U'Ren, Andrea 1968-

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U'REN, Andrea 1968-

PERSONAL: Born August 16, 1968, in Palo Alto, CA; daughter of Richard C. (a psychiatrist) and Marjorie Jean (a professor of English) Burns; married Sean Healy (an artist), June, 2003; children: Sebastian. Education: Attended Rhode Island School of Design, 1986-87; Cooper Union, B.F.A., 1990; Whitney Museum of American Art, Independent Study Program, 1991-92.

ADDRESSES: Home—4115 Northeast 11th Ave., Portland, OR 97211. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Author and illustrator.

MEMBER: Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

AWARDS, HONORS: Parents' Choice Award for Pugdog.

WRITINGS:

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Pugdog, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 2001.

Mary Smith, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Andrea U'Ren told CA: "I wrote and illustrated my first full-length picture book at the age of twelve. It was about Mount St. Helens, the volcano in the Northwest that—back in 1981—had just erupted. Amazingly enough, a local publisher wanted to purchase it for 2,000 dollars, but they also wanted to use an illustrator other than me. Meeting after meeting, they asked me to consider different illustrators; I turned each one down. The book never did get published.

"I went to art school first at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, than transferred to the Cooper Union in New York, New York. After receiving my degree in 1991, I attended the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program for artists. I began to feel the artwork I was making was speaking to and reaching a very small and exclusive audience. I needed a break from the fine arts.

"My latent desire to make children's books returned. I decided to finally publish a children's book. That was not as easy as I'd thought. Four years and several stories later, Pugdog was picked up by Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

"Pugdog is the story of a guy named Mike who assumes his dog is a male. After Mike discovers his boy-dog is actually a girl, he tries to get Pugdog to act more feminine—which means no more activities like digging, chasing squirrels, rolling on the ground, et cetera. Of course, Pugdog doesn't like this new life, and in the end Mike realizes the error of his ways. He loves his dog for being just who she is, male or female.

"Some people find it unbelievable that a grown man wouldn't know the gender of his pet. But, in fact, the story is based on a similar mistake my brother (a doctor!) made with a cat. When my brother first got his kitten, he was totally smitten with 'her.' Months later, I finally met the cat and hesitantly informed my brother that his little girl was in fact a little boy. My brother was floored—and he was never quite as smitten with his feline companion again.

"Mary Smith is about a woman in England who woke people (so they could make it to their jobs on time) by shooting dried peas at their windows. People who had this occupation were known as 'knocker-ups.'

"Writing is not an easy process for me—it's a serious struggle—and, for that matter, so is the process of illustrating. But, somehow, I can't keep myself from working on these succinct and intimate things known as picture books."