Mary Watson

MaryWatson.tif (16083216 bytes) MARY WATSON
Illustrator and Author

Mary Watson graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She worked as a graphic designer until 1990 when she returned to her first love, illustration. Her first children’s book “The Market Lady and the Mango Tree” was written by her husband, Pete Watson. Since then, Mary has written and illustrated many books and is now the creative force behind Shenanigan Books, a new and unique children’s book company.

PUBLISHED BOOKS

The Paper Dragonfly by Mary Watson (Author) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Shenanigan Books; 1st edition (September 15, 2007)

ISBN-10: 0972661433 ISBN-13: 978-0972661430

Kiyoshi's love for making paper lanterns becomes a problem when it distracts him from learning the more practical farming skills taught to him by his father. Fascinated by dragonflies that hum in their rice paddy, Kiyoshi crafts a lantern that changes his destiny.

The Market Lady and the Mango Tree by Pete Watson, Mary Watson (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Library Binding: Publisher: Tambourine (April, 1994) MarketLady.jpg (11195 bytes)
ISBN: 0688129714

Editorial Reviews:
From Publishers Weekly With its memorable title character (inspired by a woman Pete Watson met while serving in the Peace Corps in West Africa) this exuberant tale, a first book by a husband-and-wife team, fits its jacket-flap description as an "original fable." It is, indeed, a fresh, spunky tale with a timeless message, lyrically narrated and deftly illustrated with realistic, warmly hued paintings. Market Lady, sensing an opportunity for easy profits, attempts to defy custom ("Everyone knew that the law of the tree is that once they have fallen, mangoes are free"). After she fashions "mango traps," the fruit drops right into her ample lap, allowing her a mango monopoly. With the money she makes from her "poaching and plunder," the greedy merchant buys a Mercedes Benz, in which she transports her goods (now priced too high for mere marketgoers) to wealthy jellymakers at a rustic factory. After she has a dream about other plunderers--huge, ravenous hippos that raid her caravan and drive her into a muddy river--Market Lady sees the evil of her ways. The final page shows the reformed rogue surrounded by children, sharing not just her mangoes, but her sound advice: "You can't earn a living by selling what's free." Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal Kindergarten-Grade 3-A cautionary tale about the dangers of making a profit from what nature provides free of charge. In a village in West Africa, Market Lady, a keen business woman of ample girth, sits under the shade of a mango tree and sells her wares-mangoes, melons, coconuts, sugar-dipped dates. The children who have no money to buy food are accustomed to eating the mangoes when they fall to the ground. In her greed and selfishness, Market Lady rigs a net on the tree and catches the fruit as it falls. This contraption enables her to corner the market and to make so much money that she is able to buy a Mercedes Benz. But her sleep is not peaceful, and one night a dream causes her to allow the hungry children to eat the mangoes to their heart's content. Mary Watson's paintings are lovely, dramatic, and bold in design. The village and the main character come vividly to life. The text itself has a flowing, rhythmic quality that children should love. This is certainly a different kind of story, and it's one that many readers will enjoy.Carol Jones Collins, Montclair Kimberley Academy, NJ

The Butterfly Seeds by Mary Watson Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; 1st ed edition (October, 1995) ButterflySeed.jpg (34390 bytes)
ISBN: 0688141323

Editorial Reviews:
From School Library Journal As his family prepares to leave their homeland for America, Jake is heartsick over the impending separation from his grandfather. In parting, Grandpa gives the boy a box containing butterfly seeds: "Just plant them in your new garden, and, like magic, you'll have hundreds of butterflies." After the long sea voyage, the family arrives at Ellis Island, and then makes their way to their new home two rooms on the third floor of a crowded tenement. With the help of an Italian fruit vendor, a Chinese fish peddler, and an Irish blacksmith, Jake builds a windowbox garden, and is eventually rewarded with a harvest of butterflies. Watson effectively relates the simple yet affecting tale of a child's separation from his old home and beloved relative. Her fully bled paintings are vibrant and lovely. Each double-page spread is expertly composed to reveal a dramatic land, sea, or cityscape, and the carefully rendered characters are particularly expressive. Elisa Bartone's Peppe the Lamplighter (Lothrop, 1993) and Riki Levinson's Watch the Stars Come Out (Dutton, 1985) have stronger story lines, but this heartfelt and appealing title merits consideration.Marilyn Taniguchi, Santa Monica Public Library, CA Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist When Jake and his family emigrate to America, he is sad to leave his grandfather behind, but Grandpa gives Jake some "magic" butterfly seeds to plant in the new country and to remember him by. Watson's realistic double-spread paintings are as upbeat as the story, showing the journey by boat, the arrival at Ellis Island, and the hardworking immigrant community in turn-of-the-century New York. With the help of the people around him, Jake plants his seeds in a window box, and one day masses of butterflies flock to the plants in the box. From Jake's tenement window, he looks out on narrow, crowded streets. The alleys are dark, but individual faces, like Jake's, are lit with hope and friendship. Hazel Rochman

My Own Big Bed by Anna Grossnickle Hines, Mary Watson Reading level: Baby-Preschool Hardcover: 24 pages Publisher: Greenwillow; 1st ed edition (October 29, 1998) BigBed.jpg (48313 bytes)
ISBN: 0688155995

