describing the book as “thoroughly delightful” and “so charming and simple that it’s disarming.” They anticipated that youngsters will want to read this one again and again.
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In addition to her original stories, Schwartz has adapted several traditional tales for the picture-book format. Yossel Zissel and the Wisdom of Chelm brings to life the foolish village of Chelm, a place well known to readers of Jewish folklore, and shares the story of how Yossel Zissel spread Chelm’s brand of wisdom all over the world. Cooper hailed Schwartz’s “always pleasing illustrations” by noting that her “highly distinctive style … is perfect for the story’s humor.” In The Lady Who Put Salt in Her Coffee: From the Peterkin Papers the author/illustrator takes an episode from Lucretia Hale’s classic The Peterkin Papers, about a charming but foolish Victorian family. In adapting the story of how the family searches for a remedy to salty coffee, Schwartz “has succeeded brilliantly, showing respect for her material and appreciation for the time and place in which it is set,” according to Horn Book reviewer Mary M. Burns. In School Library Journal, Susan Scheps praised Schwartz’s revision as “more accessible to today’s children” and hailed the tale’s “whimsical characters with [their] wonderfully expressive faces.”
“All of my stories begin with something real and important to me, something that has struck an emotional chord in me,” Schwartz once commented. “A specific incident or relationship may be my starting point, or some set of feelings about a situation in my current life, which melds with childhood memories to produce a story and a set of characters reflective of both past and present.”
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On February 26, 2023, Amy Schwartz died suddenly at her home in Brooklyn, New York. No specific cause of death was given, but her husband, Leonard S. Marcus, said that she had had cardiovascular disease. An outpouring of tributes came from readers and colleagues alike. It is possible that Meredith Mundy, Schwartz’s editorial director at Abrams, summed it up best: “She was a master of capturing subtle gestures and the triumphs—large and small—of childhood. She was a star in the picture book world as well as a delightful human being and will be greatly missed.” Amy Schwartz was 68 years old.
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BIOCRIT
BOOKS
Children’s Literature Review, Volume 25, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1991.
Silvey, Anita, editor, Children’s Books and Their Creators, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1995.
Something about the Author Autobiography Series, Volume 18, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1994.
PERIODICALS
Booklist, August, 1984, Ilene Cooper, review of Mrs. Moskowitz and the Sabbath Candlesticks, p. 1629; January 1, 1985, Ilene Cooper, review of Her Majesty, Aunt Essie, p. 643; January 1, 1987, Ilene Cooper, review of Yossel Zissel and the Wisdom of Chelm, p. 788; April 1, 1987, Ilene Cooper, review of Oma and Bobo, p. 1210; June 1, 1997, April Judge, review of Wish You Were Here: Emily Emerson’s Guide to the Fifty States, pp. 1692-1693; January 1, 1998, Ilene Cooper, review of Gabby Growing Up, pp. 822-823; May 15, 1999, Lauren Peterson, review of Old MacDonald, p. 1700; November 15, 1999, Shelle Rosenfeld, review of How to Catch an Elephant, p. 639; December 15, 2000, Ilene Cooper, review of Some Babies, p. 82; November 1, 2001, Ilene Cooper, review of The Boys Team, p. 485; March 1, 2003, Ilene Cooper, review of What James Likes Best, p. 1196; February 1, 2004, Ilene Cooper, review of A Glorious Day, p. 982; August, 2004, Jennifer Mattson, review of Things I Learned in Second Grade, p. 1948; May 15, 2005, Gillian Engberg, review of Begin at the Beginning: A Little Artist Learns about Life, p. 1667; May 15, 2006, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of Oscar: The Big Adventures of a Little Sock Monkey, p. 52; August 1, 2006, Ilene Cooper, review of A Beautiful Girl, p. 94; August, 2007, Carolyn Phelan, review of Starring Miss Darlene, p. 86; June 1, 2009, Kara Dean, review of Tiny and Hercules, p. 80; April 15, 2012, Daniel Kraus, review of Willie and Uncle Bill, p. 72; September 1, 2012, Andrew Medlar, review of Lucy Can’t Sleep, p. 128; November 15, 2013, Ilene Cooper, review of Dee Dee and Me, p. 39; October 15, 2014, Lolly Gepson, review of 100 Things That Make Me Happy, p. 49; April 15, 2019, Carolyn Phelan, review of Busy Babies, p. 53; June 1, 2020, Lucinda Whitehurst, review of 13 Stories about Harris, p. 90; September 1, 2022, Amina Chaudhri, review of 13 Stories about Ayana, p. 76.
