THE SHIP IN THE WINDOW Sets Sail Today!
It all began right here:
A model ship in the window of a house in Holland, Michigan. It’s right across from a park that I’ve visited for years. Every time we would drive by I would notice this ship.
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One day I decided to try to make a story about it. I went home, opened my notebook, and wrote this:
“The SHIP IN THE WINDOW
A mouse wonders if a model ship will sail”
Now that story is a book – The Ship in the Window – gorgeously illustrated by Caldecott Medal winner Matthew Cordell. Here are a couple early sketches of Mabel, the main character:
When it was time to make the final art, Matthew Cordell spared no effort, incorporating accurate nautical knots into the borders and building up each image with expert-level cross-hatching that would make Maurice Sendak proud:
The Ship in the Window is available now wherever books are sold. I hope you get a chance to read it and share it with kids.
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Filed under: Articles
About Travis Jonker
Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.
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Congratulations to you and Matthew on your latest book! As a Holland MI resident, I know that house and park and I remember seeing the ship in the window. How fun to know the back story! Can’t wait to share the book with students in our school libraries.