Loved to Pieces . . . with Ann Stott!

Look who's in the Cottage today. . . . children's book author and designer, the lovely Ann Stott! 

Ann has written the popular picture books ALWAYS and I'LL BE THERE, illustrated by Matt Phelan. Her hilarious new book, WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE SENT TO YOUR ROOM, illustrated by Stephen Gilpin, hits bookstores on September 23rd.

As an Art Director at Candlewick Press, Ann has designed the 2013 Caldecott Medal winner This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen, the 2011 Caldecott Honor book, Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein, as well the Judy Moody series by Megan McDonald and the Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo. (WOW!)

Picture books by Ann Stott--Always, What to Do When You're Sent to Your Room, and I'll Be There

Hello, Ann! We see you've brought something special with you today . . . your first favorite books. Could you tell us about them?  

 "Sure! I’ve always had a thing for box sets. When I was about six-years-old my dad worked as an accountant for Little, Brown and Company in Boston. One day, he brought home the Thornton Burgess Animal Library. It was a small, 7” x 7” cardboard box with a cover. It originally contained eight paperback books, but only six survived my childhood; Bobby Coon’s Surprise, Flash the Young Deer, Paddy the Beaver’s Visitor, A Bear Scare, Reddy Fox Leaves in a Hurry, and Fun at Queer Trail. 

I remember believing totally and completely in these characters. I was always fascinated with animals dressed in human clothing. This made them even more real to me. I believed that a squirrel wearing an apron, sipping tea from a cup made from an acorn must certainly be living in a tree in my backyard. 

Ann Stott's Animal Library boxed set by Thornton Burgess

To me, a box set was like the cupboard in The Indian and the Cupboard or the wardrobe in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The simple act of opening the cover of the Thornton Burgess Animal Library gave me access to a magical world — a world where 'a merry little breeze came down from the tree-top' and bears carried umbrellas and beavers wore bathing suits. Once the box was open, I had a choice. Who did I want to spend time with? Little Joe Otter? Jimmy Skunk? or Nimbleheels the Jumping Mouse? 

Reddy Fox Leaves in a Hurry by Thornton Burgess.

Closing the box gave me a sense of control and a way to keep this world safely tucked away until I was ready to visit again. If this box set could have told me that one day I would be designing books, writing stories and art directing illustrators who dressed pigs in pants, I definitely would have believed it. Wait! Maybe it did and it just took me a few years to hear it!"

About Ann's new book
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE SENT TO YOUR ROOM
by Ann Stott
Illustrated by Stephen Gilpin
Candlewick Press, September 2014
ISBN 978-0-7636-6052-9

When Ben gets caught feeding his dinner to the dog (again) and is sent his room (again), he’s up to the challenge of solitary confinement. And he’s more than happy to share strategies with readers, from unearthing his cache of hidden snacks to liberating his caged pets, honing his slingshot skills — and of course drafting his birthday list. There’s so much to do! Will there be time to do it all before his time is up? Every kid who ever earned a few time-outs on his or her own turf will smile at this deadpan primer—and parents may wish to take notes for future reference.

From What to Do When You're Sent to Your Room. Illustration copyright 2014 by Stephen Gilpin.

"A funny how-to. Gilpin, working in an exaggerated cartoon realism reminiscent of Mad magazine, has created a ne plus ultra of a messy boys’ room, and his portrayal of Ben is very much in sync with the cool confidence and strategic smarts articulated in Stott’s matter-of-fact first-person narration." --Publishers Weekly

About Ann Stott

Ann Stott grew up in Arlington, Massachusetts, graduated from UMass Dartmouth, and received her Masters Degree from Lesley University. Ann is a book designer, art director and children’s book author. Two of her picture books, Always, (Candlewick Press, 2008) and I’ll Be There, (Candlewick Press, 2011) were illustrated by Matt Phelan. Her most recent picture book What to Do When You’re Sent to Your Room (Candlewick Press, 2014) was illustrated by Stephen Gilpin and will be in bookstores this month. 

As an Art Director at Candlewick Press, Ann has designed many award-winning children’s books including; the 2013 Caldecott Medal winner and Kate Greenaway Medal winner, This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen, the 2011 Caldecott Honor book, Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein, as well the Judy Moody series by Megan McDonald and the Mercy Watson series by Kate DiCamillo.

She lives with her husband, two sons and their dog, Moxie on the North Shore of Massachusetts.