Books for Keeps, November, 1986, Colin Mills, review of Her Majesty, Aunt Essie, p. 15.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, June, 1987, Roger Sutton, review of Oma and Bobo, p. 196; July, 1991, Zena Sutherland, review of Camper of the Week, p. 274; September, 2007, Deborah Stevenson, review of Starring Miss Darlene, p. 53.
Horn Book, March-April, 1988, Ellen Fader, review of Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner, pp. 194-195; January-February, 1990, Leonard S. Marcus, author interview, pp. 36-45; January-February, 1990, Mary M. Burns, review of The Lady Who Put Salt in Her Coffee: From the Peterkin Papers, p. 51; November-December, 1990, Ellen Fader, review of Mother Goose’s Little Misfortunes, p. 755; March, 1999, Mary M. Burns, review of Old MacDonald, p. 200; January-February, 2002, Lauren Adams, review of The Boys Team, p. 72; May-June, 2003, Christine M. Heppermann, review of What James Likes Best, p. 337; May-June, 2004, Christine M. Heppermann, review of A Glorious Day, p. 332; September-October, 2006, Jennifer M. Brabander, review of A Beautiful Girl, p. 569; July-August, 2007, Jennifer M. Brabander, review of Starring Miss Darlene, p. 385; May-June, 2009, Jennifer M. Brabander, review of Tiny and Hercules, p. 287; May-June, 2012, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Willie and Uncle Bill, p. 71; September-October, 2012, Kathleen T. Horning, review of Lucy Can’t Sleep, p. 72; September-October, 2013, Julie Roach, review of Dee Dee and Me, p. 80; November-December, 2015, Megan Dowd Lambert, review of I Can’t Wait!, p. 74.
Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 1988, review of Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner, p. 59; June 15, 1990, review of Mother Goose’s Little Misfortunes, p. 879; October 1, 2001, review of The Boys Team, p. 1433; March 15, 2003, review of What James Likes Best, p. 478; March 1, 2004, review of A Glorious Day, p. 229; June 15, 2004, review of Things I Learned in Second Grade, p. 580; May 15, 2004, review of Begin at the Beginning, p. 595; May 15, 2006, review of Oscar, p. 523; July 15, 2006, review of A Beautiful Girl, p. 730; July 15, 2007, review of Starring Miss Darlene; April 15, 2009, review of Tiny and Hercules; March 15, 2012, review of Willie and Uncle Bill; July 1, 2012, review of Lucy Can’t Sleep; September 15, 2014, review of 100 Things That Make Me Happy; August 15, 2015, review of I Can’t Wait!; March 1, 2019, review of Busy Babies; May 1, 2021, review of 100 Things I Know How to Do.
New York Times Book Review, March, 1999, Mary M. Burns, review of Old MacDonald, p. 200; November 12, 2006, Patricia T. O’Conner, review of Oscar, p. 23.
Parent’s Choice, Volume 12, number 1, 1989, Jim Roginski, author interview, p. 1.
Publishers Weekly, May 28, 1982, review of Bea and Mr. Jones, p. 71; May 11, 1984, review of Mrs. Moskowitz and the Sabbath Candlesticks, p. 272; January 15, 1988, review of Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner, p. 94; February 26, 1988, Maureen O’Brien, author interview, pp. 176-177; July 12, 1991, review of Camper of the Week, p. 66; August 29, 1994, review of A Teeny Tiny Baby, p. 78; July 26, 1999, review of How to Catch an Elephant, p. 90; February 24, 2003, review of What James Likes Best, p. 70; June 28, 2004, review of Things I Learned in Second Grade, p. 49; June 26, 2006, review of Oscar, p. 50; July 24, 2006, review of A Beautiful Girl, p. 56; July 16, 2007, review of Starring Miss Darlene, p. 164; May 11, 2009, review of Tiny and Hercules, p. 50; February 27, 2012, review of Willie and Uncle Bill, p. 85; June 11, 2012, review of Lucy Can’t Sleep, p. 51; August 12, 2013, review of Dee Dee and Me, p. 58; August 11, 2014, review of 100 Things That Make Me Happy, p. 65; October 16, 2017, review of 100 Things I Love to Do with You, p. 65; May 25, 2020, review of 13 Stories about Harris, p. 66.
