Ellen McGehee, of Jonesboro will serve as reader for the
June Stories in the Forest program at 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, at The Mall
at Turtle Creek. She will read Today Is
Monday, a book by by beloved children’s writer and illoustrator Eric Carle,
and other books.
McGehee oversees the Kids Club at the St. Bernards Health
& Wellness Institute.
Carle is an acclaimed author of children’s books, with
perhaps his best known being The Very
Hungry Caterpillar. Born in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1929, he moved with his
parents to Germany when he was 6. He was educated there, graduating from the
prestigious art school, the Akademie der bildenden Kunste in Stuttgart.
His dream was to return to America, land of his happiest
childhood memories. So in 1952, with a portfolio in hand and $40 in his pocket,
he landed in New York and found a job as a graphic designer in the promotion
department of The New York Times.
One day, respected educator and author Bill Martin Jr.
called to ask Carle to illustrate a story he had written after he had seen a
striking picture of a red lobster that Carle had created for an advertisement. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Was the result of their collaboration. It still is a favorite of children
everywhere.
That was the beginning of Carle’s true career. Soon, he was
writing stories of his own.
He has won numerous awards for his works. And he has more
than 50 books to his credit. Carle has illustrated numerous books for other
writers, too. Some of his books include 1,
2, 3, to the Zoo, The Mixed-Up Chameleon, The Grouchy Ladybug, The Very Busy
Spider, The Foolish Tortoise, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Very Lonely Firefly,
Hello Red Fox, Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother Too? and The Very Clumsy Click Beatle.
The Stories in the Forest program gives parents some quality
time with their children and exposes children to some favorite books of local
residents. It is an outgrowth of the St. Bernards Women’s Advisory Council’s
tremendously successful Kidz Fun Fair.
The Women’s Advisory Council is a group of about 120 area
women who have joined together in an advisory role to give input on important
healthcare issues impacting women and children. They encourage educational as
well as service outreach efforts designed to make Jonesboro a better place to
live, work and raise families.