News & Updates

Designing Jewelry

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:11:56 -0700

I’ve been busy beading, soldering, gluing and mold making so I thought I’d share some of my recent work. I recently experimented with an antique letterpress block to stamp some charms. I’m excited with the results so I’ll be creating more stamped trinkets soon.
Gadget Girl Rings with baubles, specialty beads, pearls, gears and crystals.

The Aviatrixx Necklace with watch parts, dog tag and wings created by making a custom mold from maple seeds and dusting with mica powder. The tiny skull and crossbones charm was stamped with an antique pharmacy warning letterpress block.

Tea Time Chokers with pewter charms, glass leaves and organza ribbon.

The Mermaid’s Treasure Necklace. Three chains criss-cross with foreign coins and crystals nestled among beads in soothing shades of blue and white.

Requiem for Trees at WA History Museum

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:52:16 -0700

The show, Requiem for Trees, has moved from the Harbor History Museum to the Washington State History Museum. My mixed media encaustic,Today’s Groundwork, Tomorrow’s Forest, also made the journey.
The works in the show were created by artists in response to the decision to cut down old growth forest after damaging laminated root rot was discovered.
Follow what’s happening with the trees at, Kopachuck Trees.
The exhibit has a lot of great pieces, including poetry. A book with all the artwork and poems is now available.
The show runs until May 6.
Washington State Historical Society 1911 Pacific Avenue Tacoma, WA 98402 1-888-238-4373

Encaustics at Urban Garden Co.

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:57:39 -0700

I’m excited to announce that The Urban Garden Company in downtown Tacoma is now carrying a selection of my mixed media artwork.
Two of the pieces, Fig. 14 Euonymous alatus and Fig. 12 Acer palmatum, are one of a kind leaf prints. I made them by pounding fresh leaves and twigs into fabric until they release their color. I encase the ‘stained’ fabric in encaustic (molten wax) and mount everything onto salvaged plexiglass.
This method picks up all the details in the leaves, including imperfections, which fits nicely with a wabi sabi aesthetic.
Also available are mini encaustic curios made with speciality papers, glass, paint and tiny embellishments mounted in frames. They’re perfectly sized for desks or placing among other treasures on a shelf.
The Urban Garden Co. is a great place to pick up unique plants and find unusual goodies for your home and gift giving.
Urban Garden Co.
311 Puyallup Ave
Tacoma, WA
253.265.2209
Open until 5:00 pm.

Tiny Treasures - Hot off the Press!

Wed, 9 Nov 2011 10:41:34 -0800

My collaboration with letterpress artists, Chandler O’Leary and Jessica Spring, is now available. It debuted last weekend at the Art At Work Open Studio tour and will be seen again at the upcoming Tacoma is for Lovers Craft Fair.
Chandler illustrated an excerpt of my poem, Tiny Treasures, with delicate strokes of cloud and snowflake gears tumbling down to earth. Jessica printed the artwork onto soft blue 5x7 paper with a lovely debossed effect (see photos).
Just like snowflakes, you’ve got to catch them while you can! Tiny Treasures will be sold in a limited edition of 80 prints for $15.
Tiny Treasures excerpt:
Winter clouds are factories
of soft and quiet gears
that drift
that drift
that drift
across our atmosphere.

They’re puffing prose and poetry
in semaphores and codes,
which
tumble
down
to yards and lakes,
as weather’s ancient odes.

Now Represented by Agent Bree Ogden

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 10:24:58 -0700

I’ve just signed with agent Bree Ogden. I’ve been looking for a good fit for my work for a long time. I was swept off my feet by this talented lady and I’m so excited to be working with her. She’s warm, funny, likes my writing, and best of all, she’s dedicated to helping me become an even better writer. We’re going to make a great team.
If there’s one thing I can recommend to writers looking for representation, wait for a good fit. Don’t sign just because someone has offered to rep you. Sign with someone in love with your work.