Editorial Reviews:
From Publishers Weekly Hines (When We Married Gary) faultlessly portrays the ambivalence of a toddler when she moves from her crib to a big bed. A new big bed of her own is both exciting and scary for this girl narrator, but in confronting her fears, she also discovers inner reserves of self-reliance: "I can get in, and I can get out?in and out all by myself. What if I fall out? I can fix that." Watson (The Market Lady and the Mango Tree) shows the girl's resourceful solution: her teddy bear and stuffed alligator lounge comfortably atop a raft of pillows surrounding the bed, and demonstrate that any accidental fall will be amply cushioned. As the protagonist tries out her newfound space?"I can stretch and stretch and not touch anything, not anything"? she wonders, "What if I get lonely?" So she assembles a collection of appealing dolls and plush animals to keep herself company. And in the final spreads, Daddy and Mommy come, not to assuage her fears, all of which she's handily put to rest, but to read a bedtime story and deliver goodnight kisses. This rite of passage is astutely and economically observed, without lapsing into preachiness or preciousness. Watson's combination of neatly framed vignettes and full-bleed spreads makes skillful use of painterly realism. The brown-eyed, blonde-haired heroine is engaging and playful, and will likely inspire other toddlers to follow her example. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal A little girl explores the problems and joys of her first big-girl bed. For each fear, "What if I fall out?" "What if I get lonely?" she has a solution: pillows around the bed and a pile of toys next to her. On the plus side, she can stretch her arms out as wide as they will go and make tunnels under the covers and room for her father to sit as he reads to her. After the story and a kiss from her mother, she is cozy and safe. The simple text is from a young child's point of view and the realistic watercolors are saved from being too sweet by the shifting expression on the chubby blond preschooler's face and by her squirming, twisting poses as she investigates the possibilities of her new bed. Warm and reassuring, this book will strike a chord with any young child adjusting to the first steps out of babyhood.Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Heart of the Lion by Pete Watson Reading level: All Ages Library Binding: 32 pages Publisher: Shenanigan Books (June 15, 2005)
ISBN: 0972661417
About the Author Pete Watson was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Dahomey/Benin when he first experienced the magic of African culture. The journals he kept while living in a small farming village were the inspiration for The Heart of the Lion and for his first children’s book, The Market Lady and the Mango Tree. Mr. Watson is the director of Howell Living History Farm in Titusville, New Jersey, where he shares his love of farming, history and storytelling with visitors from around the world.

Editorial Reviews:
From Booklist In this picture book for older children, a white American boy visiting a village in West Africa tells how he learns from his friend Yampabou about "the mysteries and magic" of a different culture. In one- to two-page episodes, loosely gathered together as a journal and illustrated with full-page colored woodcuts, the visitor records his experiences. The boy sees both wonderful and sad things, such as a baboon chained to a mango tree. He learns that people in the village eat mice ("the one who caught it got the head"). When he expresses shock that they also eat dogs, Yampabou explains he is just as appalled that Americans eat pigs. More than separate episodes, the experiences move together toward a surprising climax: Will Yampabou find his courage by catching a lion and eating its heart? Yes and no. The friendship story will touch readers; it will also make them think about people in different parts of the world and about Yampabou's laughing comment "that what is forbidden for one is completely acceptable for another." Hazel Rochman Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved

From The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books This contemplative picture book offers reflections on the experience of living in West Africa from the perspective of a young white American boy. As noted on the opening page, he boy’s teacher has asked her students to keep journals; the narrative is thus a series of journal entries detailing the boy’s experiences (such as encountering a disabled boy who sells butterflies, hunting a thief--who turns out to be a monkey, and acquiring a special knife, complete with backstory, from the local blacksmith) and his struggle to appreciate the culture around him. Many of the entries feature Yampabou, a West African friend who assists the boy in understanding the many strange and bewildering encounters he experiences; his quiet wisdom and gentle humor guide the tone of the narrative. The entries stand isolated, each individually titled, and lean toward the abstract, with lessons buried deep within the rich language and subtle undertones of the boy’s movement toward understanding. Rather than offering detailed descriptions of occurrences, the vignettes are spare, allowing readers to interpret the meaning for themselves and to feel that they, like the protagonist, are looking out onto an unfamiliar culture from the inside. Painted scratchboard and oil illustrations framed in wide, earth-toned borders face most page of text; compositional details range from hatch and cross-hatch to thick paint strokes, offering an unusual but very effective combination of styles that gains both strength and intricacy from the network of lines. The individual entries would work very well as either discussion starters or writing samples; reflective older readers are also likely to engage with the complex subtlety of the boy’s thoughtful observations.

PRESENTATIONS

School Presentations Explore the rich culture and traditions
of West Africa with author and former Peace Corps Volunteer, Pete Watson. He will present his collection of African artifacts and stories that were the inspiration for Mary Watson’s illustrations in The Market Lady and the Mango Tree and The Heart of the Lion. Grades K-3 children will be invited to dress-up as an African farmer, blacksmith, village chief, medicine man or market lady. Older grades will learn how journal writing, oral storytelling and material culture are used in the creation of a children’s book.

Four, 45 min. sessions with a two-class maximum (50 students) per session.

Fee: $550

For additional information email:patriciaollom@shenaniganbooks.com

To view Pete Watson’s West African marketplace collection visit:

www.shenaniganbooks.com/market-place.htm

CONTACT

Mary Watson
Shenanigan Books, LLC
129 West End Ave.
Summit, NJ 07901

Phone (908) 522-3147
Fax (908) 522-9386

mailto:marywatson@shenaniganbooks.com

Website: http://www.shenaniganbooks.com Copy of contactpg.jpg (17386 bytes)

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