Cape Ann Reads 2016
Picture Book contest
MEET THE JURORS
Carol bender
Carol Bender became a Children’s Librarian in 2007, but her love of Children’s books began much earlier. In 2013 she became the Children’s and Teen Librarian at the Rockport Public Library where her greatest joy is reading and sharing books with her patrons.
Anne cowman
Anne Cowman is the Young Adult Librarian, Manchester Public Library. She is an artist and creates expressionistic landscapes in oil. Cowman has always loved picture books. “I'm that mother that used to visit the library weekly with my sons and fill a basket with 25 picture books. Always 25, so we knew how many needed to be returned the next week.”
Pat lowery collins
Pat Lowery Collins is a poet, painter, and author of many award winning books for children and young adults, including the historical novels Hidden Voices, Daughter of Winter and The Fattening Hut, a novel in verse. A recent picture book, The Deer Watch, was a Bank Street College pick. Her paintings are in many permanent collections including that of the Cape Ann Museum. A longtime resident of Gloucester, she is newly retired from the MFA program in creative writing at Lesley University, and now lives and works in Rockport, MA. Her web site is www.patlowerycollins.com
Giles laroche
Giles Laroche is an artist and children’s book author and illustrator of many award winning books. Laroche fell in love with books at a young age and has been drawing for as long as he can remember. “I especially enjoyed sketching the mountains, old farmhouses, and mill buildings which surrounded Berlin, NH, the town I grew up in...I enjoyed pouring over maps, and reading and gazing at books about faraway lands- books I enjoy creating for children now.” Giles lives and works in Salem, MA, and in a 230 year old barn in southwestern New Hampshire. http://www.gileslaroche.com/
BOB RITCHIE
Bob Ritchie has been the proprietor of Dogtown Book Shop in downtown Gloucester for 20 years.
Kate strong stadt
Kate Strong Stadt is the Head of Youth Services at Manchester-by-the Sea Public Library. Her childhood favorite picture book was Goodnight Moon (Margaret Wise Brown). In her free time, Kate enjoys reading, writing fiction and poetry, and trying to learn Spanish to read Gabriel Garcia Marquez in his own language.
Anna vojtech
Anna Vojtech is an artist and award winning children’s book illustrator living in Gloucester. She grew up in Prague, Czechoslovakia, what is now the Czech Republic. She studied art and film animation at the Art Academy in Prague, in Antwerp, Belgium, and in Hamburg Germany. In 1971 Anna moved with her husband to Canada where she worked at the National Filmboard and for various film companies in Montreal. Her work in film animation led her to children’s book illustration. Since 1979, Anna has been publishing with various publishers She became also known for her botanical paintings, published by Crown Publishers as “Wildflowers for All Seasons”. For the last 18 years Anna has been living with her family in Gloucester, painting and illustrating in her Cripple Cove studio. She is happy to live on Cape Ann and to share her life and art with the community. She is excited to participate in the Cape Ann Reads project.
Justine vitale
Justine Vitale, a Gloucester native, has been with the Sawyer Free Library for over 16 years, in Children’s Services. She runs an after-school book club and also volunteers at her local elementary school library. She enjoys historical fiction, YA fiction, and children’s books of all kinds, especially picture books and holiday books.
April wanner
April Wanner has been the Assistant Librarian at the TOHP Burnham Library in Essex for the past 9 years and is responsible for all children’s and youth programming. Upon receiving her B.A. in English from Eastern Nazarene College, Wanner swore she’d never end up as a librarian. As it turns out, she did and she couldn’t be happier! April enjoys interacting with the children and teens who visit the library and inspiring them to embrace a lifelong love of reading. When April is not at the library, she’s usually reading historical fiction, eating dark chocolate or planning her next trip to England!
Liza browning
Liza Browning is the Museum Educator at the Cape Ann Museum. In her spare time she enjoys reading anything and everything, baking and going to the beach. Her favorite childhood picture book is Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran. Liza will Chair the jury panel of children for Cape Ann Reads.
Catherine Ryan
Catherine Ryan was asked to develop, design, and act as Director for the libraries’ Cape Ann Reads contest and public call to artists and writers. She will facilitate the jury panels. Ryan is an art advisor based in Gloucester and former New York City art dealer with 3 decades of art world experience behind her. “For a long time I worked primarily in 20th Century American and British art. It’s amazing how many artists created children’s books or illustrations at some point in their careers. I was lucky to represent artist Laurent de Brunhoff, author and illustrator of Babar, and to work with Barry Moser, Fritz Eichenberg, and others. Several had connections to Cape Ann or Massachusetts.” Ryan grew up on the north shore and is delighted to work on Cape Ann Reads.
Cape Ann Reads steering committee
4 Cape Ann Library Directors
Deborah Kelsey
Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Public Library
Deborah French
Sarah Collins
Manchester-By-The-Sea Public Library
Cindy Grove
Catherine Ryan
Art advisory, curator, independent historian, arts writer, public art consultant, and Good Morning Gloucester contributor. Former art dealer.
Kate(LaChance)Bibeau
Programs Coordinator at the Cape Ann Museum