“Keys to Freedom, II” wins Honorable Mention

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 10:08:28 -0700

I’m happy to announce that my photo, Keys to Freedom, II, won an honorable mention at the juried Proctor Art Show. It’s a close up of an antique Royal typewriter and was presented as a 14 x14 giclee, mounted on canvas. It’s number two in a series of six.
It’s my first time showing the piece. Next month, both “I” and “II”, will be in the Peninsula Art League’s show held at the Gig Harbor Civic Center.
Someday, I’ll show all six in the series. I’ll just need a little more wall space!

Story Wins Blast from the Past Challenge - Fox Edition

Fri, 8 Jul 2011 13:54:38 -0700

NOW HE HAS NONE, won UNDERNEATH THE JUNIPER TREE’S Blast from the Past Challenge - Fox Edition! The challenge was to come up with a story or poem inspired by the above photo. Fun, right?! My submission included a story and a poem, er, sea chantey. And it was all under 100 words.
So many stories came to mind. I bet you’re thinking up one right now!

Maritime Museum Juried Art Show

Thu, 7 Jul 2011 21:19:58 -0700

The Gig Harbor Maritime Museum hosted its juried GigFest in June. I entered three photographs mounted on canvas and all of them made it into the show. And I’m proud to announce that the photograph, THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH, THE BOLD GET THE OCEANS won the “Joe” award!
The icing on the cake was that all three pieces at the show sold. Farewell, my darlings - bon voyage!

(HEED NOT THE WHISPERS OF ‘KRAKEN’; close up of ship’s rigging. THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH, THE BOLD GET THE OCEANS; close up of masts on the tall ship, Hawaiian Chieftain. PROOF; nautilus shell.)

The Fairy Gothmother & The Truth About Nothing

Mon, 4 Jul 2011 13:32:38 -0700

I’m excited to announce that my poems, THE FAIRY GOTHMOTHER and THE TRUTH ABOUT NOTHING, were selected and published by the children’s journal, UNDERNEATH THE JUNIPER TREE, for their July issue.
THE FAIRY GOTHMOTHER was also featured in Sunday Poetry on July 3, 2011.
Melissa Stagi did a great job of illustrating THE FAIRY GOTHMOTHER. Thanks, Melissa! You KNEW she was a ginger and I did’t even say anything. You’re good.
If you like spookity ookity stories, you’ll like UTJT.

Lakewood Playhouse Art Exhibit

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 21:00:35 -0700

Four of my photographs (FAREWELL, ELIZABETH; FOLLOW THE CROW 1 & 2; SKULL AND CROSSBONES) and one mixed media painting, FIRST DRAFT; THE WRITER SERIES, were selected for display at the Lakewood Playhouse during the awesome musical, Sweeney Todd. The cast and crew were amazing. Thanks for the experience!
(FAREWELL, ELIZABETH pictured.)

Story Wins Edward Gory Challenge!

Wed, 1 Jun 2011 13:46:26 -0700

UNDERNEATH THE JUNIPER TREE hosted their first ever Edward Gorey Challenge in May. The contest was to write a story under 500 words based on the three illustrations above, in order. I came up with THE INITIAL MURDER: ABCDEATH SERIES, and it won!
If you like having your scaredy bone tickled, you’re gonna love UTJT, the New Face of Children’s Literature. But beware! Their website offers this warning:
“Underneath The Juniper Tree is a place full of wonder, whimsy and shadows – where things aren’t afraid to nibble your toes – so make sure you bring your lamp and extra socks. We welcome curiosity but don’t get lost because you might not find your way out!”

Collaboration: A Poem and a Print

Tue, 10 May 2011 16:29:35 -0700

I’m happy to report that I’m in the initial design phase of a three-way collaboration with Chandler O’Leary (Anagram Press) and Jessica Spring (Springtide Press). Chandler is illustrating an excerpt of my poem, TINY TREASURES, which is about . . . snowflakes! I know. I can’t get away from them. I just love those fluffy flakes!
Jessica will be our printer pro and doing all the hand set lettering. She’s got all the nifty equipment and fabulous studio, not to mention crazy skills. It’s still up in the air whether we’re going with a photopolymer plate or pressure plate. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, as Chandler was so kind to explain to me.
I saw Chandler’s concept sketch the other day and I’m excited!. I can’t wait until it’s done and I can show you. I’ll be sure to post when the prints are ready. There will be a limited edition of around 60.
If you’re not familiar with these ladies and their work, I encourage you to check out their websites:
Anagram Press
Springtide Press

