Janet Stevens, a nationally known, award-winning illustrator, is often asked how she learned to draw so well. She answers, “Lots and lots of practice! I’ve always loved to draw, and I’ve worked hard at it. I draw and redraw characters. Believe me, I don’t always like the way it turns out. ” The youngest of three children, Janet was born in Dallas, Texas, but moved many times as a child. Now she lives in Colorado with her husband Ted, dog and four cats; her two children, Lindsey and Blake, are in college. She has made writing a family affair; many of Janet’s recent books have been written with her sister, Susan Stevens Crummel, a former math teacher. These works include My Big Dog, Cook-A-Doodle-Doo, The Dish Ran Away With the Spoon, Jackalope, and Plaidypus Lost. Her books have won numerous awards. And the Dish Ran Away With The Spoon was an ALA Notable Book, a NY Public Library 100 Best Books for Reading and Sharing, Child Magazine’s Best Books for 2001, and a Children’s Book of the Month Selection. Janet and Susie describe what happens when the Dish runs away with the Spoon and they don’t return! To Market, To Market was an ALA Notable Book, a Golden Kite Honor Book, and an American Bookseller’s Book of the Year Honor Book. This story, which takes place in a local Boulder, Colorado market and in Janet’s kitchen, turns the traditional rhyme into a chaotic series of shopping experiences for a frazzled shopper and her animal friends. Coleen Salley -- the inspiration for the “shopper” character in To Market, To Market -retells a favorite southern tale in Epossumondas. Instead of a human baby, however, she has a possum. But Epossumondas is not a very good baby and has trouble following directions. Janet had a terriﬁc time creating the baby opossum in diapers! Her second book about Epossumondas, Why Epossumondas Has No Hair on His Tail!, came out during Fall of 2005. Tops and Bottoms won a Caldecott Honor and the ﬁrst Bill Martin Jr. Picture Book Award. Janet retells how an industrious Rabbit outsmarts a lazy Bear. The innovative format of the book, opening top-to-bottom, makes it great for reading aloud. She loves drawing animals in human situations. In From Pictures to Words: A Book About Making a Book, she uses animal characters to describe the creative process of making books from a collection of ideas. It is an excellent guide for those interested in creating stories and a favorite of young and old(er) alike who make books. Janet is particularly proud of her awards voted on by children, “her” audience. Her books have been nominated for and have won many state children’s book awards, including Colorado, Maryland, Montana, Washington, Utah, and the Texas Bluebonnet Award. A W A R D Epossumondus: Irma S and James H Black Honor for Excellence in Children’s Literature, Flicker Tale Children’s Book Award, 2003-2004, North Dakota, Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year, 2003, International Reading Association Children’s Choices, 2003, School Library Journal Book Review Stars, September 2002, Florida Reading Association Children’s Book Award, many other state book award nominations. And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon: ALA Notable Book, NY Public Library 100 Best Books for Reading and Sharing, Child Magazine Best Books for 2001, Bank Street College of Education’s Irma and James Black Honor Book for 2001, Children’s Book of the Month Club Selection. Cook-A-Doodle-Doo: 2001 Texas Bluebonnet Award, Children’s Book of the Month Club, 100 Best Books for Reading and Sharing. To Market To Market: 1998 ALA Notable Book, 1998 Golden Kite Honor, 1998 ABBY Honor. W I N N E R S Tops and Bottoms: 1996 Caldecott Honor Book, Bill Martin Jr. Picture Book Award, Book of the Month Club Selection, 1996 Colorado Book Award, Parenting Publications Gold Award, Parent’s Choice Honor Award, Booklist Editor’s Choice, Maryland Children’s Book Award. Coyote Steals the Blanket: Colorado Children’s Book Award, Montana Treasure State Award, Mockingbird Award -- Abilene, TX. The Dog Who Had Kittens: Colorado Children’s Book Award, Washington State Children’s Choice Award, Indiana Young Readers Award, Nevada Young Readers Award. Three Billy Goats Gruff: Parents Choice Award. Anansi and the Talking Melon: International Reading Association Children’s Choice, Utah Children’s Book Award. Anansi Goes Fishing: International Reading Association Children’s Choice. Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock: Association of Booksellers for Children Ten Best Books of the Year, 1989. Holiday House Currently Available: Plaidypus Lost From Pictures to Words The Princess and the Pea Coyote Steals the Blanket Old Bag of Bones Tortoise and the Hare Anansi and the Magic Stick Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock Anansi Goes Fishing Anansi and the Talking Melon The Dog Who Had Kittens Available in the Library: The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse Bremen Town Musicians It’s Perfectly True The Big Bunny and the Easter Eggs Nanny Goat and the Seven Little Kids Goldilocks and The Three Bears The Emperor’s New Clothes The House That Jack Built Harcourt Currently Available: Why Epossumondas Has No Hair on His Tail, by Coleen Salley Jackalope, by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel Epossumondas, by Coleen Salley The Dish Ran Away With the Spoon, by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel Cook-A-Doodle-Doo, by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel To Market, To Market, by Anne Miranda The Gates of the Wind, by Katherine Laskey Tops and Bottoms, adapted by Janet Stevens Three Billy Goats Gruff, adapted by Janet Stevens The Quangle Wangle’s Hat, Edward Lear Available in the Library: How the Manx Cat Lost Its Tail, adapted by Janet Stevens The Cabbages Are Chasing the Rabbits, by Arnold Adolf Other Publishers My Big Dog, Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel, Golden Books I’m In The Zoo Too!, Ashabranner, Dutton, New York. The Weighty Word Book, Paul Levitt et al., University of Colorado Press. More Information Holiday House Ms. Victoria L. Tisch Director of Marketing c/o Holiday House 425 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10017 ph: 212 - 688 - 0085 fax: 212 - 421 - 6134 Harcourt Ms. Kia Neri Author Promotions Coordinator Children’s Books Division Harcourt Inc. 525 B Street, Ste. 1900, San Diego, CA. 92101 ph: 619/699-6534 fax: 619/699-6777 Information about Janet is now on the World Wide Web! Visit www.janetstevens.com for a wealth of information about Janet and how she makes books. Information to help prepare for a visit from Janet is on the website under Visits. You can e-mail Janet at [email protected]. Janet has written many books with her sister Susan. One favorite is called “And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon“. It is a wild adventure in the land of nursery rhymes. New for Fall 2004! Renowned storyteller Coleen Salley and Janet have teamed up for another Epossumondas tale, drawing on the Uncle Remus tradition and our wild imaginations to expose a hilarious-and important!- moment in possum history. * Salley has a true storytellerʼs voice, peppering the text with colorful descriptions and amusing expressions that give the tale an authentic folktale feel. Stevensʼs large, brightly hued mixed-media illustrations add greatly to the fun, particularly when Papapossum is ﬁnding creative uses for his now elongated and naked tail... This will be a sureﬁre hit when shared with a group or one-on-one. School Library Journal * Theyʼre baaaaack--that silly, diapered Epossumondas and Mama in her ﬂowered dress and yellow hat... Stevensʼ signature mixed-media illustrations humorously concoct the delightful fun with such clever touches as Papapossumʼs persimmon-patterned shirt. This laughable stretch of the imagination, a tale about a tail by a natural-born storyteller, may be even more entertaining than the rollicking Epossumondas... Booklist