Gail E. Haley
Author of A Story, A Story: An African Tale
About the Author
Works by Gail E. Haley
Associated Works
Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom...and Lots More Learning Fun [1999 film] (2002) — Author & Illustrator — 37 copies, 2 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1939
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Richmond Professional Institute
University of Virginia - Short biography
- [from illustrator's website]
Gail E. Haley was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. She grew up in Shuffletown, a rural township just North of Charlotte. She learned the language and ways of country folk. But on weekends, she studied ballet and tap dance and took marimba lessons.
She also spent her Saturday afternoons at the Charlotte Observer where her father was art director. She learned how the newspaper was created. This knowledge, plus her love of reading, convinced her by the age of eight that she wanted to write and illustrate children's books.
At seventeen she attended Richmond Professional Institute, where she studied Commercial Art and Fashion Illustration. After two years, she married Joseph Haley, who was a graduate student at The University of Virgina. Gail became one of the first women enrolled at UVA, where she studied Fine Art.
An acclaimed author and award-winning illustrator of children's books, Gail has appeared at professional conferences, universities, libraries and schools throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Africa, and the United Kingdom.
In addition to the Caldecott medal she was awarded for the African tale, A Story, A Story, she has the unique distinction of being the only person to have that honor as well as England's Kate Greenaway medal which she received for The Post Office Cat. The Green Man was a Parent's Choice recipient. She also received Japan's Kodai Tosho award and the Kerlan award.
She served as Writer in Residence in the Reich College of Education at Appalachian State University. Her art is housed in numerous galleries throughout the U.S. She taught puppetry at Appalachian State, has several puppetry and costume books to her credit and has twice been featured in this capacity on the PBS program, The Woodwright's Shop.
Interdisciplinary by nature, her presentations are educational and motivational. They can include storytelling and puppetry with the youngest children, an exploration of folktales and other genres (she has written numerous Jack Tales) with 3rd and 4th graders, along with art and illustration demonstrations, and of course those crucial creative writing techniques and critiques for the students in 4th grade and above.
Haley's masks and puppet collection from around the world, along with her books and storytelling, guarantee a multicultural experience, that will engage young learners as they explore the characters, critters, and countries she has created, encountered, and experienced. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
- Places of residence
- Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Shuffletown, North Carolina, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- North Carolina, USA
Members
Reviews
Growing up on the stories of his sea-captain Uncle Brian, Tom dreamed of sailing upon the wide ocean, and of visiting the Lovelorn Islands, where his uncle found and lost his own sea maiden love. Promising to trade a lock of his sweetheart's hair for the beautiful golden mirror and comb offered by sinister local merchant Gertie, Tom sets off, eventually meeting and falling deeply in love with the mermaid Princess Falilah, to whom he gifts the golden items. But when she in turn gives him a show more lock of her golden hair, warning him that to lose it is to lose her love, and making him promise to return, he finds himself caught. He has already promised to return his men to their home, and to give the lock to Gertie, should he ever set foot on land again. How can he keep his promise, without losing Falilah...?
Having recently enjoyed author/illustrator Gail E. Hailey's A Story, A Story: An African Tale, which won the 1971 Caldecott Medal, I sought out other picture books she created, requesting Sea Tale from my local library. It is an original fairy-tale, rather than a folkloric retelling, but is no less engaging for all of that. Attentive readers will see the conflict coming, as soon as Tom makes his promise to Gertie, and might also guess the solution to his quandary, as I did. Watching the story play out is still quite enjoyable however, as is perusing the lovely illustrations. They look like they could have been done using some kind of block cut technique, although I'm not sure, as no information as to the media used was provided. In any case, they have the appeal of such artwork, being both stylish and somehow folksy. My only critique would be the fact that Falilah and the other mermaids don't have one tail fin, but two, approximating legs. I'm not sure I've ever seen that before, in an illustrations of a mermaid, and it struck me as rather odd. Leaving that aside, this is one I enjoyed wholeheartedly, and recommend to young fairy-tale lovers and mermaid enthusiasts. show less
Having recently enjoyed author/illustrator Gail E. Hailey's A Story, A Story: An African Tale, which won the 1971 Caldecott Medal, I sought out other picture books she created, requesting Sea Tale from my local library. It is an original fairy-tale, rather than a folkloric retelling, but is no less engaging for all of that. Attentive readers will see the conflict coming, as soon as Tom makes his promise to Gertie, and might also guess the solution to his quandary, as I did. Watching the story play out is still quite enjoyable however, as is perusing the lovely illustrations. They look like they could have been done using some kind of block cut technique, although I'm not sure, as no information as to the media used was provided. In any case, they have the appeal of such artwork, being both stylish and somehow folksy. My only critique would be the fact that Falilah and the other mermaids don't have one tail fin, but two, approximating legs. I'm not sure I've ever seen that before, in an illustrations of a mermaid, and it struck me as rather odd. Leaving that aside, this is one I enjoyed wholeheartedly, and recommend to young fairy-tale lovers and mermaid enthusiasts. show less
The winning of knowledge and the consequences thereof form the basis of this traditional Cherokee folktale, retold and illustrated by Caldecot Medal-winning picture book creator Gail E. Haley. In the beginning, the First Hunter, the Corn Mother and their son Boy enjoyed a peaceful life together. Then Boy met Wild Boy at a local spring, and the two became inseparable. Although taken into the family, Wild Boy could not be tamed, and he led Boy into many scrapes. When their curiosity leads them show more to discover the source of First Hunter's meat (a rock-covered cave) and Corn Mother's grain (a magical hut), both of these blessings are taken away, and their parents depart. Now the boys, and all of their descendants, must hunt for game, and work in the field to raise crops...
