Pajama Press

We are proud to announce that A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison by Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson has won the 2016 Crystal Kite Award for Canada.

The Crystal Kite Awards are given by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators to recognize great books from the seventy SCBWI regions around the world.  Along with the SCBWI Golden Kite Awards, the Crystal Kite Awards are chosen by other children’s book writers and illustrators, making them the only peer-given awards in publishing for young readers.

Founded in 1971, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is one of the largest existing writers’ and illustrators’ organizations, with over 22,000 members worldwide. It is the only organization specifically for those working in the fields of children’s literature, magazines, film, television, and multimedia. The organization was founded by Stephen Mooser (President) and Lin Oliver (Executive Director), both of whom are well-published children’s book authors and leaders in the world of children’s literature.  For more information about the Crystal Kite Award, please visit www.scbwi.org, and click “Awards & Grants.”

Pajama Press is pleased to announce that A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison by Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson has been shortlisted for the 2015 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award.

This beautiful picture book biography, which includes a forward by Harrison himself, is the only book for young readers written about Canada’s most famous artist of the Yukon. Since its publication in 2014 it has been nominated for a number of awards, including the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, the Rocky Mountain Book Award, the Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award, and the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award.

Ted Harrison, who passed away in early 2015, was one of Canada’s most celebrated artists; his distinctive and colourful paintings of the Arctic and the West Coast are recognized around the world. Ted’s many honours include the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honour. Several generations of schoolchildren have grown up familiar with his work through picture books like A Northern Alphabet, The Shooting of Dan McGrew, and The Cremation of Sam McGee.

In A Brush Full of Colour, readers learn how Harrison’s passion for learning saved him from a life in England’s coal mines and set him on a road of worldwide travel that led him to the incredible Yukon he had read about as a child. The story is illustrated with Harrison’s own drawings and paintings, showing how the classically trained artist developed his unique and colourful style.

Margriet Ruurs is the award-winning author of more than two dozen books for children. When she isn’t giving workshops at international schools around the world, Margriet runs a booklover’s bed and breakfast on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia. Learn more at www.margrietruurs.com.

Katherine Gibson is the best-selling author of four non-fiction books. Her work has been published internationally in several languages. Katherine’s extensive research for the illustrated biography Ted Harrison: Painting Paradise was instrumental in the writing A Brush Full of Colour. Katherine lives on Vancouver Island. Learn more at www.katherinegibson.com

The TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, administered by the TD Bank Group and the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, is awarded to the most distinguished children’s book of each year. The winner will be announced at the Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards gala in Toronto on November 18^th.

“Ted Harrison, one of Canada’s most recognized and celebrated artists, died in January, 2015. Using a distinctive style that particularly resonates with children, he portrayed the Canadian west coast and Yukon landscapes in vibrant, non-traditional colours. A Brush Full of Colour follows the life and career of Harrison, from his youth in a coal-mining town in northeast England.

…This inspirational and informative biography includes many stunning examples of Harrison’s luminous artwork as well as resources, sources and a foreword written by the artist himself: “I urge you to keep on reading, writing, and painting. Develop your own style and keep it honest and true to who you are. Find inspiration in the world around you, and you will make the world a happier and more creative place.”

—Senta Ross

“Best known for his colorful paintings of the Yukon, Ted Harrison grew up in England’s drab, gray coal country. His military duties during World War II took him to India, Egypt, and Kenya. After the war, he taught art in Malaysia and New Zealand before he and his wife moved to Canada, where they fell in love with the Yukon. Inspired by the landscape, he moved away from his traditional, formal art training and developed his own distinctive style, notable for its simplified forms, unusual colors, and underlying sense of joy. Harrison has illustrated several books, including O Canada (1993) and Robert Service’s The Shooting of Dan McGrew (1988). Ruurs and Gibson’s beautifully designed volume combines a clearly written account of Harrison’s life and work with photos of his early years and, later, many of his paintings. Seldom does an artist’s biography for children offer so many beautiful reproductions of the subject’s work. Pair this inviting book with Ashley Bryan:Words to My Life’s Song (2009), another wonderfully visual celebration of an artist following his own path.”