The Darkroom Calendar

Tue, 10 May 2011 15:59:25 -0700

Recently, I had the honor of working with Moe, a graphic designer and student at Seattle’s Art Institute. We collaborated on a project in which she designed a calendar and packaging for 12 of my photos.
In a nod to times past, my images of antique typewriters and cameras lay inside a kit that resembles a miniature darkroom. The hand-stained box holds a copper tray that the photos rest in as if developing in photographic chemicals. A collapsible “drying rack” is strung up over the box allowing each month to be clipped to the line with a clothes pin for display.
It was a treat to collaborate with Moe. She truly turned the idea of a calendar on its head and made it into a sculptural object. I wish her the best with marketing her smashing design!

(By the way, Moe is ALSO a talented singer & songwriter. Check out her tunes here:
MoE | Seattle, WA | Folk / Indie / Sea Chantey | Music, Lyrics, Songs, and Videos | ReverbNation

Urban Forest Project

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 10:50:06 -0700

My image, CONNECT, was selected to become a banner as part of the Urban Forest Project and “planted” in downtown Tacoma. If you’d like to learn more about the awesome organization and their green goal, check out their website, The Urban Forest Project.
For Tacoma’s local branch, check out, The Urban Forest Project, Tacoma.
To see a larger version of my banner and all of the other artists that participated, click here.
Artist’s Statement:
“Life is a web of connections. Tap a thread and echoes pass through every living thing. Whether born or sown, we’re intimately linked down to the last tiny cell. To ponder such a wondrous design is both exhilarating and frightening, because it asks us to acknowledge our duty.”

The Pop-Up Studio NYC

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:16:53 -0800

It’s cold here in New York and we have had our fair share of snow so far this season. While it is widely known that I am no fan of the cold, I do love snowflakes (on an individual basis only). I don’t love them as much as Wilson A. Bentley, who made it a singular goal to photographs as many unique snow crystals he could get his mitts on. Bentley’s images are fascinating and diverse and I treasure his many collections, so you can imagine my excitement when I learned that there was a new pop-up book inspired by his work.
Snowflakes: A Pop-up Book was released by Jumping Jack Press, an imprint of Up With Paper. (Check out the excellent video of the book here.) The seven spread book was written by Jennifer Chushcoff, with illustration and paper engineering by Yevgeniya Yeretskaya. Each page explodes in a three-dimensional sparkling winter scene complete with contemplative prose and tidbits about “Snowflake” Bentley. I had the good fortune to meet Ms. Yeretskaya shortly after her book’s release. After showing the lovely constructions she also shared her appreciation for Bentley’s work. I’ll let this promising young paper engineer have the last word. “It was wonderful to explore the beauty and the science behind these unique individual pieces of art known as snowflakes. I hope that I've succeeded in conveying the wonder and awe of the season through to the pop-up pages of this book, and that anyone who opens it will share in the magic that lies within."
Kyle

The Museum of Glass Gift Shop Goodies

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:49:19 -0800

This just spotted: My book, SNOWFLAKES: A POP-UP, in the Museum of Glass gift shop next to my fine art photograph, REFLECTIONS. My two loves, writing and photography, together!