School Library Journal, August, 1982, Kenneth Marantz, review of Bea and Mr. Jones, p. 105; August, 1983, Nancy Palmer, review of Begin at the Beginning, p. 58; November, 1984, Lillian Gerhardt, review of Her Majesty, Aunt Essie, pp. 117-118; March, 1987, Trev Jones, review of Oma and Bobo, p. 150; October, 1989, Susan Scheps, review of The Lady Who Put Salt in Her Coffee, pp. 85-86; September, 1991, Karen James, review of Camper of the Week, p. 241; October, 2000, Joy Fleishhacker, review of Some Babies, p. 136; March, 2003, Janet M. Bair, review of What James Likes Best, p. 206; August, 2004, Linda L. Walkins, review of Things I Learned in Second Grade, p. 93; July, 2005, Mary Elam, review of Begin at the Beginning, p. 82; June, 2006, Wendy Lukehart, review of Oscar, p. 126; August, 2006, Julie Roach, review of A Beautiful Girl, p. 98; August, 2007, Kate McClelland, review of Starring Miss Darlene, p. 90; May, 2009, Susan Weitz, review of Tiny and Hercules, p. 88; August, 2012, Teri Markson, review of Lucy Can’t Sleep, p. 86; August, 2013, B. Allison Gray, review of Dee Dee and Me, p. 89; August, 2014, Sarah Polace, review of 100 Things That Make Me Happy, p. 80; October, 2016, Jasmine L. Precopio, review of Polka Dots for Poppy, p. 85; December, 2022, Allison Tran, review of 13 Stories about Ayana, pp. 73+.
Village Voice, December 14, 1982, Janice Prindle, review of Bea and Mr. Jones, p. 76.
ONLINE
Cooperative Children’s Book Center website, https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ (January 1, 2015), Geri Ceci Cupery, author interview.
Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast, http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/ (June 28, 2010), Julie Danielson, author interview.*
OBITUARIES
Kirkus Reviews, https://www.kirkusreviews.com (March 2, 2023), Michael Schaub, “Children’s Author Amy Schwartz Dies at 68.”
Publishers Weekly, https://www.publishersweekly.com (March 2, 2023), Shannon Maughan.
Washington Post, https://ustoday.news (March 10, 2023), Erin Avery, “Amy Schwartz, Whose Books Chronicled Childhood on the Page, Has Died at the Age of 68.”
Obituary: Amy Schwartz
By Shannon Maughan | Mar 02, 2023
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Amy Schwartz.
Author-illustrator Amy Schwartz, best known for her warm, humorous tales with a kid-centered point of view, and her equally distinctive gouache and pen-and-ink artwork, died suddenly on February 26 at her home in Brooklyn. She was 68.
Schwartz was born April 2, 1954 in San Diego, Calif., where she grew up the third of four daughters of Henry, a writer, and Eva, a chemistry professor. A self-described quiet and studious child, “I loved to read from the start,” Schwartz wrote in her autobiography for Something About the Author. She fondly remembered a house where books were treasured, family read-alouds, and frequent trips to the library. She also enjoyed art and, from an early age, spent lots of her free time painting and drawing.
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Schwartz excelled in high school and earned enough credits to allow her to graduate midway through her senior year and begin studies—including art classes—at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. But a year and a half later, she transferred to the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, where she majored in drawing and earned her B.F.A. in 1976. After graduation, she worked a seasonal job at a Berkeley costume shop while continuing to draw and search for illustration jobs.
When Schwartz eventually landed a gig illustrating The Breakfast Book (1979) as well as a second title for Chronicle Books, she believed she was finding her footing in the literary world. Around this time, she also took a keener interest in children’s book illustration, inspired by an art school friend pursuing the same career track, and encouraged by her experience taking a four-session children’s book illustration course in San Francisco. With new confidence in her illustration work, Schwartz set off for a brief stay in New York City to make the rounds of publishers with her portfolio. Though no assignments came of that first attempt, Schwartz received some advice that stuck: several editors suggested she might have a better shot of selling a project if she also wrote her own text. She then decided to move to New York on a more permanent basis, taking a clerical job and enrolling in a children’s book illustration and writing course at the School for Visual Arts.
Things began to click for Schwartz professionally when she submitted two projects from her SVA coursework around town and soon caught the interest of publishers. She was working as a production assistant at Simon & Schuster when her first picture book, Bea and Mrs. Jones, featuring a kindergartener and her advertising executive father who swap places, was published by Bradbury Press in 1982. That same year the book was cited in the New York Public Library’s selection of 100 Best Children’s Books.
