Two Sylvias' Weekly Muse: November 17, 2024
Issue 133
Hello Writers, Poets, and Artists!
On Thursday, November 21st, we are offering a unique Zoom class with Two Sylvias Press author, Gloria J. McEwen Burgess, who wrote the inspirational children’s book Pass It On, which Two Sylvias published in 2017. Gloria’s class will offer instruction on putting together a picture book for children, and as we prepare for Gloria’s Zoom event, we serendipitously came across an article on the first children’s picture book printed in the US—Millions of Cats by writer and visual artist Wanda Gág.
Published in 1928, Millions of Cats was an immediate bestseller and was a runner-up for the Newberry Medal. Gág’s parents had immigrated to Minnesota from the Czech Republic, and Gág drew inspiration for her stories and her artwork from the Bohemian folklore of her ancestors. She attended art school, but ended up working several jobs in advertising at department stores to support her six siblings after both of her parents died. Frustrated that she was paid less tha…