The Seattle Times: New, local books

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 09:23:37 -0800

Local books: Boy and dog switch places, Betty MacDonald returns and a new pop-up book on snowflakes
New releases
by The Seattle Times
Monday, November 15, 2010
"Nancy and Plum" by Betty MacDonald, illustrated by Mary GrandPré (Knopf, $15.99). For ages 8-12: A new edition of a classic book by MacDonald, creator of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, who lived in the Seattle area for many years (she died in 1958). "Nancy and Plum" is the story of two spunky orphaned sisters who, suffering under a cruel boarding-home owner, swear never to spend another Christmas at the home. GrandPré is best-known for illustrating the Harry Potter books.
"I Am the Dog" by Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by Jack E. Davis (HarperCollins, $16.99). For ages 4-8: A boy and his dog decide to switch places for a day. The question at hand: Who has the better deal? Pinkwater is an NPR radio commentator; Davis, according to the publisher, "lives and paints goofy pictures in Port Townsend, Wash."
"Snowflakes: A Pop-Up Book," written by Jennifer Preston-Chushcoff, illustrated and engineered by Yevgeniya Yeretskaya (Jumping Jack Press, $24.99). For ages 3 and up: a gorgeous pop-up book about snowflakes that will actually make you hope for snow. Preston-Chushcoff is a Tacoma-area resident.
"Hatless" by John Witt, illustrated by Bryan Cooke (Pretty Road Press, $21). For young readers: a boy with uncontrollable hair makes friends with a special hat and learns some life lessons along the way. Witt is a sophomore at Seattle Pacific University.
"Skeleton Creek and the Crossbones" by Patrick Carman (Scholastic, $14.99). For ages 10 and up: the third in the Walla Walla author's "Skeleton Creek" adventure-mystery series, which combines a book-based story and accompanying online videos accessible through links and passwords provided throughout the book.
"Yes, Virginia: There is a Santa Claus" by Chris Plehal, illustrated by James Bernardin (Harper, $16.99). For ages 3-7: a fresh take on the classic holiday story, in which an 8-year-old girl named Virginia asks a New York newspaper whether there really is a Santa Claus. Bernardin lives on Bainbridge Island.

Copyright © The Seattle Times Company

Grandin Road Book Trailer for Snowflakes

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 21:12:37 -0800

Snowflakes: A Pop-up Book video by Grandin Road catalog. http://www.grandinroad.com/jump.jsp?itemType=PRODUCT&itemID=30987&path=1,2,474

The Crafty Crow

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 21:04:07 -0800

Ornament Advent Day 1:  Wood Snowflakes!
 Welcome to the first day of the Ornament Advent!  Everyday for the next 12 days you'll find a tutorial for an  ornament that can be used on your tree, made into  a garland or tied to the top of a package. I'll also link  to a few books that would make nice stories to go  along with the ornament. I hope you enjoy it!
 Supplies: assortment of wood pieces (Woodsies) thick glue (like Tacky Glue) hot glue (optional) string, wire, etc. for hanging      Directions: → play with the pieces until you get a design you like (real snowflakes have 6 points) → the center needs to have a base to support the other  pieces, don't just wedge the pieces up against  each other → use your choice of glues and assemble  your snowflake → attach a string or wire for hanging     Book Recommendations:   Millions of Snowflakes
 Snowflakes: A Pop-up Book

Where the Best Books Are! Blog

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 20:48:50 -0800

Where the Best Books Are! Blog
Friday, December 10, 2010
Let it Snow!
Snowflake: A Pop-Up Book, written by Jennifer Preston Chushcoff, illustrated and engineered by Yevgeniya Yeretskaya, Jumping Jack, $24.99, ages 3 and up, 14 pages. Snowflakes spin and do loopy-de-loops on the page of this magical tribute to one of nature's most dazzling creations and the photographer who first captured them on film. Wilson A. Bentley, also known as "The Snowflake Man," discovered that no two snowflakes look exactly the same, and just as in real life, every snowflake in the book looks unique -- and as sparkly and perfect as you'd hope for. Dusted with glitter, the snowflakes fall against backgrounds of cool-weather blues and grays, as Chushcoff describes their playful descent. "They look like lace and fine cut jewels falling. They tickle your tongue and land on the snowman's nose," she writes, as images of red mittens and a snowman appear off to the side. Then, just as quickly, the air can warm and the tiny masses of ice crystals disappear. "Watch the miracle before they melt," she urges from the page.