And in 1983, Harper and Row released Schwartz’s Begin at the Beginning, about a girl struggling to find a way to get started on an art assignment. Schwartz had developed a solid working relationship with her editor for that book, Jane Feder, and when Feder left Harper in 1982 to become an illustration agent, she invited Schwartz on board as one of her first clients.
Throughout the 1980s Schwartz was especially prolific, writing and illustrating her own books as well as illustrating works by other authors including Amy Hest, Eve Bunting, and her father, Henry Schwartz, with whom she would eventually collaborate on four projects. This steady schedule allowed her to write and illustrate books full-time.
In 1990 Schwartz married author and children’s book historian Leonard S. Marcus and in 1992 they welcomed their son Jacob. Schwartz wrote in her autobiography that “his arrival dramatically changed our lives.” She noted that the overwhelming, very early days of parenthood inspired her picture book A Teeny Tiny Baby (Orchard, 1994), which opens with the line “I’m a teeny tiny baby and I know how to get anything I want.”
Over the last 30 years, she continued to steadily produce lauded books with a variety of publishers. In all, Schwartz created more than 60 books for young readers, and her work has consistently been recognized as being funny and empathetic with a true-to-life perspective. She has said that she found the kernels of stories in memories from childhood, her family, her surroundings, and everyday experiences. “All of my books begin with something real and important to me,” she wrote in SATA, “something that has struck an emotional chord in me.”
Marcus, Schwartz’s husband of 32 years, shared: “For all the time I knew her, she was caring and generous and funny and smart and such a canny observer of people, too. She often noticed things in a situation that had completely passed me by, and she usually saw straight through to the heart of any matter. I was always a little bit in awe of her ability to do that. Her books are like that, too: comical and heartfelt but most of all true.”
Meredith Mundy, editorial director at Abrams, delivered this tribute: “Working with Amy over the past five years on her 100 Things series for Appleseed has been an absolute joy. I will miss our emails and phone calls—no detail was too small to warrant her thoughtful consideration…. She was a master of capturing subtle gestures and the triumphs—large and small—of childhood. She was a star in the picture book world as well as a delightful human being and will be greatly missed by her Abrams family.”
Mary Cash, v-p and editor-in-chief at Holiday House, said, “I can’t think of anyone who understood and portrayed the day-to-day routines of families with young children with more intelligence and joy. Amy was an acute observer of all the tiny details that together make up a child’s life. Her wonderful books celebrated, laughed at, and offered so much insight into that existence.”
Allyn Johnston, v-p and publisher at Beach Lane Books, offered this remembrance: “Amy’s impeccable eye and ear for the specific details of children’s lives was unparalleled,” she said. “It gave her books a universal honesty that touched people of every age. I recently read her A Teeny Tiny Baby aloud to a class of 175 adult picture-book writers as an example of brilliant pacing, page turns, and emotion—and the room was riveted from start to finish. Thirty years later, the book is as fresh and funny and irresistible as the day it was published. That is the power of Amy Schwartz’s work.”
“During my time at Roaring Brook Press, I was privileged to work with Amy on five delectable books,” said Neal Porter, v-p and publisher of Neal Porter Books at Holiday House. “It always amazed me that someone with such a quiet, thoughtful, even taciturn demeanor could produce such sparkling, irreverent work. I think she is one of the great unsung heroes of contemporary picture books.”
