Cravath, Lynne W. 1951- (Lynne Avril, Lynne Avril Cravath)

views updated May 23 2018

Cravath, Lynne W. 1951- (Lynne Avril, Lynne Avril Cravath)

Personal

Born March 6, 1951, in Miles City, MT; daughter of Walter B. and Mary Lou Woodcock; married Jay Cravath (a teacher), September 7, 1975; children: Chloe, Jeff. Education: University of Montana, B.A. (art; with high honors). Politics: Democrat. Religion: Episcopalian.

Addresses

Home and office—10438 S. 45th Place, Phoenix, AZ 85044-1139. Agent—Bernadette Szost, Portfolio Solutions, 136 Jameson Hill Rd., Clinton Corners, NY 12514. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Children's book illustrator. Chico Chism Chicago Blues Band, bass player. Exhibitions: Work exhibited at Paulina Miller Studio, Phoenix, AZ; and Society of Illustrators, New York, NY.

Member

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Awards, Honors

Society of School Librarians International Honor Book designation, for Love, Ruby Valentine; Children's Book Council honor; Oppenheim Toy Portfolio designation.

Illustrator

Debbie Driscoll, Three Two One Day, Simon and Schuster (New York, NY), 1994.

Tony Geiss, My Little Teddy Bear: A Jewelry Book, Random House (New York, NY), 1994.

Natalie Standiford, Brave Maddie Egg, Random House (New York, NY), 1995.

Margaret Yatsevitch Phinney, Will You Play with Us?, Mondo (Greenvale, NY), 1995.

Ellen Weiss and Mel Friedman, The Plug at the Bottom of the Lake, and Other Wacky Camp Stories, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996.

Ellen Weiss and Mel Friedman, The Flying Substitute, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996.

Allan Trusell-Cullen, No Singing Today, Mondo (Greenvale, NY), 1996.

Linda Tracey Brandon, The Little Flower Girl, Random House (New York, NY), 1997.

Alice Lyne, A, My Name Is …, Whispering Coyote Press (Boston, MA), 1997.

A Poem a Day (poetry anthology), Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

JoAnn Vandine, Play Ball, Mondo (Greenvale, NY), 1997.

Sharon Dennis Wyeth, Tomboy Trouble, Random House (New York, NY), 1998.

Patricia Reilly Giff, Kidnap at the Catfish Café (first book in "Minnie and Max" series), Viking (New York, NY), 1998.

Patricia Reilly Giff, Mary Moon Is Missing (second book in "Minnie and Max" series), Viking (New York, NY), 1998.

Stuart J. Murphy, The Penny Pot, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.

Sheila Kelly Welch, Little Prince Know-It-All, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Over the River and Through the Wood (musical board book), HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.

Margaret Holtschlag and Carol Trojanowski, Button Crafts, Random House (New York, NY), 1999.

Bettina Lang, The Royal Diner, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1999.

Phillis Gershator, Tiny and Bigman, Marshall Cavendish (New York, NY), 1999.

Sarah Albee, Cool School, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Stuart J. Murphy, Spunky Monkeys on Parade, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1999.

B.G. Hennessy, One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims, Viking (New York, NY), 1999.

P.J. Petersen, I Hate Weddings, Dutton (New York, NY), 2000.

Joan Holub, Light the Candles: A Hanukkah Lift-the-Flap Book, Puffin (New York, NY), 2000.

Gloria Whelan, Welcome to Starvation Lake, Random House (New York, NY), 2000.

My First Action Rhymes (anthology of songs and rhymes), HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

Mary Ann Hoberman, The Two Sillies, Harcourt/Gulliver (San Diego, CA), 2000.

Stuart J. Murphy, Shark Swimathon, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

Gloria Whelan, Rich and Famous in Starvation Lake, Random House (New York, NY), 2001.

Joan Holub, Pizza That We Made, Viking/Puffin (New York, NY), 2001.

Bob Hartman, Granny Mae's Christmas Play, Augsburg (Minneapolis, MN), 2001.