On one page, cutouts of snowflakes open against turning discs printed with their likeness, creating a sensation that snowflakes are tumbling head-over-heels from the clouds. On another page, a snowflake as ornamental as a doily opens in the book's fold and blossoms like a peony, as other flakes, some as small as sequins, fall about white trunks of trees. Most of the book's seven displays include smaller fold-outs with their own moving snowflakes, where Chushcoff elaborates on Bentley's legacy and the challenge of capturing such a fleeting little design. Any child who loves to snip and fold paper into cutout snowflakes will be hopping up and down to see every pop-up unfold.

Posted by Where The Best Books Are at 8:29 AM
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Labels: 2010, children's books about snow, Christmas books, Jennifer Preston Chushcoff, Snowflake A Pop-Up, Wilson A. Bentley, Yevgeniya Yeretskaya
1 comments:
kindersmom said...
I have read this new book and it indeed takes you on a special tour through a Winter Wonderland of Whimsy. The background research regarding the Snowflake Man is wonderful.  Author Jennifer Preston-Chushcoff is highly regarded for her indepth research on historical persons of interest and the art work by Yevgeniya Yeretskaya is breathtaking.

10 Books for Kids, with NW Connections

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 20:08:09 -0800

Seattle Times Newspaper
Book Review: 10 books for kids, with Northwest connections
By Stephanie Dunnewind
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Special to The Seattle Times
Children's books with local ties â€” whether author, illustrator, or subject â€” should find eager readers this holiday season.
Winthrop writer/illustrator Erik Brooks puts an amusing slant on "Polar Opposites" (Marshall Cavendish, 32 pp., $16.99, ages 2-5) by contrasting Alex, a big, white polar bear, with Zina, a tiny black penguin. Despite their mismatched temperaments â€” Zina is neat and quiet while Alex is loud and messy â€” these friends can still find a way to meet in the middle.
Eight-year-old Virginia gets teased by "the meanest, bossiest, snootiest girl in town" for believing in Santa, but she gets her proof in the form of a front-page newspaper editorial in the based-on-a-true-story picture book, "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" (HarperCollins, $16.99, ages 3-7) by Chris Plehal. Bainbridge Island illustrator James Bernardin contributes wide-eyed, doll-like characters for the turn-of-the-century story, which is also a new TV special.
No child will complain about receiving "just" a book with "Snowflakes: A Pop-Up Book" (Jumping Jack Press, 16 pp., $24.99, ages 3-8) by Tacoma-area author Jennifer Preston Chushcoff. The elaborate, glittery pop-up snowflake creations by Yevgeniya Yeretskaya will dazzle readers and guarantee a white Christmas (at least under the tree). Chushcoff augments simple lines of text with almost hidden boxes of bonus information about photographer Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley, adding to its appeal for older children.
Award-winning Seattle author Bonny Becker brings back friends Bear and Mouse in "A Bedtime for Bear" (Candlewick, 48 pp., $16.99, ages 4-8), illustrated in warm ink-and-watercolor paintings by Kady MacDonald Denton. Bear is particular about his bedtime routine, and he absolutely needs quiet. His growing irritation during a sleepover with Mouse â€” " 'Ahem!' Bear cleared his throat in a reminding sort of way" â€” dissipates when a "rustly, moany sort of thing" in his room shows him the benefit of having a friend nearby. Becker's droll dialogue makes for an ideal read-aloud, especially for kids who need to check under the bed at least once.