Published in 1996, Two Bad Boys: A Very Old Cherokee Tale is the fifth picture book I have read from Haley, following upon A Story, A Story: An African Tale, which won the 1971 Caldecott Medal, as well as Jack and the Fire Dragon (1988) Sea Tale (1990) and Puss in Boots (1991). Although different from the biblical story of the Garden of Eden in many respects, it also shares elements of that story, most notably, the way the winning of forbidden knowledge widens the distance between humans and the divine (First Hunter and Corn Mother must depart, to live in the Western Land of the Darkening Sun), and forces humanity to work very hard indeed to sustain itself. In short, it is the expulsion from paradise, from the Cherokee perspective. I enjoyed the story, and I appreciated Haley's illustrations, done in tinted gesso meant to simulate parchment. The decorative borders here were a very nice touch! I also appreciated the note at the beginning regarding source—this tale was first recorded by the 19th-century Cherokee medicine man and storyteller, Swimmer—and the cultural research Haley did. Recommended to young folklore lovers, particularly those looking for Cherokee stories. show less
Published in 1996, Two Bad Boys: A Very Old Cherokee Tale is the fifth picture book I have read from Haley, following upon A Story, A Story: An African Tale, which won the 1971 Caldecott Medal, as well as Jack and the Fire Dragon (1988) Sea Tale (1990) and Puss in Boots (1991). Although different from the biblical story of the Garden of Eden in many respects, it also shares elements of that story, most notably, the way the winning of forbidden knowledge widens the distance between humans and the divine (First Hunter and Corn Mother must depart, to live in the Western Land of the Darkening Sun), and forces humanity to work very hard indeed to sustain itself. In short, it is the expulsion from paradise, from the Cherokee perspective. I enjoyed the story, and I appreciated Haley's illustrations, done in tinted gesso meant to simulate parchment. The decorative borders here were a very nice touch! I also appreciated the note at the beginning regarding source—this tale was first recorded by the 19th-century Cherokee medicine man and storyteller, Swimmer—and the cultural research Haley did. Recommended to young folklore lovers, particularly those looking for Cherokee stories. show less
The process whereby Anansi, the trickster spider of West African folklore, wins stories from the Sky God Nyame is retold by author/illustrator Gail E. Haley in this Caldecott Medal-winning picture book from 1970. Spinning his web up to the sky, Anansi—here in human rather than arachnid form—asks to buy the tales kept hoarded in the Sky God's golden box. That deity replies that in order to obtain the stories, Anansi must bring him Osebo the leopard-of-the-terrible-teeth, Mmboro the hornet show more who-stings-like-fire and Mmoatia the fairy whom-men-never-see. Immediately setting out to capture these creatures, Anansi tricks Osebo into allowing him to tie him up, Mmboro into flying into a calabash where he is imprisoned, and Mmoatia to sticking herself to a tar-covered doll. Returning to the sky, Anansi wins stories, not just for himself, but for all of humanity...
