Jacobsen, Laura

views updated

Jacobsen, Laura

Personal

Born in Columbus, OH; married. Education: Columbus College of Art and Design, B.F.A. (illustration); Marywood University, M.F.A. (illustration).

Addresses

Home and office—Gilbert, AZ. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Children's book illustrator.

Member

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (AZ chapter).

Awards, Honors

First place in Stylized Category, 2000, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators National Conference Portfolio Show.

Illustrator

Mary Bahr, My Brother Loved Snowflakes: The Story of Wilson A. Bentley, the Snowflake Man, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2002.

Melinda Lilly, The Dutch in New Amsterdam, Rourke Publishing (Vero Beach, FL), 2003.

Rob Jackson, Animal Mischief: Poems, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2006.

Donna Jean Kemmetmueller, My Muslim Friend: A Young Catholic Learns about Islam, Pauline Books & Media (Boston, MA), 2006.

Contributor of illustrations to periodicals, including Highlights for Children and Spider.

Sidelights

As a children's book illustrator, Arizona-based artist Laura Jacobsen has worked with a variety of educational publishers, including Boyds Mills Press and Scholastic, as well as with children's magazines Highlights for Children and Spider. Jacobsen has also illustrated an assortment of children's books, among them Mary Bahr's My Brother Loved Snowflakes: The Story of Wilson A. Bentley, the Snowflake Man, The Dutch in New Amsterdam, written by Melinda Lilly, and My Muslim Friend: A Young Catholic Learns about Islam, by Donna Jean Kemmetmueller. The artist often employs pastel pencil, watercolor, and computer technology in her illustrations for children's books; for instance, she

used pastel pencils to capture the colorful tones of the assortment of animals featured in Rob Jackson's Animal Mischief: Poems.

In assessing Jacobsen's illustrations, critics often note her ability to create light, delicate works of art. A critic for Kirkus Reviews also described Jacobsen's images for Animal Mischief as "whimsical," adding that her illustrations "add to the charm" of Jackson's text. Likewise, Booklist reviewer Carolyn Phelan commented that Jacobsen's contribution "reflects the light tone of the verse." Carol L. McKay in her review of Animal Mischief for School Library Journal, praised Jacobsen's artistic approach, writing that the book's "whimsical creatures cavorting in bright single-and double-page pictures" are "appropriately fun."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 2, 2006, Carolyn Phelan, review of Animal Mischief: Poems, p. 45.

Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2006, review of Animal Mischief, p. 232.

School Library Journal, September, 2002, Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, review of My Brother Loved Snowflakes: The Story of Wilson A. Bentley, the Snowflake Man, p. 209; January, 2003, Marlene Gawron, review of The Dutch in New Amsterdam, p. 126; May, 2006, Carol L. MacKay, review of Animal Mischief, p. 112.