Seattle-area poet Jack Prelutsky adds new rhyming verses to Camille Saint-SaÃ«ns' "The Carnival of the Animals" (Knopf, 40 pp., $19.99, ages 5-10) in a picture book illustrated by Mary GrandPrÃ© of Harry Potter fame. Prelutsky's lighthearted poems highlight the preening rooster ("He seems to think a chicken egg/Was something he invented") and the patient tortoise, "happily resigned/ ... to being left behind." An accompanying CD features the WÃ¼rttemberg Chamber Orchestra performing Saint-SaÃ«ns' piece, alternating with Prelutsky reading his poems.
In "Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow" (Clarion, 32 pp., $16.99, ages 7-10), funky mixed-media collage illustrations by Javaka Steptoe and Gary Golio's lyrical text trace Hendrix' transformation from a boy with a one-string ukulele who wonders, "Could someone paint pictures with sound?" into the electric-guitar-wielding Jimi Hendrix, whose "playing became bold as lightning. Wild as waves. Free as the wind through trees." Set in Seattle, where Hendrix lived, this lovely ode to creativity and art will resound even with readers unfamiliar with the guitar legend's music.
South Bend author Michele Torrey's unabashedly geeky detectives Drake and Nell (they say "negative" rather than "no") return to solve "The Case of the Crooked Carnival" (Sterling, 92 pp., $6.95, ages 7-10). The stand-alone book, featuring black-and-white illustrations by Barbara Johansen Newman, is the fifth in a series about grade-schoolers who use science â€” from sound to magnets â€” to figure out mysteries. Young readers get a chance to try their own experiments with a section offering related activities.
Kirby Larson, a Kenmore resident, returns to the historical fiction that nabbed her a Newbery Honor (2007's "Hattie Big Sky") in "The Fences Between Us" (Scholastic, 316 pp., $12.99, ages 10-13). The new entry in Scholastic's revamped Dear America series is the fictional diary of 13-year-old Piper Davis in Seattle, 1941. She worries about her older brother in the Navy (first at Pearl Harbor, then fighting in the Pacific), her Japanese friends forced to leave school, and her first boyfriend. Young readers will relate to Piper, making the history fresh and all that more appalling. A historical note, black-and-white photographs, and a cookie recipe add to the veracity.
The first-person narrator of Seattle-area author and teacher Carl Deuker's newest sports novel, "Payback Time" (Houghton Mifflin, 298 pp., $16, ages 12-16), doesn't play football; he covers it for the student newspaper. The play-by-play accounts should engage fans, while Mitch's investigation of the football coach â€” which turns up information that is not quite what it initially appears â€” will hook armchair sleuths as well.
Adult readers will see a dystopian future in "The Unidentified" (Balzer+Bray, 296 pp., $16.99, age 14 and up) by Rae Mariz, a former Seattle-area resident who now lives in Stockholm. Teens, however, may wish they attended 15-year-old Katey's mall-based school, where students play elaborate virtual games, communicate almost entirely through online social networks, and jockey to be one of the cool kids "branded" by corporate sponsors. "The world is a giant squinty eye, spying," Katey notes. "Does that creep us out? No. We like the attention."
Stephanie Dunnewind, a former Seattle Times reporter, is an elementary-school librarian in Bothell.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2013630264_kidsbooks12.html
Copyright © The Seattle Times Company

