ISLANDPORT PRESS

Vermont author, New Hampshire artist team to create "crabtastic" children's book

Where do crabs go when they just need a break? To the seashore, of course! Follow a family of crabs as they embark on a fantastic Crustacean Vacation in a children's book written by Brian Benoit and illustrated by Marty Kelley, due out in the spring of 2012.

On their grand day out, Mom, Dad, two crablets and Grannie venture on land to picnic on the beach (yum, peanut butter and jellyfish!), play games in a boardwalk arcade (not even a crab can win at The Claw), and slide and glide in a water park. This is no ordinary boardwalk. Here, a seagull runs the candy store, a shark manages the tattoo parlor, a seahorse hawks prizes, and the lifeguard is an octopus. Young readers will delight in the clever rhyming verses paired with wacky and wonderful illustrations from the imagination of acclaimed New Hampshire artist Marty Kelley.

"Brian's whole premise for Crustacean Vacation was so silly and funny and unusual, it was impossible not to love it," says Islandport children's book editor Melissa Kim. "And when Marty agreed to illustrate it, I knew we had a winner. He really sees the world through the eyes of a 6-year-old and brings that world to life with his art."

Kelley is the author and illustrator of several children's books, including Fall Is Not Easy, The Rules, Winter Woes, Summer Stinks, Spring Goes Squish, The Messiest Desk, and Twelve Terrible Things. His career as an artist started when he began drawing historically accurate pictures of spaceships dropping bombs on dinosaurs. He has, in the past, been a second grade teacher, a baker, a cartoonist, a newspaper art director, a drummer in a heavy metal band, a balloon delivery guy, and an animator. Now he visits lots and lots of schools to show students how he creates his books. He is also a juried member of the New Hampshire State Council for the Arts Visiting Artist Roster.

Originally from Somersworth, N.H., author Brian Benoit now listens for the roar of the surf deep in the woods of Cavendish, Vt. His sea creatures were originally conjured up to entertain his brother during family trips on the Maine coast, but have since proven popular with his own children. Influenced by the poetry of Ogden Nash, Shel Silverstein, T.S. Eliot, Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll, he currently indexes historical government documents for NewsBank/Readex. He lives in Vermont with his wife, Jennifer; daughter, Emery; son, Liam; a border collie; three Practical Cats; a host of chickens; and numerous tropical fish. Crustacean Vacation is his first children's book.

The Fish House Door named best Maine children's book

The Fish House Door, a picture book written by Robert F. Baldwin and illustrated by Astrid Sheckels, has received the Children's Book Award for the 2011 Maine Literary Awards from  the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. The awards were announced at a ceremony in Portland on July 14. The Fish House Door also received the Gold Medal Award at the 2010 Moonbeam Awards for Best Picture Book (all ages).

The Fish House Door is set on an island off the coast of Maine and tells a classic story of the value of tradition and history. Shawn comes from a long line of island lobstermen. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather have all hauled traps, painted buoys, and cleaned their brushes on the door of the same fish house for decades. To Shawn, the door is just a weathered old piece of wood with broken hinges. But when an art dealer comes to visit, he gives Shawn a new perspective on the fish house door, giving him a fresh look at the people and traditions that have shaped his past and will chart his future.

"We are honored to have The Fish House Door recognized," said Islandport Press children's book editor Melissa Kim. "It's a storybook that tells a meaningful and authentic story, and we're sorry that Robert Baldwin is not here to receive this award. Astrid has brought his story to life with her timeless illustrations, so we hope generations of children will enjoy the book."

Baldwin, who died in 2007, was a modern day troubadour, singing, playing the banjo, and collecting and telling stories wherever he went. His articles and stories appeared in Sea Frontiers, Down East, Offshore, Maine Boats and Harbors and Yankee. His children's books include New England Whaler, This is the Sea That Feeds Us and Cities Through Time: Beijing. After living in Virginia, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Iowa, Baldwin and his wife Annabelle settled in Newcastle, Maine, where he first heard the story of the fish house door.

Sheckels was born and raised in the farming town of Hatfield, Massachusetts. Her detailed illustrations give every story more depth and dimension. The scenes and faces in The Fish House Door are based on location photo shoots and real New Englanders. Sheckels' first children's book, The Scallop Christmas, written by Jane Freeberg and published by Islandport Press, won a 2009 Maine Lupine Honor Award, given annually to a picture book of outstanding merit, and was an Honorable Mention book in the 2010 Maine Literary Awards. Sheckels lives and works in Greenfield, Mass.