Meet Peter H. Reynolds - Creativity*Courage*Persistence

Peter H. Reynolds and Paul Reynolds

One of the most intriguing authors / illustrators is Peter H. Reynolds.  Reynolds and his equally as talented twin brother, Paul,  were born in Canada on March 16, 1961.   The Reynolds  have contributed much to the lexicon of children’s literature.   

Explore Peter H. Reynolds’ career, his books, and see how you might connect aspects of your curriculum to any of the titles.  Are there connections to full-length novels/information books that you could make?  Are there possibilities here for one of those morning read-alouds.

 

You may recognize Peter H. Reynolds as the illustrator of the book jackets for the Judy Moody books, or the newly re-illustrated jackets for Judy Blume’s popular titles beginning with Superfudge and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. But he really shines with these books picture books that he has created.  

The North Star is Reynold’s tribute to "off-the-path" thinking - and to those who encourage it. Self-determination, creativity, hope, and vision are the cornerstones of this allegory.

For anyone who has been afraid to express themselves - from a child in art class to an adult whose fear has shut down a long-held dream, Peter H. Reynolds' book The Dot (Candlewick Press) is there to remind us all to "Make your mark, and see where it takes you."

We’ve lost count of how many editions The Dot has had -  and the number of translations into foreign languages seems to change every few months. Suffice to say, The Dot has ”made its mark” around the world - and continues to do so. It's also an animated film by Scholastic/Weston Woods and FableVision. The Dot’s sequel is called Ish and is also a wonderful film.

Explore activities, reviews, testimonials and frequently asked questions about The Dot, the first in a trilogy that explores creative expression and human potential...

ISH is the sequel to The Dot and a tribute to an approach to thinking – and relaxing — about your art, your writing, your craft. Your life.  There is one more book in this "creatrilogy" series.

 

 

Reynolds, Peter H. (2012) Sky Color.  Candlewick.

Creative thinking expands into the world of art.  Marisol is eager to help make a mural for her school's library -- she loves to paint.  But the mural needs a sky and how can Marisol paint the sky without blue paint? ... this is where creativity and inspiration come into her world. Share this book and a box of $1.29 watercolors and a pad of paper. 

– and in September Celebrate DOT DAY.  Sign up to participate next September 15th – or declare your own dot day.  Wisconsin Dot day… Iowa Dot Day... or simply My Dot Day - or maybe a school wide dot day.  Any day can be dot day if you make it so.

 Out of the box thinking helps Maya develop something extraordinary when she is given a go-cart kit.  When it's time to use the kit to build an entry for the race - she does.  Her go-cart does not look like anyone else's.  No one said it had to be a go-cart.  And there is more than one day to cross the finish line. 

 Share a certificate with those in your class/family who are "going places" with their initiative, creativity, and stick-to-it-ness.  Certificate can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/GOINGPLACES.

Resources:

Article about the Blue Bunny Bookstore in Dedham, MA –

Buliszak, J.  (2013 Sep 20) Bookstore tour: Blue Bunny, Dedham, Massachusetts – A photowalk through the Blue Bunny.  McBookwords (Blog) Retrieved from http://mcbookwords.blogspot.com/2013/09/bookstore-tour-blue-bunny-dedham.html

McCleary, M.  (2016 May 20) An unlikely media mogul: Fable Vision founder Peter H. Reynolds.  New Boston Post.  Retrieved from http://newbostonpost.com/2016/05/20/an-unlikely-media-mogul-fablevision-founder-peter-h-reynolds/

Reynolds, Peter H. (2003) The Dot.  Candlewick.   www.thedotclub.org/dotday/

Reynolds, Peter H. (2004) ish.  Candlewick.  

Reynolds, Peter H. (2009) The North Star.  Candlewick.

Reynolds, Peter H. (2012) Sky Color.  Candlewick.

Reynolds, Peter H., and Reynolds, Paul.  (2014) Going Places.  Atheneum.  (Check out other books by Peter H. Reynolds at  www.peterhreynolds.com.) – certificate at bit.ly/GOINGPLACES (pdf)