Amy Schwartz (author)
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amy Schwartz
Born April 2, 1954
San Diego
Died February 26, 2023 (aged 68)
Nationality American
Alma mater California College of Arts and Crafts
Occupation Author
Spouse Leonard S. Marcus (1990–2023)
Children 1
Awards
Sydney Taylor Book Award (1984)
Charlotte Zolotow Award (2004)
Amy Schwartz (April 2, 1954 – February 26, 2023)[1][2][3] was an American author and illustrator of children's books. Over thirty years, she published 60 children's books, some of which have been widely recognized. As an illustrator, she was "best known for her warm, humorous tales with a kid-centered point of view, and her equally distinctive gouache and pen-and-ink artwork."[1]
Personal life and education
Schwartz was born on April 2, 1954, in San Diego to Henry Schwartz, a writer, and Eva Schwartz, a chemistry professor.[1] She grew up on the West Coast[4] with her parents and three sisters.[1]
Schwartz graduated high school early and started university at Antioch College, though she transferred to California College of Arts and Crafts a year later.[1] She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drawing in 1976.[1] Three years later, she illustrated her first book.[1] The publication inspired her to move to New York City for work, where she eventually settled.[1][2] Early in her time in New York, she took a course about writing and illustrating children's books from the School for Visual Arts, which led to her first publication in 1982, Bea and Mrs. Jones.[1] Throughout the 1980s, she wrote and illustrated multiple books and was able to do so full-time.[1]
Schwartz married Leonard S. Marcus in 1990, and in 1992, they had a son, Jacob.[1][2]
Before her sudden death on February 26, 2023,[1] she lived in Brooklyn with her husband.[5]
Awards and honors
In 1982, Schwartz's debut children's book, Bea and Mrs. Jones, was featured in the New York Public Library’s selection of 100 Best Children’s Books.[1] Bea and Mr. Jones, Begin at the Beginning, A Teeny Tiny Baby were featured on the television program Reading Rainbow in 1971, 1984, and 1997, respectively, as was The Purple Coat by Amy Hest, which Schwartz illustrated.[6] In 2006, Schwartz's booksellers selected Bea and Mr. Jones for the "Happiest to See Back in Print" Cuffies Award.[7] The Horn Book Magazine named Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner and What James Likes Best one of the best Picture Books of the year in 1988 and 2003, respectively.[8] Three of Schwartz's books are Junior Library Guild selections: Starring Miss Darlene (2007),[9] Tiny & Hercules (2009),[10] and 13 Stories About Harris (2020).[11] The Cooperative Children's Book Center included Starring Miss Darlene in their 2008 CCBC Choices publication, "an annual list of recommended books for children and young adults selected by the librarians at the Cooperative Children's Book Center."[12] Polka Dots for Poppy was named a Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year.[2]
Awards for Schwartz's writing
Year Title Award Result Ref.
1984 Mrs. Moskowitz and the Sabbath Candlesticks Sydney Taylor Book Award for Younger Readers Winner [13]
1986 Yossel Zissel and the Wisdom of Chelm Sydney Taylor Book Award for Younger Readers Notable title [13]
1990 Fancy Aunt Jess (as illustrator) Sydney Taylor Book Award for Younger Readers Notable title [13]
2000 How to Catch an Elephant Charlotte Zolotow Award Commended title [14]
2004 What James Likes Best Charlotte Zolotow Award Winner [14][15]
2013 Willie and Uncle Bill American Library Association Rainbow List Selection [16]
Publications
As author
Bea and Mr. Jones (1982)
Begin at the Beginning: A Little Artist Learns about Life (1983)
Mrs. Moskowitz and the Sabbath Candlesticks (1983)
Her Majesty, Aunt Essie (1984)
Yossel Zissel and the Wisdom of Chelm (1986)
Oma and Bobo (1987)
Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner (1991)
Camper of the Week (1991)
Old MacDonald (1999)
How to Catch An Elephant (2000)
Some Babies (2000)
A Teeny Tiny Baby (2000)
The Boys Team (2001)
A Glorious Day (2004)
Things I Learned in Second Grade (2004)
What James Likes Best (2004)
A Beautiful Girl (2006)
Oscar: The Big Adventure of a Little Sock Monkey (2006)
Starring Miss Darlene (2007)
Tiny and Hercules (2009)
Lucy Can't Sleep (2012)
Willie and Uncle Bill (2012)
Dee Dee and Me (2013)
100 Things That Make Me Happy (2014)
I Can't Wait! (2015)
Polka Dots for Poppy (2016)
100 Things I Love to Do with You (2017)
Things That Make Me Happy (2017)
Busy Babies (2019)
13 Stories about Harris (2020)
Things I Love to Do with You (2020)
100 Things I Know How to Do (2021)
13 Stories about Ayana (2022)
Things I Know How to Do (expected 2023)
As illustrator
The Breakfast Book (1979)
My Island Grandma by Kathryn Lasky (1979)
The Crack-Of-Dawn Walkers by Amy Hest (1983)
The Night Flight by Joanne Ryde (1985)
The Witch Who Lives Down the Hall by Donna Guthrie (1985)
The Purple Coat by Amy Hest (1986)
Maggie Doesn't Want To Move by Elizabeth Lee O'Donnell (1987)
The Scarecrows and Their Child by Mary Stolz (1987)
Because of Lozo Brown by Larry L. King (1988)
Jane Martin, Dog Detective by Eve Bunting (1988)
How I Captured a Dinosaur by Henry Schwartz (1989)
The Lady Who Put Salt in Her Coffee: From the Peterkin Papers by Lucretia P. Hale (1989)
Blow Me a Kiss, Miss Lilly by Nancy White Carlstrom (1990)
Fancy Aunt Jess by Amy Hest (1990)
Albert Goes Hollywood by Henry Schwartz (1992)
Nana's Birthday Party by Amy Hest (1993)
Make a Face: A Book with a Mirror by Henry Schwartz (1994)
Gabby Growing Up by Amy Hest (1998)
A Little Kitty by Jane Feder (2009)
Babyberry Pie by Heather Vogel Frederick (2010)
The Extra Ordinary Sheep by Aerin Nicole (2107)
Children’s Author Amy Schwartz Dies at 68
BY MICHAEL SCHAUB • MARCH 2, 2023
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Children’s Author Amy Schwartz Dies at 68
Illustration by Amy Schwartz from ’13 Stories About Ayana’ (2022). Courtesy of Holiday House Publishing, Inc.
