Client: Southern Poverty Law Center

Greeting Card commission by the Southern Poverty Law Center 

The Southern Poverty Law Center, an American nonprofit civil rights organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, contacted me after they saw my illustrations for the Children's Defense Fund and the AFL-CIO. How lucky! I illustrated two greeting cards and address sticky labels for SPLC!

Greeting card for SPLC

 

Inside the greeting card above

My art for SPLC as sticky address labels

Stage art I created for the AFL-CIO

All Art and Photo Copyright Melanie Hope Greenberg

My Art with CDF + FREE Coloring Page

My professional relationship with the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) began in 1993.

I sent a newly released autographed copy of my published picture book, IT'S MY EARTH, TOO (Doubleday) to then First Lady, Hillary Clinton. I sent a book to Tipper Gore, wife of the Vice President. And, I sent a book to Marian Wright-Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund. CDF was the original "Leave No Child Behind - Stand for Children" organization.

I also included a note with each book to please consider a stand for environmentally friendly publishing. IT'S MY EARTH TOO was published in an environmentally friendly way.

I received two thank you notes in the mail.

A few weeks later CDF called on the telephone. Gulp! Not only did they thank me for the book, Marian Wright-Edelman wanted to publish my art on their greeting cards. She felt my art style aligned with the spirit of CDF. I sent a few images and two were chosen.

Around the same time I had also published a poster using the cover art from IT'S MY EARTH, TOO. I sent the poster as a gift to Marian Wright-Edleman who loved it. She re-published the poster with the CDF logo.

"Everyone Belongs" was reprinted several times and was published for 10 years. The illustration was also published as coffee mugs

A bookmark for Marian Wright Edelman's book titled, "GUIDE MY FEET".
 

Stamps, and many other greeting cards.

Best of all I got to meet Marian Wright-Edelman.

FREE Coloring Page! Color the sketch from my Children's Defense Fund greeting card. I do at least one sketch for every finished illustration. Download my monthly FREE Coloring Pages at the What Do We Do All Day Blog.

Art: Copyright Melanie Hope Greenberg

TLA, Cybils, New School and FREE Coloring Pages

Yeeha! I've got great news to share!
I'm the selected artist for the Texas Library Association's 2011 Disaster Relief Fund raffle. I've donated my original gouache illustration called "Space Age", 8.5" x 11.5", from the picture book SUPERMARKET by Kathleen Krull (Holiday House, 2001). SUPERMARKET is now celebrating its 10th year in print!

For a $5.00 raffle ticket or 5 tickets for $20.00 you can own original picture book art worth hundreds of dollars, and help libraries at the same time. See the Art, Get a Raffle Ticket and Learn about the TLA Disaster Relief Fund here.
The raffle will be held on Thursday, April 14, 2011 during the TLA Annual Conference in Austin. You need not be a librarian or at the conference in person to win.

My other great news is that I lucked out and was selected to judge the 2010 Cybils Awards in the Fiction Picture Book Category. And the winner is..."Interrupting Chicken" by David Ezra Stein! Congratulations!
The Cybils awards are given each year by bloggers for the year's best children's and young adult titles. The panel organizer was the Mother Reader herself, Pam Coughlan! And my fellow blogging judges panel consisted of Becky Bilby, Katie Davis, Danielle Smith and Tess Hafner Goldwasser, who also wrote the winning book's official review.
Many other bloggers spread the word here, and there.

Last but not least I presented a Power Point program at the New School's Writing for Children Forum moderated by Deborah Brodie.

I want to keep the February Valentine Love going by offering some FREE Coloring Pages that feature hearts. Click on the images to enlarge, print and color! Enjoy! Love, Melanie xox

Heart Balloons
Heart Peacocks
Heart Garden
Heart Ice Cream Cones

Color and Black & White Art: Copyright Melanie Hope Greenberg

MERMAIDS ON PARADE / *Award - News*

Good News.
My blog was selected!
"100 Best Book Blogs for Kids, Tweens and Teens"
Sad News.
Sometimes books go OP.
MERMAIDS ON PARADE went out of print.
Good news.
Did not feel sorry for myself.
I now own 3200 copies of MERMAIDS ON PARADE!
Here they are on delivery day.

If you are looking to obtain brand new hardcover signed copies of MERMAIDS ON PARADE, A CITY IS, or GOOD MORNING DIGGER, contact me for more details: melanie@melaniehopegreenberg.com

Superfine Wins Silver *Mermaid Parade'09*

The Superfine mermaids win the silver prize as the Best Push-Pull Float!

ROLLER COASTER OF LOVE *Click to enlarge*


CONGRATULATIONS, SUPERFINE!
See all the Mermaid Parade awards here.
Photo credit: Don Wiss

MERMAIDS ON PARADE wins an honor

MERMAIDS ON PARADE has been selected as Bank Street College of Education’s 2009 Best Books of the Year!


The Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education creates, publishes, and distributes one of the most comprehensive annotated book lists for children, ages infant–14. The committee reviews over 4,000 titles each year for accuracy and literary quality and considers their emotional impact on children. It chooses the best 600 books, both fiction and nonfiction, which it lists according to age and category in the annual Best Children’s Books of the Year List. 
 
 

Awards/Honors: Melanie Chosen Top 10 from Brooklyn Heights

So exciting!
I made the top 10 list for the "movers and shakers of Brooklyn Heights"
for 2008 in the Brooklyn Heights Blog.

The award went to those "who live or work in Brooklyn Heights who we think made an impact on our neighborhood, our city, our country or the world". Melanie "keeps art alive in kids’ homes and classrooms everywhere".

It is also linked to the New York Times.

Go Brooklyn!

Image: "Girl with Trophy" by Melanie Hope Greenberg.
Study for MERMAIDS ON PARADE.
Copyright 2008 Melanie Hope Greenberg