Marsha Hayles, He Saves the Day, Putnam (New York, NY), 2001.

Gloria Whelan, Are There Bears in Starvation Lake?, Random House (New York, NY), 2002.

Patricia Rae Wolff, A New Improved Santa, Orchard (New York, NY), 2002.

Teresa Bateman, The Princesses Have a Ball, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2002.

Gloria Whelan, A Haunted House in Starvation Lake, Random House (New York, NY), 2003.

Craig Kee Strete, The Rattlesnake Who Went to School, Putnam (New York, NY), 2004.

Robert Lopshire, Big Max and the Mystery of the Missing Giraffe, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2004.

Kin Platt, Big Max and the Mystery of the Missing Giraffe, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.

Gail Saltz, Amazing You!: Getting Smart about Your Private Parts, Dutton (New York, NY), 2005.

(Under name Lynne Avril Cravath) Laurie Friedman, Love, Ruby Valentine, Carolrhoda (Minneapolis, MN), 2006.

(Under name Lynne Avril Cravath) Barbara Abercrombie, The Show-and-Tell Lion, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2006.

(Under name Lynne Avril Cravath) Jean Cassels, The Twelve Days of Christmas in Louisiana, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2007.

(Under name Lynne Avril) Susan Middleton Elya, Oh No, Gotta Go Number Two, Putnam (New York, NY), 2007.

Gail Saltz, Changing You: A Guide to Body Changes and Sexuality, Dutton (New York, NY), 2007.

(Under name Lynne Avril) Catherine Stier, If I Ran for President, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2007.

"FLOWER GIRLS" SERIES; ILLUSTRATOR

Kathleen Leverich, Daisy, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

Kathleen Leverich, Heather, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

Kathleen Leverich, Rose, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

Kathleen Leverich, Violet, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

Sidelights

A popular illustrator of books for children, Lynne W. Cravath finds inspiration for her lighthearted cartoon-style art in the everyday things that happen all around her. Sometimes published under the names Lynne Avril or Lynne Avril Cravath, her work has appeared in a wide variety of picture books, from Stuart J. Murphy's The Penny Pot and Shark Swimathon to Barbara Abercrombie's The Show-and-Tell Lion and Gail Saltz's humorous nonfiction title Amazing You!: Getting Smart about Your Private Parts. Gloria Whelan, Kathleen Leverich, Patricia Reilly Giff, Mary Ann Hoberman, Craig Kee Strete, Joan Holub, and Teresa Bateman have also had their texts brought to life in Cravath's art. As Ilene Cooper wrote in a Booklist review of The Show-and-Tell Lion, Abercrombie's "simple, heartfelt tale gets a boost from [Cravath's] … imaginative, wonderfully child-friendly artwork." In the same periodical, Catherine Andronik wrote that the illustrator's contribution to Shark Swimathon, rendered "in swimming-pool hues, feature amusing details and an interesting assortment of sharks," Sandra Welzenbach similarly noted in her School Library Journal review of Strete's The Rattlesnake Who Went to School that Cravath's "flowing illustrations … beg readers to look more closely at the details as they enter the [narrator's] … imaginary world."

A counting book for small children, Murphy's The Penny Pot finds a little girl collecting pennies so she can accumulate enough money to have her face painted at the school festival. ok, "Cravath's colorful cartoon illustrations match the story's playful tone," commented Lauren Peterson in a Booklist review of the picture book, while in School Library Journal Marty Abbott

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Goodman praised Cravath for depicting "life-size, authentic-looking coins" and "multiethnic children." Another counting book by Murphy, Spunky Monkeys on Parade, contains "vividly costumed, energetically parading" monkeys, according to Booklist contributor Ellen Mandel. As Anne Knickerbocker noted of the same book in School Library Journal, each illustration "suggests plenty of movement and excitement."