Amy Schwartz, the author and illustrator of children’s books including What James Likes Best and Polka Dots for Poppy, has died, publisher Holiday House announced in a news release. Publishers Weekly reports that she was 68.
Schwartz, a San Diego native, was educated at Antioch College and the California College of Arts and Crafts. She worked at Simon & Schuster before making her debut as a children’s book writer-illustrator with Bea and Mrs. Jones in 1982.
Many more books followed, including Camper of the Week, A Teeny Tiny Baby, The Boys Team, and Dee Dee and Me. Her more recent books have included 100 Things I Know How To Do; a critic for Kirkus gave the book a starred review, writing, “Should you get this book? 100% yes.”
Schwartz is survived by her husband, Leonard S. Marcus, the author and children’s book historian, who said in a statement, “For all the time I knew her, she was caring and generous and funny and smart and such a canny observer of people, too.”
Schwartz’s admirers paid tribute to her on social media. On Twitter, writer and editor Lauren LeBlanc wrote, “Learning that the children's book author and illustrator Amy Schwartz passed away, I burst into tears. My youngest especially loved POLKA DOTS FOR POPPY, but Schwartz and I had become Instagram pals. This is such a shock; her gentle presence and kindness has been a balm.”
And journalist and novelist Kimberly Olson Fakih tweeted, “I was so sorry to hear of Amy Schwartz's passing on Sunday. Her ‘13 Stories About Harris’ and ‘13 Stories About Ayana’ are only her most recent of dozens of books that put a child's perspective first. My condolences to her family and all who knew her.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
Amy Schwartz, whose books chronicled childhood on the page, has died at the age of 68
Photo of Erin Avery Erin AveryMarch 10, 2023 38 5 minutes read
Amy Schwartz, whose books chronicled childhood on the page, has died at the age of 68
Amy Schwartz, the author and illustrator of dozens of picture books that have captured the lives of children — from the night’s feeding of infants to day one of kindergarten and beyond — with a lively touch that has made her a favorite of children and adults alike equally made She died on February 26 at her home in Brooklyn. She was 68.
She had cardiovascular disease, said her husband Leonard S. Marcus, a historian and authority on children’s literature.
Ms. Schwartz made her literary debut in 1982 with the publication of the picture book Bea and Mr. Jones, the story of a kindergarten-age girl who switches places with her father and volunteers to work in his office while he files an ad Manager, goes to school in her place.
The book landed a spot on LeVar Burton’s television show Reading Rainbow and marked the beginning of Ms. Schwartz’s long career in children’s literature.
Over the next four decades, she regularly produced books—more than 50 in all—that showcased her narrative wit and artistic whim. However, the quality that most distinguished her work was her childhood sentiment, which has not been tarnished despite the passage of time.
“I don’t know anyone who I think understood and portrayed the everyday lives of families with young children more intelligently and cheerfully,” Mary Cash, the editor-in-chief of Holiday House, one of Ms Schwartz’s publishers, said in a statement after her death. “Amy was a keen observer of all the tiny details that together make up a child’s life. Your wonderful books celebrated, laughed at and offered so much insight into this existence.”
In the book Busy Babies (2019), she documented the many ways babies spend their time – including “visiting ducks” and “playing with trucks”, “building blocks” and “taking off socks”.
Her book Can’t Wait! (2015), aimed at children progressing through infancy and toddlerhood into the more mature years of preschool, explored the endless marking of time that children endure, often without to know what they are waiting for.
