Cann, Helen 1969-

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Cann, Helen 1969-

Personal

Born February 19, 1969, in Bristol, England; daughter of Peter and Gillian Cann. Education: University of Wales, B.A. (with honors), postgraduate diploma, 1993.

Addresses

Home and office—GFF 46 Goldstone Villas, Hove, E. Sussex BN3 3RS, England. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Children's book illustrator. Exhibitions: Work exhibited in galleries, including Pro Patria Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland, 1993; Buildhall Arts Centre, Gloucester, England, 1994; Horsham Arts Centre, London, England, 1995; Mary Kleinman Gallery, London, 1998; Downstairs at the Air Gallery, London, 2000; Guildhall Gallery, Guildford, England, 2003; Holburne Museum, Bath, England, 2004; and Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2006.

Member

Association of Illustrators.

Awards, Honors

United Kingdom Reading Association Award, 1998, for A Calendar of Festivals; Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year designation, 2003, for Brigid's Cloak; CBC Children's Book of the Year designation, 2003, and Christian Book Awards (UK) Best Children's Book designation, 2004, both for The Lion Bible for Children.

Illustrator

Josephine Evetts-Secker, reteller, The Barefoot Book of Mother and Daughter Tales, Barefoot Books (Bath, England), 1996 published as Mother and Daughter Tales, Abbeville Kids (New York, NY), 1996.

Animal Worlds, Sandvik, 1997.

Bel Mooney, The Green Man, Barefoot Books (Bath, England), 1997.

Josephine Evetts-Secker, reteller, The Barefoot Book of Father and Daughter Tales, Barefoot Books (Bath, England), 1997 published as Father and Daughter Tales, Abbeville Kids (New York, NY), 1997.

Josephine Evetts-Secker, reteller, The Barefoot Book of Father and Son Tales, Barefoot Books (Bath, England), 1998.

Josephine Evetts-Secker, reteller, The Barefoot Book of Mother and Son Tales, Barefoot Books (Bath, England), 1998.

Cherry Gilchrist, A Calendar of Festivals: Celebrations from around the World, Barefoot Books (Bath, England), 1998, Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2005.

Joyce Denham, A Child's Book of Celtic Prayers, Loyola Press (Chicago, IL), 1998.

Jasmine Brook and Lianne McCabe, The Dreamcatcher: Keep Your Dream Happy—Forever!, Armadillo (Enderby, England), 1998.

Sarah Boss, Mary's Story, Barefoot Books (Bath, England), 1999.

Ann Pilling, Who Laid the Cornerstone of the World?, Lion Children's Books (Oxford, England), 1999.

Georgina Swinburne, reteller, The Toy Soldier, Pearson Educational (Harlow, England), 2000.

Cameron Fox, reteller, The Ugly Duckling, Pearson Educational (Harlow, England), 2000.

Rebecca Hazell, The Barefoot Book of Heroic Children, Barefoot Books (Bristol, England), 2000.

Saviour Pirotta, Christian Festival Tales, Raintree Steck-Vaughn (Austin, TX), 2000.

Anne Elizabeth Stickney, The Loving Arms of God, Eerdmans (Grand Rapids, MI), 2001.

Burleigh Mutén, reteller, A Lady of a Thousand Names: Goddess Stories from Many Cultures, Barefoot Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Arthur Scholey, reteller, Baboushka: A Christmas Folktale from Russia, third edition, Candlewick Press (Boston, MA), 2001.

Bryce Milligan, Brigid's Cloak: An Ancient Irish Story, Eerdman's (Grand Rapids, MI), 2002.

Murray Watts, reteller, The Bible for Children from Good Books, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2002.

Mary Joslin, Saint Nicholas: The Story of the Real Santa Claus, Lion (Oxford, England), 2003, Pauline Books & Media (Boston, MA), 2006.

Rina Singh, reteller, A Forest of Stories: Magical Tree Tales from around the World, Barefoot Books (Bath, England), 2003, Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2005.

Rebecca Winter, The Lion Book of Prayers for Children, Lion (Oxford, England), 2005, published as Prayers for Children, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2005.

Laurie Krebs, We're Riding on a Caravan: An Adventure on the Silk Road, Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2005.

Mary Joslin, On That Christmas Night, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2005.

Mary Joslin, On That Easter Morning, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2005.

Sidelights

British Illustrator Helen Cann has long been inspired by the artwork of people from many lands. Praised for creating stylized images that often incorporate ethnic motifs, rendered in watercolor, acrylics, and collage, Cann has created art for cards and gift books, as well as for books by children. Among the many titles that feature her illustrations are Mary's Story, by Sarah Boss, Arthur Scholey's adaptation Baboushka: A Christmas Folktale from Russia, Laurie Krebs' We're Riding on a Caravan: An Adventure on the Silk Road, and a selection of anthologies that collect myths, legends, biblical stories, and other tales for young readers. Praising Cann's work in Baboushka for its "softly textured beauty," a Kirkus Reviews writer added that her watercolor-and-collage

art, with its rich colors and "wonderful patterns," "evoke the feeling of Russian folk art."