A Pleasant, Pop-Up Way to Get Snowed

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 19:57:51 -0800

Kitsap Sun
Book review: A Pleasant, Pop-Up Way to Get Snowed
By Barbara McMichael
Sunday, November 28, 2010

Snowflakes: A Pop-Up Book Jennifer Preston Chushcoff
Jumping Jack Press 14 pp - $24.95
By the time you read this, our first snowfall of the season will have melted away. But right now I am looking out at white roads, white roofs, and snow-frosted trees.
My Michigan-born husband, unimpressed, headed out to work as usual. The children bundled up and tramped off to school. I, however, saw this as license to stay home, make cocoa, and settle down with a pop-up book called “Snowflakes.”
Tacoma writer/photographer Jenn Preston Chushcoff provided the spare but sparkly text, while artist Yevgeniya Yeretskaya designed and engineered the pop-up illustrations.
With this sort of book, of course, the three-dimensional visuals are what grab the most attention, and these won’t disappoint. Yeretskaya creates a lively array of lacy snowflakes that whirl and twirl through these pages.
I couldn’t decide if my favorite illustration was the one with snowflakes twinkling down through a copse of birches, or the one in which a tree, crowned with snowflakes and red birds, springs up out of a snowy field.
I experienced technical difficulties on one page. The paper dial that was supposed to create the impression of snowflakes melting on a mitten was inadvertently stuck in one position. It took a little fiddling, but soon I was able to make those snowflakes melt with alacrity and thanks to the miracle of paper engineering — regain their crystalline form, as well.
All of this serves as a reminder that pop-up books need to be treated with some delicacy — a welcome excuse for sitting down to read it with the youngsters in our lives!
In addition to the poetic narrative, “Snowflakes” also contains a written sketch of the real-life Snowflake Man. As a Vermont teenager, Wilson A. Bentley was the first person ever to photograph a snowflake — that was back in 1885. He also was the first fellow to discern that every snowflake is unique.
This short but informative history of snowflake science is broken up and tucked into smaller flaps that are situated on many of the pages. These flaps might have been more cleverly concealed instead they are merely glued onto page corners, minimally camouflaged by the design of the page. But the happy surprise is that each of these flaps, too, contains its own small pop-up display.
All of this brings to mind the natural history classic, “Snow,” by Lacey author Ruth Kirk. First published by William Morrow in 1977, “Snow” was reissued by University of Washington Press in 1998. That is the copy I have, and I found it sobering to re-read Kirk’s chapter on “The Climate Pendulum” this morning and realize how much seems to have changed in just the last 12 years.
Revisiting Kirk’s excellent text takes me out of my cozy hibernation and back into the great, wide world — to make snowballs with macaques, to go venturing with the polar explorers, and to gain a better appreciation of how both land and lives have been shaped by the cold white stuff.
The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd McMichael, who writes this weekly column focusing on the books, authors and publishers of the Pacific Northwest. Contact her at bkmonger@nwlink.com.

‘Snowflakes’ pop-ups grab you

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 19:51:03 -0800

The News Tribune
Book review: ‘Snowflakes’ pop-ups grab you
By Barbara Lloyd McMichael
Our first snowfall of the season has already melted away. But I still have a fresh vision of white roads, white roofs, and snow-frosted trees.
My Michigan-born husband, unimpressed by our recent snowfall, headed out to work as usual.
The children bundled up and tramped off to school. I, however, saw it as license to stay home, make cocoa and settle down with a pop-up book called “Snowflakes.”
Tacoma writer/photographer Jenn Preston Chushcoff provided the spare but sparkly text, while artist Yevgeniya Yeretskaya designed and engineered the pop-up illustrations.
With this sort of book, of course, the three-dimensional visuals are what grab the most attention, and these won’t disappoint. Yeretskaya creates a lively array of lacy snowflakes that whirl and twirl through these pages.
I couldn’t decide if my favorite illustration was the one with snowflakes twinkling down through a copse of birches, or the one in which a tree, crowned with snowflakes and red birds, springs up out of a snowy field.
I experienced technical difficulties on one page. The paper dial that was supposed to create the impression of snowflakes melting on a mitten was inadvertently stuck in one position. It took a little fiddling, but soon I was able to make those snowflakes melt with alacrity and – thanks to the miracle of paper engineering – regain their crystalline form, as well.
All of this serves as a reminder that pop-up books need to be treated with some delicacy – a welcome excuse for sitting down to read it with the youngsters in our lives.
In addition to the poetic narrative, “Snowflakes” also contains a written sketch of the real-life Snowflake Man. As a Vermont teenager, Wilson A. Bentley was the first person ever to photograph a snowflake – that was back in 1885. He also was the first fellow to discern that every snowflake is unique.
This short but informative history of snowflake science is broken up and tucked into smaller flaps that are situated on many of the pages.
But the happy surprise is that each of these flaps, too, contains its own small pop-up display.
All of this brings to mind the natural history classic, “Snow,” by Lacey author Ruth Kirk. First published by William Morrow in 1977, “Snow” was reissued by University of Washington Press in 1998. That is the copy I have, and I found it sobering to re-read Kirk’s chapter on “The Climate Pendulum” this morning and realize how much seems to have changed in just the last 12 years.
The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd McMichael, who writes this weekly column focusing on the books, authors and publishers of the Pacific Northwest. Contact her at bkmonger@nwlink.com. ‘Snowflakes: A Pop-Up Book’
By Jennifer Preston Chushcoff
Jumping Jack Press
14 pages; $24.95
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