In her 100 Things series, including 100 Things That Make Me Happy (2014), 100 Things I Love to Do With You (2017), and 100 Things I Know How to Do (2021). Ms. Schwartz helped children scale Mount Everest of the early ages, 100, while simultaneously indulging their love of lists. (“100 Things That Make Me Happy” included “hula hoops” and “double shovels,” “grandpa’s tools,” and “swimming pools”).
Among the hundreds of happy things about childhood, there are also many hard ones, and Ms. Schwartz has acknowledged children’s fears and embarrassments in books such as “Starring Miss Darlene” (2007) about a bumbling hippo who is in an episode cast as “The Deluge” in a theatrical production of the story of Noah’s Ark.
Instead of splashing some water on the stage, as her role dictates, she accidentally douses the audience in the front row. However, one pig theater critic found Darlene laudable, praising the show for its “audience participation.”
In her illustrations, Ms. Schwartz favored gouache, a form of watercolor, and pen and ink. Poet Eve Merriam, writing in The New York Times, offered a rhyming review of the pictures in the book Mother Goose’s Little Misfortunes (1990), a collaboration between Mrs. Schwartz and her husband:
Amy Schwartz’s images are buoyant, in the air,
goofy, resounding, never too scary…
the watercolors are bright, there are white open spaces
to leave laughing space for the smoking faces,
the happy mishaps, the clownish romp.
A capsule complaint: not enough pages.
Amy Margaret Schwartz was born on April 2, 1954 in San Diego. Her father was a real estate investor and writer, and her mother taught chemistry at a community college.
The third of four daughters, Ms. Schwartz called on her memories of her family for the book Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner (1988), about an aspiring kindergarten teacher and her worldly, wise older sister teaching her what to expect .
Ms. Schwartz recalled that as a girl she almost always read. “I developed the ability to read while walking home from school,” she wrote in a biographical sketch, “as well as the ability to both read aloud to my grandmother and read silently ahead at the same time.”
She also showed an early interest in drawing, kept a sketchbook and took art classes at her mother’s encouragement. Her first illustrations were birthday and holiday cards she made for her family.
Ms. Schwartz studied drawing at what is now the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, where she graduated in 1976, according to an obituary published in Publishers Weekly. She later took a course in children’s book illustration before moving to New York City, where she worked as a clerk while trying to find her way into publishing.
She began by offering her services as an illustrator, and also began drafting scripts for stories after editors advised her that she would have better luck marketing herself as a writer and illustrator. She continued her studies in children’s literature at the New York School of Visual Arts.
In addition to working with her husband, Ms. Schwartz has worked with her father, Henry Schwartz, over the years. Their books together include How I Captured a Dinosaur (1989), Albert Goes to Hollywood (1992) and Make a Face: A Book With a Mirror (1994). In 1984 she collaborated with author Eve Bunting on the picture book Jane Martin, Dog Detective.
Ms. Schwartz’s more recent books include 13 Stories About Harris (2020) and 13 Stories About Ayana (2022), in which she chronicled the adventures of two children in a diverse urban neighborhood. Harris, for example, uses sidewalk chalk to sketch a dragon whose tail is so long it stretches up and down the block.
In addition to her 32-year-old husband, Ms. Schwartz’s surviving dependents include her son Jacob Marcus of New York City; and three sisters.
Although universally acclaimed for her understanding of children, Ms. Schwartz demonstrated an equally intuitive understanding of parents. She wrote one of her best-known books, A Teeny Tiny Baby (1994), dressed in her nightgown, in what she described as “a dazed stretch” during the first few weeks of her son’s life.
“I’m a tiny little baby,” the book opens, “and I know how to get anything I want.”
Elisabeth Bumiller, a Times journalist and author of two books on women and mothers, wrote in a review that her favorite illustration in the book was of “a dark and quiet Brooklyn street, lit only by the glow of the tiny baby’s house.” ”
“In one window we see Mom breastfeeding silently, while in another is Dad staring off into the distance looking a little forlorn and at a loss,” Bumiller wrote. “New parents will immediately recognize that mix of confusion, exhaustion, and intimacy that comes with feeding at 2 a.m.”
In What James Likes Best (2003), Ms. Schwartz captured a universal experience of parenthood: undertaking a maximally stimulating outing, followed by discovering that what most captivated your child was not the wonders you had set up, but of something you yourself were barely noticing.
The story, Ms Schwartz said, was inspired by her own “endless search for the ideal mother” and how she was “humiliated” over and over again [her] efforts.”
She once took her young son to a sculpture garden, only to find that artist Isamu Noguchi’s towering works interested him little compared to the hilarity of accidentally turning on the wipers in her car when it wasn’t raining.