—Carolyn Phelan

“Gr 3-6–An outstanding, well-organized biography about the life of Ted Harrison, one of Canada’s most recognized and popular painters. The book chronicles the man’s life, from his birth in the coal mining town of Wingate, County Durham, England, where his father gave him pencil and paper and told him to draw; to art school and military service post–World War II, which gave him the opportunity to see the world; to teaching art in Malaysia; and finally immigrating to Canada and combining all the designs and techniques he had seen around the world and finding his own style. Harrison vowed that his paintings would only depict positive images. He developed a colorful, vibrant technique that reflected the joys of life. While many love his work, others are more critical. However, Harrison remains upbeat: “‘We must be who we are in everything we do, no matter what others say.’” This book is filled with quotes from Harrison and examples of his work, all demonstrating his love for vivid colors and flowing lines. VERDICT A joy to look at and an inspiration to read.”
—Paula Huddy, The Blake School-Highcroft Campus, Wayzata, MN

“If you have a Ted Harrison book, this is a must have. A Brush Full of Colour tells the story of Ted Harrison from his birth in 1926 England and follows his development as an artist to the present day, living in Victoria. The book is full of Harrison’s paintings, including his earlier work before he developed his recognizable style. The text is easy to read, comprehensive, and interesting.

The text is divided into chapters: Childhood, Travelling the World, Life in the North, and A Full Time Artist. Each page is filled with colourful reproductions of his paintings, photographs, memorabilia, and artist sketches. Readers will be amazed to discover the influences in his work and the growth in his style. Harrison wrote the preface and several of his quotes are interspersed throughout the text. As a result, the reader gets a good understanding of who Ted Harrison is. The authors include questions below most of the reproductions to further guide the conversation. (“What do the ravens tell us about the weather that day?”)

A foreword by Ted Harrison, Table of Contents, and Index are included in this beautifully presented book. [It also includes] Acknowledgements, Sources and Resources.

Highly recommended for all Canadian libraries.”

Thematic Links: Art; Painters; Biography; Northern Landscape; Canadian Artists; Yukon
—Louise Sidley

“… Abundantly illustrated, the generally lively text is accessible and well-paced, and (thankfully) the didactic asides and discussion prompts are relegated to the paintings’ captions. Backmatter includes a helpful index and related books, websites and films. A child-friendly introduction to an iconic, wonderfully accessible and quintessentially Canadian artist. (Picture book/biography. 5-8)”

Click here to read the full review.

This week Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson travelled to Victoria, British Columbia, to present A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison at the Saanich Centennial Branch of the Greater Victoria Public Library. The event was organized jointly by the Victoria Children’s Literature Roundtable and Schoolhouse Teaching Supplies, under the able leadership of Pat Oldroyd, seen introducing the authors below. The night included a PowerPoint presentation about Ted Harrison; a raffle for a mounted poster and a copy of A Brush Full of Colour; book signings; cookies; and lots of fun.

Thank you to everyone who braved the cold weather to come out, with special thanks to Moira Gardener for sharing the pictures below.

On November 15th, about fifty parents and children gathered at the North York Central Library to hear author Margriet Ruurs talk about the life and art of iconic Canadian painter Ted Harrison. After an engaging presentation, Margriet signed the library’s copies of the picture book biography she recently co-authored, A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison, and settled in to join the families in making art inspired by Harrison’s colourful style.

Click here to see our digital gallery of the beautiful Harrison-style drawings and colouring pages created at this event.

This event was made possible with the support of the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

“This outstanding biography does more than just inform the reader of Ted Harrison’s life in a well organized way. A Brush Full of Colour is indicative of the spirit and passion of its subject and richly illuminates a national treasure! It does justice to Harrison’s artwork by including many reproductions from his early efforts to more recent drawings that are named, dated and commented upon as to the content of the drawing and its meaning. Many include a question posed to the reader. One of the highlights of this lovely book is a preface by Harrison where he refers to his art as ‘my simplistic artistic style’. He also includes a lovely tribute to meeting, over the years, students and lovers of art that have influenced him. Harrison urges readers to ‘keep on reading, writing and painting’.

An index and bibliographical references are included.

Highly Recommended.“

Click here to read the full review.