Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole
The books of Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole are wonderful for teaching student readers lessons of language and life, but they are never heavy handed with their lesson. They always keep the kids very entertained, laughing, and endlessly rewarded. Their first collaboration, Some Smug Slug, was accepted by three publishers, and the author/illustrator team elected Harper Collins to publish. This book intertwined the letter "S" into a story about a slug and his misgivings within the world, told to readers in jaunty alliterative form.
Pamela Duncan Edwards was born in Liverpool in the United Kingdom, but has been living in the United States for around twenty-five years, where here husband works in the newspaper business and they have had two sons. She was greatly influenced in her love for reading by her father, who wrote stories for children's magazines. She taught preschool while in the UK and became a Children's Librarian when she came to the US. She loves working with children and inspiring them with laughter and learning.
Henry Cole is a self-taught artist who grew up on a farm in Purcallville, Virginia. He's always been interested in art and science, and he went to Virginia Tech to study forestry. Henry's detailed drawings were helped and inspired by the close observation of nature that his educational field called for. He taught elementary level science classes as well as trying other jobs, including magazine illustration.
As educators, Henry and Pamela team up to focus on engaging children in their school visits to teach them lessons, as in their books. The particular lesson they like to teach with school visits is the rewarding experience of collaboration, by asking students the question "Who is more important: Author or Illustrator?" Both Pamela and Henry like to emphasize the need to be with and around kids: "they are the inspiration, and we need to be in contact." This popular duo are now devoting their time to writing and speaking.
Selected Reviews of Pamela and Henry's Books
The Old House
Pamela Duncan Edwards
Illustrated by Henry Cole
Muldoon, an energetic young dog, has his work cut out for him in the West family. As the text tells us, in brief, factual sentences, his job throughout the day consists of such tasks as waking the family, taking the kids for a walk, watching the cat's diet, helping to wash both the children and the dishes, and keeping his ear cocked on guard at night. The lively illustrations, however, give us another story with the family's point of view, a human description of the messes he creates. The perky pup looks out innocently through a hole in the jacket front; on the back he sleeps in his doggy bed. The entire cover reveals that behind the jacket he is sitting on the floor surrounded by the trash from an overturned kitchen garbage can as the shocked cat looks on. The action-filled, colored drawings approach the simplicity of cartoons while effectively delivering their good-natured message of fun and truth. 2002, Hyperion Books for Children, $14.99. Ages 4 to 7. Reviewers: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature).
Wright Brothers
Pamela Duncan Edwards
Illustrated by Henry Cole
Written much in the style of "This is the house that Jack built," this is a unique introductory book to the story of the Wright brothers and their extraordinary adventures. Throughout the book the reader will find a group of little mice who comment on the goings-on shown in each double-page spread. The author uses the mice to give readers a lot more information than is provided in the text. They tell us about how the brothers worked as newspaper men, how they opened a bicycle shop and how they figured out what was needed to make a plane that would fly. Apparently the brothers observed some buzzards flying above their bicycle shop, and seeing those big wings at work gave them the clues they needed to start building their own kites, gliders, and finally, their famous first airplanes. The mice are also a source of amusement with their funny quips and antics. In addition, these clever little rodents are featured in a timeline of flight that can be found in the front and back cover of the book. With a clever twist on the conventional picture book design, this is a wonderful tribute to the Wright brothers on the one hundred-year anniversary of their historic flight at Kitty Hawk. Readers may like to look at some of the other books that this author and illustrator have created together, which include Honk! The Story of a Prima Swanerina and Ed and Fred Flea. 2003, Hyperion, $15.99. Ages 5 to 9. Reviewer: Marya Jansen-Gruber (Children's Literature).
Gigi and Lulu's Gigantic Fight
Pamela Duncan Edwards
Illustrated by Henry Cole
Gigi and Lulu are the best of friends, as different as they may appear. For Gigi is a rather large but charming anthropomorphic young pig, while Lulu is a small and equally appealing mouse. They enjoy doing everything together, from dressing alike to eating the same lunches. But one day they have such a terrible argument that they promise never to speak to each other again, despite the protests of family and friends. When their teacher announces a "Twin Day" for students to choose a special person to dress like and stay with all day, both Gigi and Lulu decide not to participate. So their teacher tells them just to dress in their favorite clothes and bring their favorite lunches. They do not do the same things, surprising each other by their differences. But they also realize that they can differ on some things, agree on others, and still be "best friends." The simple story brings humor to a useful lesson on a common childhood experience. Equally simple ink and watercolor paintings clearly portray the girls' changing emotions. In vignettes and full-page scenes Cole keeps the visual narrative flowing by eliminating all but the essential details, making it easy to empathize with the pair and their problem. 2004, Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins, $15.89. Ages 4 to 7. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature).
The Author/Illustrator team begins their presentation with the question: "Who is more important in a picture book, the person who writes the words or the person who draws the pictures?" They humorously sort out this dilemma by having the children take sides, and they finally show that collaboration is itself immensely rewarding.
In addition to the lesson of collaboration, they teach the kids that "getting everything right the first time" is rare, and that doing a good job calls for true dedication. To show that such dedication is actually great fun, they work with the children in producing a page of one of their working manuscripts. To this team, showing children how much fun they can have by working hard and creating something is as crucial a learning experience as memorizing or hearing a lecture. Still, along with laughter and fun, the team's lessons resonate with a teacher's goals for his or her students.
Their presentation fee is $2000. Their ideal group size is 100-150 children but they will work with more (up to 300). They have presentations for children of Kindergarten age and up.
To learn more about Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole and their publications please visit this interview of Pamela Duncan Edwards and www.henrycole.net.
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