James, the character in her book, also liked the windshield wipers best.
Source : www.washingtonpost.com
SCHWARTZ, Amy. 13 Stories About Ayana. illus. by Amy Schwartz. 40p. Holiday House. Nov. 2022. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780823448296.
PreS-Gr 1--Fans of 13 Stories About Harris will be delighted by Schwartz's return, with another set of short stories following the everyday adventures of a city-dwelling child. This time, Harris's friend Ayana is the star of the show. Lively vignettes form a warm and wonderful portrait of Black joy as Ayana's parents encourage discovery, responsibility, and community through activities, such as riding a bus, just to see what's at the end of the line, bringing home a pet hamster, and participating in their neighborhood block party. There is a comfortable rhythm to the narrative and a clear connection between many of the stories, rewarding readers who pay close attention. The passage of time is marked by Ayana and her family repeatedly tending their community garden where Ayana plants zucchini seeds and learns how they grow. Ayana's 13 stories reach a satisfying conclusion when her family hosts Harris's family for a lovely zucchini-based dinner party, affirming the sweet and steady friendship from the first book. VERDICT The very definition of a cozy picture book and a first purchase; with charmingly brief prose and illustrations that interact playfully with the text, Ayana's 13 stories add up to a delightful experience for readers of all ages.--Allison Tran
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Tran, Allison. "SCHWARTZ, Amy. 13 Stories About Ayana." School Library Journal, vol. 68, no. 12, Dec. 2022, pp. 73+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A729547995/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=748da2de. Accessed 20 May 2023.
13 Stories about Ayana. By Amy Schwartz. Illus. by the author. Nov. 2022.40p. Holiday, $18.99 (9780823448296). K-Gr. 2.
13 Stories about Ayana is so charming and simple that it's disarming. Each vignette-neatly, numerically titled--contains whimsy and humor and is entirely self-contained, yet surprisingly each is subtly connected to another. Readers get to trot alongside Ayana as she goes about her days waking up backwards, buying a hamster, riding the bus with her mother to the end of the line just to see what's there, giving the hamster a bath, spending time with Harris and his family. The stories vary in length from a page or two to a single sentence, and all require lingering with the illustrations, which provide the details to establish Ayana's life in a city where gardens are shared in a community lot and al fresco meals take place on a rooftop. Astute readers will appreciate the passage of time marked by the planting and harvesting of zucchini, every part of which is ultimately cooked and eaten. A thoroughly delightful book to be read over and over.--Amina Chaudhri
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 American Library Association
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Chaudhri, Amina. "13 Stories about Ayana." Booklist, vol. 119, no. 1, 1 Sept. 2022, p. 76. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A718452329/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5ab629de. Accessed 20 May 2023.
Schwartz, Amy 100 THINGS I KNOW HOW TO DO abramsappleseed (Children's None) $16.99 5, 4 ISBN: 978-1-4197-4326-9
A big book about little experiences from a keen documentarian of early childhood.
In this tour de force, Schwartz makes slice-of-life depictions of the everyday lives of young children seem like a piece of cake, belying her extraordinary skills of observation and visual characterization. As in companion titles 100 Things I Love To Do With You (2017) and 100 Things That Make Me Happy (2014), the first-person pronoun in the title is not visually interpreted as a single child but rather as a multiracial ensemble of toddlers and preschoolers, which provides an inclusive, welcoming vision. Deceptively simple couplets introduce the “100 things” these diverse youngsters know how to do while the accompanying art provides visual details for readers to pore over. Meanwhile, expert pacing sparingly uses full-page illustrations to create contemplative moments amid the frequent, energetic vignettes, delivering a visual rhythm that’s every bit as engaging as the bouncing, rhyming words. In one spread, for instance, three vignettes arranged vertically on verso illustrate “build boats / zip coats / wave wands” while across the gutter, a full-page image depicts two adult-child pairs as they “explore ponds”—actually just one pond in a peaceful meadow. With this trio of books, Schwartz solidifies her place alongside the likes of Kate Greenaway, Gyo Fujikawa, Helen Oxenbury, Shirley Hughes, and Marla Frazee as chroniclers of little ones’ lives. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Should you get this book? 100% yes. (Picture book. 2-6)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Schwartz, Amy: 100 THINGS I KNOW HOW TO DO." Kirkus Reviews, 1 May 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A659925007/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0f8fa0d8. Accessed 20 May 2023.