As someone who loves Anansi stories, and also appreciates woodcut artwork, I have been meaning to read A Story, A Story: An African Tale for quite some time. Although available when I was a child, it is not a book I recall ever picking up, although I do have strong (but unformed) memories of reading some variant of the Mmoatia story, involving a tar baby. I cannot recall what exact variant of the latter I encountered when young, but I do recall finding it both fascinating and repellant. In any case, the basic tale here, in which Anansi trades three creatures for the wealth of stories kept by the Sky God, is also told in Verna Aardema's 1960 The Sky-God Stories, illustrated by Elton C. Fax. In that tale, it is a python instead of a leopard, although the other two creatures are the same. No source material or specific cultural origin is given for Haley's story, but Aardema's was taken from R.S. Rattray's 1930 Akan-Ashanti Folk-Tales, and given the fact that Nyame is the name of the sky deity in Akan culture, I suspect this has the same source. Leaving aside the issues of attribution and source (and I do wish Haley had specified), I found this one very enjoyable, both for the story of the hero who liberates stories for the people, and for the wonderful artwork, with its deep colors and elegantly stylized figures. I can see why this one won the Caldecott Medal! Recommended to young folklore lovers, and to anyone who appreciates Anansi stories. show less
As someone who loves Anansi stories, and also appreciates woodcut artwork, I have been meaning to read A Story, A Story: An African Tale for quite some time. Although available when I was a child, it is not a book I recall ever picking up, although I do have strong (but unformed) memories of reading some variant of the Mmoatia story, involving a tar baby. I cannot recall what exact variant of the latter I encountered when young, but I do recall finding it both fascinating and repellant. In any case, the basic tale here, in which Anansi trades three creatures for the wealth of stories kept by the Sky God, is also told in Verna Aardema's 1960 The Sky-God Stories, illustrated by Elton C. Fax. In that tale, it is a python instead of a leopard, although the other two creatures are the same. No source material or specific cultural origin is given for Haley's story, but Aardema's was taken from R.S. Rattray's 1930 Akan-Ashanti Folk-Tales, and given the fact that Nyame is the name of the sky deity in Akan culture, I suspect this has the same source. Leaving aside the issues of attribution and source (and I do wish Haley had specified), I found this one very enjoyable, both for the story of the hero who liberates stories for the people, and for the wonderful artwork, with its deep colors and elegantly stylized figures. I can see why this one won the Caldecott Medal! Recommended to young folklore lovers, and to anyone who appreciates Anansi stories. show less
Caldecott Medal-winning author/illustrator Gail E. Haley presents the classic French fairy-tale of Puss in Boots in this engaging picture book. The third and youngest son of a miller is left only Grey the cat as his inheritance, and thinks he is most unfortunate, until that wily feline dons some boots and a sack, and sets out to change both of their lives for the better. Reinventing his master as the Marquis of Carrabas, Grey manages to convince the king that he is a wealthy man, a fiction show more made real through cleverness, and the defeat of an ogre...
Published in 1991, Puss in Boots is third picture book I have read from Haley, following upon her Caldecott-winning A Story, A Story (1970) and Sea Tale (1990). I found it a very engaging retelling of this classic tale, which I have seen presented by a number of other authors and illustrators. I particularly liked that Grey was named in this telling, and that he had his own feline friend and love in the form of Letitia, the Princess's cat. I haven't seen that in other tellings, so it might be Haley's own original invention, although I am not sure. The accompanying artwork was appealing, for the most part. I enjoyed them overall, and found the feline characters very well done. According to the blurb about the author on the read dust-jacket, Grey was based on Haley's own cat, Clarence. I didn't find the human characters as appealing or convincing, but given my overall enjoyment, wasn't too put off. Recommended to young folk and fairy-tale lovers. show less
Published in 1991, Puss in Boots is third picture book I have read from Haley, following upon her Caldecott-winning A Story, A Story (1970) and Sea Tale (1990). I found it a very engaging retelling of this classic tale, which I have seen presented by a number of other authors and illustrators. I particularly liked that Grey was named in this telling, and that he had his own feline friend and love in the form of Letitia, the Princess's cat. I haven't seen that in other tellings, so it might be Haley's own original invention, although I am not sure. The accompanying artwork was appealing, for the most part. I enjoyed them overall, and found the feline characters very well done. According to the blurb about the author on the read dust-jacket, Grey was based on Haley's own cat, Clarence. I didn't find the human characters as appealing or convincing, but given my overall enjoyment, wasn't too put off. Recommended to young folk and fairy-tale lovers. show less
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