Wendell Minor Takes on the Revolutionary Era

This story originally appeared in Children's Bookshelf on Mar. 16, 2006 Sign up now!

by Sally Lodge, Children's Bookshelf -- Publishers Weekly, 3/16/2006

Acclaimed artist Wendell Minor has provided the illustrations for a number of children's books that illuminate the history of this country, including Katharine Lee Bates's America the Beautiful, Abe Lincoln Remembers by Ann Turner and Reaching for the Moon by astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

Now, in Yankee Doodle America: The Spirit of 1776, he takes a solo journey back to the American past, examining the period leading up to, during and immediately following the Revolution. Due next month from Putnam with a 45,000-copy first printing, this alphabetical roundup of people, places and events pivotal to the era has an intriguing period look, as it is illustrated with replicas of the hand painted wooden signs that welcomed colonists to taverns and inns that served as the hubs of their social and political lives.

There were several sources of inspiration for Minor's project. What the author calls "perhaps the initial germ of this book" was a painting on wood that he created for the cover of a book published in the Revolution's bicentennial year, Patrick Henry: Firebrand of the Revolution by Nardi Reeder Campion. "When I now look at that painting, I realize that it could very easily be part of Yankee Doodle America," he says. "Sometimes things take a long time to happen—in this case it was only 30 years!"

Two more recent books for which he created cover art—David McCullough's John Adams and 1776—also fueled his interest in the Revolutionary era. "I've always found this period fascinating and I thought I knew quite a bit about it," he says. "But when I read 1776 and started to do my own investigating, I realized that there was a lot I didn't know. David and I have talked over the years about the importance of educating children about the founding of this country. I was very interested in finding out exactly what books existed for young readers on the subject."

After Minor decided to tackle the topic in his own book, another interest of his—the alphabet book genre—helped him select his format. "I have always been fascinated by this particular mode for expressing an idea," he comments. "I think that every illustrator should try a book in the ABC genre at least once. I thought maybe I could do something unique with this format."

And he did. Perhaps what makes his tour of Revolution-era highlights unique is its art, which was inspired by an exhibition Minor viewed at the Connecticut Historical Society. This organization, he observes, "has the largest collection of early inn and tavern signs in the country. The signs not only marked the beginnings of an art form, but they were also the first source of income for American artists, artists like Edward Hicks and Benjamin West. Artists would paint these signs, perhaps for room and board, perhaps for a few dollars. Most early inns and taverns were regular homes and were unmarked as public houses except for these signboards. The more successful the inn, the more elaborate the sign. They ranged from those with very simple graphics to more detailed designs, often depicting a famous individual or event."

From Slabs of Wood to Printed Page

Minor

Minor was thrilled when John Reichling, whom he describes as "a very talented woodworker and craftsmen," agreed to create the wooden signboards that would serve as canvas for the book's art. Minor sent him two drawings of pattern prototypes—one of the simple and one of the more elaborate historical design—and Reichling had a year to fashion 28 signs, one for each alphabet letter, one for the book's cover and one, says Minor wryly, "just in case."

To create each of the more elaborate signboards, Minor points out, Reichling used more than 20 small pieces of wood. Once the signs arrived in Minor's studio, his painstaking task began. "Each board had to be primed, after which I proceeded to take my drawings and transfer them onto the boards in acrylic paint," he recalls. "I did the lettering and antiquing by hand, which was quite a laborious process."

To ensure an authentic look, Minor used a razor blade and fine brushes to give the tavern signs their weathered, vintage feel. He notes, "Thereare some craft solutions you can apply to get that cracked surface, but that would have made the signs too uniform."

In creating the sign's images, Minor was equally committed to keeping true to history. "I have always been interested in American folk art," he says. "It has a quality of innocence and honesty that is so indicative of these earlier times. I put myself in the mind of an 18th-century itinerant artist and pretended to move from town to town. As a result, creating each of these signs was a very different experience."

And Minor hopes that his journey will encourage readers to appreciate the remarkable individuals and milestones spotlighted in these pages. "The freedom that we enjoy today in this country is nothing short of a miracle," he says. "It's important to remember that this resulted from the beliefs of a few leaders and the efforts of a few thousand soldiers who were the core of the continental army and stuck with it all the way. It's remarkable when you consider that only one-third of the colonists were for independence—one-third of them were ambivalent and the rest were loyalists. Too many of us take our freedoms for granted and I firmly believe we have to be constantly reminded about how lucky we are to live in this country."

Reaction from the Field

Based on early response from retailers, Yankee Doodle America successfully delivers this message. With her store planted firmly on patriotic and historic soil, Sarah Gunn, owner of The Toymaker of Williamsburg in Colonial Williamsburg, Va., has high hopes for the book. In her words, "The illustrations are wonderful, bright and traditional, and here in Williamsburg that is just the spirit we want to convey. At the end of the day we are trying to encourage children to recognize and understand where our country started and how we got our freedom and this book does just that."

Gunn, who has placed a sizable order for Yankee Doodle America and fully expects she'll need to reorder, considers Minor's book an ideal parent, grandparent and gift buy. "I see this as a book that parents will give their children, who will then likely pass it on to their children. This is definitely a keeper."

"I personally look forward to selling this book," says Dinah Paul, owner of A Likely Story in Alexandria, Va. "Wendell Minor's art always connects with his audience, and here he effectively brings the story of the Revolution down to the elementary level. With this text and these pictures, kids are really going to see the Revolution in a whole new light."

Paul says that when she showed the book to her staff, which includes several teachers, their reaction was so positive that she immediately called the publisher to increase the size of her initial order. Located just 10 minutes from Mount Vernon, A Likely Story boasts a prime location for selling books on this historical era, Paul reports, especially those about George Washington, who obviously plays a key role in Yankee Doodle America. "We'll probably do a window display around the book," she comments. "It's coming out at the perfect time for displaying patriotic-themed books, since that will be the beginning of high tourist season."

Minor has heartfelt words of gratitude to David McCullough (who offers an enthusiastic endorsement of Yankee Doodle Dandy on its cover) for the historian's work. "I hold him in such high regard," says Minor. "He has brought so many people to American history who otherwise may not have had the opportunity to learn about it." When praised for doing much the same, Minor demurely responds, "Well, I hope so. I know that I am very much committed to it and I do have several other projects in the works that carry on this theme."

That's flag-waving worthy news for young history buffs, their parents and teachers—and of course for booksellers.