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One of the mysteries of the Maine Discovery Museum is about to be solved.
In a hallway just past Booktown, on the Bangor museum’s second floor, there are 27 squares inset in the carpeting.
This weekend, during the first Time of Wonder Children’s Book Festival, one of those carpet tiles will be removed, to be replaced with a new tile bearing the name of the winning entry in the Time of Wonder book competition.
The honored book is “The Other Side” by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis. The lushly illustrated book tells the story of two girls, one black, one white, who live on either side of a fence. They’ve been told not to cross the fence by their parents, yet they nevertheless become friends in a short time.
Lewis will come from New Jersey to take part in the three-day festival, as will authors Toni Buzzeo, Angeli Perrow and Ethel Pochocki and author-illustrator Kathy Mallat, all Maine residents.
The event, which has as its theme “Books -Bringing Us Together,” includes a book swap, book signings, lectures and demonstrations. A special feature enables festival-goers to make video recordings of a classic Maine story to send to friends or relatives in the museum’s recording studio.
The Time of Wonder festival, named after the Maine classic by author-illustrator Robert McCloskey, is the culmination of an effort begun during the planning stages for the museum. It’s being staged in conjunction with Bangor Public Library.
“Literacy has always been considered an important aspect of the museum’s mission,” said Andrea Stark, the museum’s director of education and exhibits. “From the beginning, it was hoped that the museum would establish an award for children’s books.”
The Time of Wonder Award, which was chosen by a panel of educators, librarians and booksellers, is for a work of fiction aimed at children published during the past 12 months by an American publisher. The first award was announced last November. In order to get on the same calendar as other book awards, the next winner will be announced in February 2003, Stark said.
In a phone interview, Lewis said that he knew “The Other Side” was special as soon as he read the manuscript. In addition to the Time of Wonder Award, the book has earned several other honors as well.
Even though he’s a veteran illustrator of more than 20 years, Lewis still cherishes receiving such awards.
“To have someone recognize that a body of work has some merit, that’s nice,” he said. “You don’t get tired of it either. I don’t think anyone can say that they don’t enjoy that.”
Lewis, 45, got involved with art at an early age, inspired by two uncles who were artists. He began his formal training after sixth-grade, under the tutelage of noted Philadelphia painter Clarence Wood.
He enrolled at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art in 1975. It was there that he fell under the spell of watercolors.
“I like the translucent quality,” Lewis explained. “Also I like the speed of it. Oils and acrylics are time consuming in the preparation stage, and that’s time that I could be painting.”
Illustrating children’s books is a natural for Lewis, who is also a teacher, and who holds a workshop on “The Importance of Creative Play in Early-Childhood Development.”
“What better way of merging my two passions, and getting them out to children,” he said. “This is a way of getting them connected to the arts, with creativity very important too, and this does both. Also there’s the multiculturalism aspects of children’s books, which are read by children of all races.”
Lewis splits his time among his book illustrating, his other kinds of artwork and teaching. He can’t even compartmentalize his different interests.
“Whatever needs to be done next, I need to be doing it,” he said with a laugh.
Lewis gets most of his work from publishers, but occasionally authors who like his work will approach him as well.
How does he know when a story works for him?
“It just rings a bell,” he said. “It has to be a strong human-interest story, to have some meat to it in terms of emotional content.”
The next work from Lewis that the public can look for is in the book “Jo-Jo’s First Flight,” due out the middle of next year.
In the meantime, he’ll enjoy the fruits of a job well done in “The Other Side.”
“At the end of it, you put it out there, and see if you can get some response, and see if that response echoes what you thought about it,” Lewis said. “Recognition of special work is the icing on the cake. And this particular cake has a lot of icing on it.”
Books by the featured artists and authors will be available for sale at the museum, and can be signed without visitors having to pay admission to the museum. A special E.B. Lewis exhibition is at the museum as well. For more information, call 262-7200 or visit www.mainediscoverymuseum.org.
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