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More on the Black Dwarf

Yesterday, someone posted a comment to my blog post on Athanasius - the Black Dwarf. This person (who remained anonymous) seemed to suggest that I had some revisionist agenda in portraying Athanasius as an Egyptian rather than a black African. As I me...

More on the Black Dwarf2017-07-13T05:17:13+00:00

Illustrations and Text

Yesterday, my publisher asked if I wanted more illustrations in my books, and my first reaction was to say YES, of course! He then sent me another email, refocusing and redimensioning my thoughts. First, he pointed out the importance of photos. "I thin...

Illustrations and Text2017-07-13T05:17:13+00:00

Character Arc

The character arc is not one of my main priorities in short 64-pages biographies for children, focusing mainly on God's doctrines and His hand on His church. It's however important for the narrative and makes the characters more real and closer to us.A...

Character Arc2017-07-13T05:17:13+00:00

Human Yearning in Picture Books

Biographies for children today have for the most part deviated from fictionalized accounts to emphasize facts. There has also been a shift in purpose, from the raising of heroes to an attempt to help children to understand the development of history, personal choices, social concerns, and human experiences. There is an emphasis on accuracy, avoiding suppositions.

At the same time, as I wrote in a previous post, it's the element of human yearning that makes any story captivating. We want to know what moved the characters to do what they did. Since choices and human experiences are understood best through feelings, the author can give some hints, like "he probably felt..."
Of course, the best way to portray feelings in the context of a factual biography is by using actual quotes. For example, it was refreshing to read how young Athanasius, in the midst of all his problems during his first years as a bishop, started his Easter Letter to the churches in Egypt with a song of joy, "Come, my beloved, the season calls us to keep the feast … so that, when time has passed away, gladness may not leave us."
In pictorial biographies, however, there is another way to portray emotions and move the imagination without drifting too far from reality - illustrations! The masterful painting above is Matt's illustration of the dreadful time when Emperor Constans ordered all bishops to sign a paper denying the conclusions of the Council of Nicea regarding Christ's divinity and especially denouncing Athanasius. It's definitely hard for us to understand the feelings of the bishops who signed. It has been suggested that there was a general atmosphere of theological unclarity (after all, our "orthodox" theology was just in the process of being formulated at that time) rather than fear of the emperor, since martyrdom was still seen as a desirable death for a Christian. After that, we really don't know.
In the illustration, we find ourselves face to face with three pondering men - a bishop and two Roman soldiers, with the looming statue of Emperor Constans behind. We still don't know their thoughts, but they are in front of us and we find that all our prejudgments and rash conclusions are halted in our minds. This is, in my view, one of the main purposes of accurate biographies. They help us to understand or at least empathize. They draw us closer to someone else's life and thoughts and widen our own. They take us to another time as we would travel to another country and help us to sample it through another person's experience. And it's something our children need as well.
Human Yearning in Picture Books2017-07-13T05:17:13+00:00

Working with Illustrators

Years ago, when I was looking for an illustrator for my series, someone told me, "If you find a good one, hold him fast!" Someone else said that working with an illustrator is like a marriage. I think they meant the same - think well before you ...

Working with Illustrators2017-07-13T05:17:13+00:00

A Masterful Illustration

Matt (Abraxas) is outdoing himself. His illustrations of my book on Athanasius are the best yet. Here is his interpretation of Athanasius' trial in Tyre, where he had to answer to a charge of murder (among other accusations). My daughter said, "It's ev...

A Masterful Illustration2017-07-13T05:17:13+00:00

More on Biographies

I have found an interesting article by Zoubeida R. Dagher and Danielle J. Ford about children's biographies of scientists ("How Are Scientists Portrayed in Children's Science Biographies?", Springer 2005), with an excellent critique of children's biogr...

More on Biographies2017-07-13T05:17:13+00:00

Lady Jane

I have been very selective in the choice of titles for my series of Christian Biographies for Young Readers. From the start, my vision has been to introduce not a random choice of role models, but men and women who have helped to shape the church and ...

Lady Jane2017-07-13T05:17:15+00:00

Athanasius – Black Dwarf?

Matt is now working on the first illustration for my book on Athanasius, and we are discussing physical features. We don't have many documents to help us with our decision. All paintings and orthodox icons portraying Athanasius were made many centur...

Athanasius – Black Dwarf?2017-07-13T05:17:16+00:00

The Problem with Heroes

In one of my latest posts, I wrote that children need to know that God is the Hero of history more than they need to know heroes. This is not meant as a depreciation of great men and women of church history, but as a recognition of God's hand at work

The Problem with Heroes2017-07-13T05:17:16+00:00
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