Sneha Reddy, Visiting Illustrator

Sometimes things fall into place in interesting ways. Several months ago my husband went out to lunch with people with whom he had worked before his retirement. One of the men at the luncheon mentioned how proud he was of his daughter, a senior at a suburban Detroit high school. Who wouldn't be proud of such a daughter? The third book featuring her illustrations had just been published and two more were in the works.

The evening after that lunch, my husband told me about all of his friends and what they were doing. Of course, the story of a high school student who had illustrated picture books caught by librarian's ear. I contacted Sneha Reddy and she agreed to come to Emerson to talk to our students. Finding dates that worked for everyone was not as easy as we had hoped. (Doesn't that so often seem to be the case?) Finally it all fell into place and Sneha will be here to work with our students on Friday, March 13.

Sneha will be talk with students in grades three to five about the life of an illustrator and share a drawing lesson that helped her find her artistic skill and joy. She will also be autographing copies of her books.

The books are all about cats who have been rescued from a less than happy life to live with a caring family. They are The Ballad of Victor the Cat, The Ballad of Calvin the Cat, The Ballad of Omar the Cat, and The Ballad of Furrio the Cat. The fifth is not yet published. All of them are written by Gaile Harpan. Sneha's illustrations add to the humor and interest of each story by adding detail and great expressions to the cats who tell their stories and the humans who love them.

To me the fact that Sneha is a successful artist while still in high school is perhaps the most exciting part of her visit. We so often think that an published author or illustrator must be an adult. Sneha is proving that theory to be wrong. Every person who loves to hone their art--be it drawing or writing--and diligently works to improve may follow in Sneha's footsteps. Emerson is lucky to have Sneha come and share her talent and enthusiasm with us.

Many thanks to Nicola's Books for helping us secure copies of all four books to offer for sale as a part of this visit.