Ed Young: Author and Illustrator

Ed Young has illustrated over 80 books, and has written 17 of those. His illustrations are beautiful! Personally, I feel that Ed's illustrations make the text so much more powerful because they are so unique and fascinating. Sometimes Ed using a collage art style and other times he just makes amazing illustrations. Ed's work is based on his philosophy of Chinese Paintings. He quotes "A Chinese painting is often accompanied by words. They are complementary. There are things that words do that picture never can, and likewise, there are images that words can never describe". That quote really sums up how I felt when I was researching and looking at the various books he has illustrated and written. One of my favorites was "My Mei Mei" which is about a young girl who gets adopted by her parents and eventually asks her parents for a sister or a "mei mei". Her parents eventually do adopt another daughter and the book describes the bond between the two young girls. In the author's note I learned that this was based on his two daughters whom were both adopted. I really appreciated that some of his work comes from his own personal experiences. "My Mei Mei" is beautifully written, but the illustrations are even more so. They cover the entire pages and are so bright and warm felt. I really enjoyed reading this book. Many of Ed Young's books are also based on folktales that incorporate morals that he wants to convey to the reader. The book called, "What about Me?" is a story that I have heard many different versions. In Ed Young's tale he puts his own style in his writing and illustrations. The boy in the story goes on various adventures in search of gaining knowledge from a Grand Master. At the end of the story, the Grand Master tells the boy that helping others can be so rewarding and through living your life, you will gain knowledge. Ed Young conveys deep messages through his illustrations and writing. Ed Young feels that his purpose for writing children's books is to "stimulate growth in the reader as an active participant". I took this as it is Ed's way of saying he is trying to help teach and make kids aware of bigger issues in our world. I really appreciate the work that he has done.

This project helped me see the importance of learning about the author/illustrator/poet. Even in the classroom, learning about the author can be a very effective way of getting the students interesting in the author's work. This experience also demonstrated the importance of talking with your peers about books and authors. I learned about four other authors/illustrators and it sparked a personal interest to go read and check out some of those books. If students can do this same kind of activity, they can advocate and encourage each other to read books based on their knowledge and interests. Book choice is very important. This is a great way to learn about different authors and different books that are out there in the world.