After receiving her art training at the University of Wales, Cann worked as a freelance illustrator. Her first book-illustration project, The Barefoot Book of Mother and Daughter Tales—published in the United States as Mother and Daughter Tales—contains ten folktales from around the world. According to a Publishers Weekly reviewer, the artist contributes an "inviting montage of motifs from various cultures." The Barefoot Book of Father and Son Tales also contains ten multi-cultural folktales, in this case revolving around fathers and sons, and here Cann's "watercolor illustrations … add to the drama of the tales," according to Karen K. Radtke in School Library Journal.

In illustrating Cherry Gilchrist's A Calendar of Festivals: Celebrations from around the World, Cann includes detailed watercolor images on each page, interpreting the legends and folktales related to eight different festivals, including Purim, Holi, Vesak, Halloween, Kwaanza, and the Russian New Year. "Cann subtly alters her palette and style to reflect the various geographical settings in her watercolor vignette and spot illustrations," observed a critic for Publishers Weekly. She uses a similar technique in her work for Joyce Denham's A Child's Book of Celtic Prayers, creating borders and pastoral motifs that, in the words of a Publishers Weekly reviewer, result in a "handsome volume." Cann's collage works for We're Riding on a Caravan, which opens a window onto China's historic trade route, "are bright and colorful, depicting a world much more beautiful than it is in reality," according to School Library Journal contributor Barbara Scotto.

Many of the books featuring Cann's art involve biblical themes. In Mary's Story, a biography of the Virgin Mary by Sarah Boss, her watercolor and graphite paintings draw from medieval and Renaissance art and create a "distinct sense of time and place," according to a Publishers Weekly critic. Writing in Booklist, Ilene Cooper noted that "Cann's richly colored artwork adds depth" to Boss's text due to her use of "interesting perspectives and Italian Renaissance-style framings." On That Easter Morning, one of a pair of books Cann illustrated for Mary Joslin, include "graceful" images that "reflect the emotions elicited by each scene through the expressive faces of the biblical figures and the color palette," according to School Library Journal contributor Linda L. Walkins. Noting that Cann includes women and children in her "attractive, polished paintings," a Kirkus Reviews writer added that "Christ's crucifixion is handled delicately in both text and illustrations." "Cann's mixed-media pictures and add both authenticity and wonder to" Brigid's Cloak: An Ancient Irish Story, Bryce Milligan's melding of Christian and Druidic traditions.

Cann once told SATA: "My work is watercolor and collage with pencil over the top for depth and definition. I source papers for collage from around the world—Japanese and Indian newsprint, hand-made papers, even sweet/candy papers. This just makes for interesting patterns and surfaces. I am interested in composition and often use grids and borders to offset the central image. I love using pattern in my artwork and research decorative motifs before beginning a picture. I have a large collection of reference material taken from textiles, ceramics, jewelry, and even body paint!"

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 1999, Karen Hutt, review of The Barefoot Book of Mother and Son Tales, p. 1404; October 1, 1999, Ilene Cooper, review of Mary's Story, p. 370; April 15, 2000, Ilene Cooper, review of The Barefoot Book of Heroic Children, p. 1540; October 15, 2002, Diane Foote, review of Brigid's Cloak: An Ancient Irish Story, p. 408; December 1, 2003, Gillian Engberg, review of A Forest of Stories: Magical Tree Tales from around the World, p. 683; June 1, 2005, Ilene Cooper, review of Prayers for Children, p. 1804; November 1, 2005, Jennifer Mattson, review of We're Riding on a Caravan: An Adventure on the Silk Road, p. 53.

Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2001, review of Baboushka, p. 1433; September 15, 2003, review of A Forest of Stories, p. 1182; April 15, 2005, review of Prayers for Children, p. 484; September 1, 2005, review of We're Riding on a Caravan, p. 976; November 1, 2005, review of On That Christmas Night, p. 1194; March 15, 2006, review of On That Easter Morning, p. 293.

Publishers Weekly, October 28, 1996, review of Mother and Daughter Tales, p. 81; March 23, 1998, review of A Child's Book of Celtic Prayers, p. 95; September 28, 1998, review of A Calendar of Festivals, p. 102; January 4, 1999, "Story Time," p. 92; August 30, 1999, review of Mary's Story, p. 75; April 3, 2000, review of The Barefoot Book of Heroic Children, p. 82; September 9, 2002, review of Brigid's Cloak, p. 64; September 5, 2005, review of We're Riding on a Caravan, p. 61.

School Library Journal, December, 1998, Pam Gosner, review of A Calendar of Festivals, p. 102; June, 1999, Karen K. Radtke, review of The Barefoot Book of Father and Son Tales, p. 114; August, 2001, Patricia Pearl Dole, review of The Loving Arms of God, p. 173; February, 2003, Sally R. Dow, review of Brigid's Cloak, p. 136; January, 2004, Marlene Gawron, review of A Forest of Stories, p. 122; January, 2006, Barbara Scotto, review of We're Riding on a Caravan, p. 119; May, 2006, Linda L. Walkins, review of On That Easter Morning, p. 113.