History and intercultural cooperation are the lessons of One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims, a picture book by B.G. Hennessy that features Cravath's art. The book plays on a familiar rhyme to show the activities of young North American pilgrims as they join with Wampanoag children to prepare a dinner to celebrate the harvest: the celebration still commemorated as Thanksgiving. Cravath's illustrations are full of "authentic detail," remarked Peterson, the Booklist critic adding that Cravath includes notes about her research for the book. Another culture, that of the West Indies, provides the setting for Tiny and Bigman. Featuring a story by Phillis Gershator, the picture book follows the adventures of a large, strong woman named Miss Tiny. Capable of great physical feats, Miss Tiny is also intimidating to men, but she ultimately finds love with a slim little man named Mr. Bigman. Together, the two defy traditional gender roles and become happily married parents: he cooks, she does carpentry, and Tiny ultimately protects the couple's house during a hurricane. Cravath's paintings present an "exuberant" and "lively portrayal of Caribbean life," noted Shelle Rosenfeld in Booklist, while a Publishers Weekly reviewer dubbed the illustrator's works "bold and cheery."

Cravath has contributed her talents to a pair of mysteries by Giff: Kidnap at the Catfish Café and Mary Moon Is Missing. The central character in both stories is young detective Minnie, an orphan who lives with her older brother, Catfish Café owner Orlando. With the help of her black cat Max, Minnie sets about solving mysteries. Kidnap at the Catfish Café takes Minnie through several sleuthing assignments, while Mary Moon Is Missing focuses on the hunt for a prize pigeon that is stolen just before a big pigeon race. Cravath illustrates both books with pen-and-ink drawings, and in School Library Journal, Janie Schomberg concluded that this artistic contribution to Mary Moon Is Missing "add[s] to the enjoyment."

Adventures of the imagination make up the story of He Saves the Day by Marsha Hayles. Here a little boy imagines himself performing all sorts of heroic deeds as he plays with various toys: an airplane and a car, among many others. Eventually, though, the boy gets into a fix and needs his mother to save him. "The exuberant art creates both the reality (a summer backyard scene) and the flights of fancy," commented Martha Topol in a review of He Saves the Day for School Library Journal. Cravath "does a good job" of showing how toys "can launch greater imaginative leaps," concluded a Kirkus Reviews contributor of the illustrator's work.

In The Princesses Have a Ball Teresa Bateman and Cravath collaborate on an updated version of the traditional fairy tale about the twelve dancing princesses. In Bateman's text, readers learn that the princesses have worn out their shoes rapidly not by dancing, but by playing basketball, an activity they worry that their father, the king, will not approve of. Ultimately, a helpful cobbler makes each princess her own pair of athletic shoes, and when the king discovers his dozen daughters' secret, he enjoys their basketball games so much that he signs on as their referee. Cravath's illustrations have "amusing anachronistic features" and "just the right look," remarked Bina Williams in a School Library Journal review of The Princesses Have a Ball. The humorously "animated illustrations … tell the story visually for prereaders," added Lauren Peterson in Booklist, and a Publishers Weekly critic praised Cravath for including "shots from odd angles and cute visuals for the grown-ups."

In Laurie Frieman's Love, Ruby Valentine, Cravath's lighthearted watercolor art is paired with a Valentine's Day tale about a young girl and her pet bird. Excited by the upcoming holiday, Ruby makes cards and cookies for her friends. When she grows exhausted with the preparations, the girl then falls asleep and misses the special day altogether. In Kirkus Reviews a critic praised Cravath's "engaging" illustrations, calling the picture

book a "Valentine's offering as sweet as candy." The "pastel watercolor-and-collage illustrations are fill of humor and convey Ruby's joy and industriousness," wrote Linda Staskus in her review of Love, Ruby Valentine for School Library Journal.

"I have a friend who says that all my characters are just myriad little self-portraits of myself," Cravath once told SATA. "In a sense, that's probably true. We can only paint what we know, and we paint the world the way we want to see it. As an illustrator, exposure to all types of people and events in the world around you is very important, along with a good sense of humor. Watching people—their characteristics, clothing, etc.—I carry around a sketchbook at all times and try not to be too obvious about scribbling down a stranger's best and worst features. Animals seem more oblivious to it."

