Phoebe Gilman (1940–2002)
Author of Something from Nothing
About the Author
Series
Works by Phoebe Gilman
Jillian Jiggs to the Rescue 4 copies
Jillian Jiggs and great big snow 3 copies
The Ball on Free 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Gilman, Phoebe
- Birthdate
- 1940-04-04
- Date of death
- 2002-08-29
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Hunter College
High School of Art and Design - Occupations
- art instructor
children's book author
children's book illustrator
painter - Organizations
- Art Students League of New York
Ontario College of Art (instructor)
Canadian Children's Book Centre - Short biography
- IPhoebe Gilman was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. She went to the High School of Art and Design, Hunter College, and the Art Student's League of New York. As a young artist, one of her passions was travel, and she lived in Europe and Israel for extended periods. In 1974, two years after arriving in Canada, she married Brian Bender, with whom she had three children. She taught for 15 years at the Ontario College of Art before devoting herself full-time to writing and illustrating children's books. Her first book, The Balloon Tree, appeared in print in 1984 after she spent 15 years of trying to get published, and became the first of many works. Her books are notable for their strong female characters. Something from Nothing won the 1993 Ruth Schwartz Award for best children's book, and was later adapted into a television special. She died at age 62 of leukemia, two years after recovering from breast cancer.
- Nationality
- USA (birth)
Canada - Birthplace
- Bronx, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA (Birth)
Europe
Jerusalem, Israel
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Rome, Italy - Place of death
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Members
Reviews
A retelling of a simple Jewish folktale. A little boy is born, and his grandfather, a tailor, makes him a special blue blanket. The child loves the blanket, and carries it everywhere as he grows...until the blanket is so raggedy his mother insists it must be thrown out. But the child says "NO. Grandpa can fix it." And Grandpa does, turning it into a little jacket. When the boy outgrows the jacket, Grandpa makes it a vest...and on until there is nothing left of the original material, EXCEPT show more the scraps which all along have fallen through the floor boards, becoming blankets, shawls, curtains and more for the family of tiny mice living under the family's home. The tale is SO simple, with the sort of repetition and suspense children love, but in this version, the illustrations are everything, with such detail that many more stories can be invented by active imaginations, providing hours of entertainment and delight to all ages. In fact, if the words were taken away I would still give this one 5 bright stars. show less
The back cover of this book tells me that “Phoebe Gilman is one of Canada’s best-loved children’s book author/illustrator.” After reading Jillian Jiggs and the Great Big Snow, I can see why.
When I read a picture book, I speak out loud, as if I were reading to a child. To do that with this book is a real pleasure. In two-line rhymes, Gilman fairly bounces us through the story of Jillian, excited by the snow but not allowed out until she finds her hat. Her mom says:
“Jillian, Jillian, show more say it’s not true.
How do you lose all things that you do?”
By the time Jillian finishes her play outside, she is minus her scarf, hat, and both mittens and her friends and her sister have repeated this mantra several times.
The imagination in the snow play is wonderful – the children build Martians and monsters, and roads for Mars. And the issue of lost outerwear is very realistic – a perennial problem with children.
The illustrations, “created in gouche and coloured pencils”, are also excellent – bright and cheerful with just the right amount of detail. I stop and examine the pictures and point out to myself what I would to a child: a small cat in the house scenes, various implements and activities in the outdoor scenes.
I didn’t expect to like this book much, but I did and I highly recommend Jillian Jiggs and the Great Big Snow, especially to children who live in snowy climates! 4½ stars
Written and illustrated by: Phoebe Gilman
Published by: North Winds Press 2002 show less
When I read a picture book, I speak out loud, as if I were reading to a child. To do that with this book is a real pleasure. In two-line rhymes, Gilman fairly bounces us through the story of Jillian, excited by the snow but not allowed out until she finds her hat. Her mom says:
“Jillian, Jillian, show more say it’s not true.
How do you lose all things that you do?”
By the time Jillian finishes her play outside, she is minus her scarf, hat, and both mittens and her friends and her sister have repeated this mantra several times.
The imagination in the snow play is wonderful – the children build Martians and monsters, and roads for Mars. And the issue of lost outerwear is very realistic – a perennial problem with children.
The illustrations, “created in gouche and coloured pencils”, are also excellent – bright and cheerful with just the right amount of detail. I stop and examine the pictures and point out to myself what I would to a child: a small cat in the house scenes, various implements and activities in the outdoor scenes.
I didn’t expect to like this book much, but I did and I highly recommend Jillian Jiggs and the Great Big Snow, especially to children who live in snowy climates! 4½ stars
Written and illustrated by: Phoebe Gilman
Published by: North Winds Press 2002 show less
My memories of reading this story as a kid are of how enraptured I was with the illustrations, particularly of the shiny blue blanket material. That bedazzlement has not faded.
This book has SO MUCH going on. The main story, yes, but also the exquisite illustrations of the shtetl that show the stories of its inhabitants; the understated character actions like Joseph's sister trying to comfort him with her own doll; the parallel story of the mouse family living under the house; the message show more about not letting materials go to waste (both in the main house and in the mouse house). There are relatively few words, but the incredible illustrations inspire several minutes of perusal before turning the page.
Also there's an adorable panel of little mice children attending Hebrew school, and if that at least doesn't get you to pick up this book, I don't know what else to say. show less
This book has SO MUCH going on. The main story, yes, but also the exquisite illustrations of the shtetl that show the stories of its inhabitants; the understated character actions like Joseph's sister trying to comfort him with her own doll; the parallel story of the mouse family living under the house; the message show more about not letting materials go to waste (both in the main house and in the mouse house). There are relatively few words, but the incredible illustrations inspire several minutes of perusal before turning the page.
Also there's an adorable panel of little mice children attending Hebrew school, and if that at least doesn't get you to pick up this book, I don't know what else to say. show less
I remember really loving the Jillian Jiggs books (mostly because of her whimsically hilarious pig characters), but re-reading these as an adult doesn’t hold quite the same charm. The premise is still a good one for a story, with the young Jillian channelling her messy room and hoarding nature into the creation of many, many wonderful pig characters, but somehow the story is a lot flatter than I remember. Our Jillian character is wonderfully creative, and I absolutely love all of the many show more pigs she creates, but I feel like I remember a lot more pigs and a lot more backstory. Maybe we just filled in the blanks better as children than we do as adults. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 18
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 5,341
- Popularity
- #4,661
- Rating
- 4.2
- Reviews
- 70
- ISBNs
- 147
- Languages
- 3
- Favorited
- 2