The characters in Rosemary Wells many picture books for preschoolers may take the form of animals, but to young children of all cultures, Nora, Benjamin, Tulip, Timothy, Morris, Max, Ruby, Yoko, and Edward are pure reflections of self. Rosemary has an unswerving ability to zero in to the hearts and minds of youngsters, speaking to their concerns and their fears as well as to their silliness.
Rosemary began her career in children's books in the publishing industry, working as art editor and designer for several large publishing houses. When well-known editor Susan Hirschman saw a dummy of a book Rosemary had done, she gave Rosemary a contract and her first book, A Song to Sing, O! (To Gilbert and Sullivan lyrics from "The Yeoman of the Guard) was published in 1968. Although she may be
best known as a writer and illustrator of picture books and board books for young children, Rosemary's early books included novels for adolescents. Among them were The Fog Comes on Little Pig Feet (1972) and None of the Above (1974). Since then Rosemary has continued to write across genres. Her recent books include biographies like Mary On Horseback and Wings, as well as retellings of classics such as Lassie and Hitty Her First Hundred Years. Her talent as an illustrator may have overshadowed her renown as an author, but all her picture books are grounded in wonderful writing. Rosemary declares, "The story comes first, the pictures come second. There's a trend now in children's books to make it so that the story is a vehicle for picture. This is a very bad idea because children want the story. Remember children- young children- are always listening most of the time."[4] Certainly Rosemary's many stories have delighted preschoolers as well as their parents and teachers for many years.
In addition to her stories, Rosemary collaborated with folklorist Iona Opie to offer three superb collections of nursery rhymes. Rosemary feels working with Opie contributed to her growth as an artist as well as to her awareness of our cultural heritage. She states, "We live in a time when our language is shrinking. The rhymes of Mother Goose represent our language at its most innocent, playful and profound. And now they are in danger of disappearing completely. Children in America by a huge margin could sing you a beer commercial before they could recite Jack and Jill. I remind myself what a privilege it is to be published and try to start each day remembering that what I put on a page should be part of the solution, not the problem."[5]
Rosemary Wells may have an incredible sense of what children want, but she also has a passionate understanding of what children need. Recalling her own positive early experiences with books, Rosemary has become an energetic advocate for early book experiences for all children. In the mid 1990's she worked with The Association of Book Sellers for Children to create a promotion on reading aloud for parents. They argued the "most important twenty minutes [in a] day" were the twenty minutes parents spent reading aloud to their children. Rosemary created a delightful poster and took that message across America, appearing at library associations and books stores. Rosemary also encouraged doctors to advise parents to read aloud as part of a child's over-all wellness regime. This blossomed into the "Reach Out and Read Campaign" ( http://www.reachoutandread.org/) promoted by well-known Boston Medical Center pediatricians Perri Klass and Barry Zuckerman. In 1997 Rosemary published an inexpensive but appealing little book, Read to Your Bunny (Scholastic) that became the medium of her message. She has continued to be an advocate for young children on her web site (www.rosemarywells.com) and in her public appearances. Rosemary has said she believes "all stories and plays and paintings and songs come from a palpable but unseen space in the cosmos...According to how gifted we are we are all given a large or small key to this treasury of wonders. I have been blessed with a small key to the world of the young."[6] Rosemary's key may be small but her gifts to children have been enormous. http://www.rosemarywells.com
[4] Anita Silvey Rosemary Wells, Horn Book Radio Interview. www.hbook.com/exhibit/wellsradio/html
[5] Cyndi Giorgis. "A Book is Forever": A Conversation with Rosemary Wells. The New Advocate. Spring 2000. 107-115