Although her own experiences raising her children, traveling, and talking to people continue to fuel much of her art, Cravath has also drawn inspiration from other artists, such as Ludwig Bemelmans, who created the "Madeline" books, and Charlotte Voake. In addition to pencil and pen, her preferred medium is an opaque water color known as gouache. Its advantages, Cravath once told SATA, include rich color and versatility: "you can make it very opaque, or you can add water or acrylic medium to make it transparent." What's more, she added, "It's a very forgiving medium. If you make a mistake, you can lift it out or paint over it."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 15, 1998, Lauren Peterson, review of The Penny Pot, p. 753; September 1, 1999, Lauren Peterson, review of One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims, p. 148; October 15, 1999, Shelle Rosenfeld, review of Tiny and Bigman, p. 452; December 1, 1999, Ellen Mandel, review of Spunky Monkeys on Parade, p. 708; December 1, 2000, Lauren Peterson, review of The Two Sillies, p. 721; February 1, 2001, Catherine Andronik, review of Shark Swimathon, p. 1058; November 1, 2002, Lauren Peterson, review of The Princesses Have a Ball, p. 504; March 15, 2003, Carolyn Phelan, review of Are There Bears in Starvation Lake?, p. 1328; August, 2004, Hazel Rochman, review of The Rattlesnake Who Went to School, p. 1948; September 15, 2006, Ilene Cooper, review of The Show-and-Tell Lion, p. 65.

Horn Book, July-August, 2005, Lauren Adams, review of Amazing You!: Getting Smart about Your Private Parts, p. 491.

Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2002, review of He Saves the Day, p. 258; August 15, 2002, review of The Princesses Have a Ball, p. 1215; November 1, 2002, review of A New Improved Santa, p. 1627; June 1, 2006, review of The Show-and-Tell Lion, p. 567; September 1, 2006, review of Love, Ruby Valentine, p. 903.

Publishers Weekly, October 11, 1999, review of Tiny and Bigman, p. 75; March, 2001, Melinda Piehler, review of Shark Swimathon, p. 239; September 24, 2001, review of Granny Mae's Christmas Play, p. 50; July 15, 2002, review of The Princesses Have a Ball, p. 74; July, 2004, Sandra Welzenbach, review of The Rattlesnake Who Went to School, p. 88; October 9, 2006, review of Love, Ruby Valentine, p. 55.

School Library Journal, December, 1998, Marty Abbott Goodman, review of The Penny Pot, pp. 111-112; January, 1999, Janie Schomberg, review of Mary Moon Is Missing, p. 88; September, 1999, Adele Greenlee, review of One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims, p. 183; December, 1999, Anne Knickerbocker, review of Spunky Monkeys on Parade, p. 108; March, 2001, Melinda Piehler, review of Shark Swimathon, p. 239; April, 2002, Martha Topol, review of He Saves the Day, p. 110; October, 2002, Mara Alpert, review of A New Improved Santa, p. 65; December, 2002, Bina Williams, review of The Princesses Have a Ball, p. 84; July, 2006, Grace Oliff, review of The Show-and-Tell Lion, p. 68; November, 2006, Linda Staskus, review of Love, Ruby Valentine, p. 92.

ONLINE

Lynn Avril Cravath Home Page,http://www.lynneavril.com (August 27, 2007).

Something About the Author

Cravath, Lynne W(oodcock) 1951-

views updated May 14 2018

CRAVATH, Lynne W(oodcock) 1951-

Personal

Name is accented on second syllable; born March 6, 1951, in Miles City, MT; daughter of Walter B. and Mary Lou Woodcock; married Jay Cravath (a teacher), September 7, 1975; children: Chloe, Jeff. Education: University of Montana, B.A. (with high honors). Politics: Democrat. Religion: Episcopalian.

Addresses

Home— 10438 South 45th St., Phoenix, AZ 85044. Agent— Paige Gillies, 231 Judd Rd., Easton, CT 06612-1025.

Career

Children's book illustrator. Chico Chism Chicago Blues Band, bass player.