Ruth Sanderson at Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Ruth Sanderson (born 1951) is an American illustrator and writer of children's books.

Biography

Sanderson graduated from the

Paier College of Art Paier College (formerly Paier College of Art) is a private for-profit art college in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Previously located in Hamden, Connecticut, Paier is the only independent art college in Connecticut. History In 1946, Paier was e ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

in 1974.Stevens (2001), 107. She is a member of the

Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition. History Founding The Society of Illustrators was founded on ...

, the

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization that acts as a network for the exchange of knowledge between writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers ...

, and the

Western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as “Western Mass,” is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and u ...

Illustrator's Guild.; and she is Co-Director of the low-residency MFA in Children's Book Writing and Illustrating and Certificate in Children's Book Illustration programs at

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States ...

Works

Ruth Sanderson clayboard and scratchboard demonstration at Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Sanderson's earliest works were published in her mid-twenties: ''Grandma's Beach Surprise'' by Ilka List (G. P. Putnam's Sons) in 1975 and four including an edition of ''

The Little Engine That Could ''The Little Engine That Could'' is an American folktale (existing in the form of several illustrated children's books and films) that became widely known in the United States after publication in 1930 by Platt & Munk. The story is used to teac ...

'' in 1976. The latter was discussed at the time in terms of how the art reflected "the stereotypes of masculine strength and feminine weakness in vogue when it was written". She illustrated new editions of several

young-adult novel Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

s in the

Nancy Drew Nancy Drew is a fictional character appearing in several mystery book series, movies, and a TV show as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwritten by a number of authors and published under the collective pseudonym Carolyn Keene. Crea ...

and

Bobbsey Twins The Bobbsey Twins are the principal characters of what was, for 75 years, the Stratemeyer Syndicate's longest-running series of American children's novels, written under the pseudonym Laura Lee Hope. The first of 72 books was published in 1904, t ...

mystery series. LC catalog credits Sanderson as a writer primarily for retelling fairy tales, along with some stories from the Bible or about Christmas or about saints. In the catalog her earliest works as a writer are two published in 1990, a retelling of "

The Twelve Dancing Princesses "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" (or "The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes" or "The Shoes that were Danced to Pieces") (german: Die zertanzten Schuhe) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' in 1815 ( ...

" and an original fairy tale, ''The Enchanted Wood'' (Little, Brown, ). Sanderson's illustrations have been described as evocative of the past but employing a "21st century approach to texture and brightness."Shoulders (2008), 2D.

References

Citations * Shoulders, Debbie. "'Magic Pillow' values wisdom over riches." ''The Leaf-Chronicle (TN)''. 23 September 2008. P. 2D. * Stevens, Norman D. ''Tikvah: children's book creators reflect on human rights''. Chronicle Books, 2001. .

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanderson, Ruth American women illustrators Living people 1951 births American children's book illustrators 21st-century American women