susanlroth@yahoo.com

The Fastest Biography in the East

Born: New York City
Childhood: Madison, Wisconsin
Young adult: San Francisco Bay Area, California
Adult and Present: Washington D.C./Bethesda/Baltimore, Maryland
B.A., 1965, Mills College, Oakland, California, Art
M.A., 1968, Mills College, Printmaking; concentration, Art History

Married, three children
Author/Illustrator of 24 Books
Primary medium: Cut Paper Collage
Loves: Art, music, theater, travel, dogs, and above all, writing and illustrating books for children.

One-Person Shows:
1996- Les Cloîtres, Tarascon, France. Original art from Brave Martha and the Dragon featured at La Fête de la Tarasque.
1995- Elizabeth Stone Gallery, (this gallery exclusively exhibits original art from children's books), Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
1992- Berkeley Store Gallery. Original art from Ishi's Tale of Lizard.

Constant participation in various group shows throughout the year.

My Books

Patchwork Tales
(written with Ruth Phang), Atheneum, 1984.

Honored by the Cooperative Children's Book Center, Madison, Wisconsin; promotional poster.

We Build A Climber
(written with Ruth Phang), Atheneum, 1986.

Kanahena
1988; St. Martin's Press.
1995; Paperback, Bantam Doubleday Dell.

A retelling of the traditional Cherokee tale of Terrapin the trickster and how he outwitted the Bad Wolf and the Other Wolves.

Fire Came to the Earth People
St. Martin's Press, 1988.
1988; Paperback, Bantam Doubleday Dell; Japanese edition w/ separate translated text, Tuttle-Mori.
1988; New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year Winner; United States
1996; New York Times Best Illustrated Book.

The earth animals fail in every attempt to capture fire from the selfish moon god Mawu, until Chameleon and Tortoise combine their talents and help bring light and warmth to the newly-created earth.

"Based on a Dahomean folktale called Stealing fire from the creator: why chameleon and tortoise are respected."
~T.p. verso.

We'll Ride Elephants Through Brooklyn
Farrar Straus Giroux
1989; Represented in The Original Art Show, Society of Illustrators, N.Y.C.
1993; Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K-Grade 6, Tenth Edition; National Council of Teachers of English; US

Marco Polo, His Notebook
Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1990.
1993; Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K-Grade 6, Tenth Edition; National Council of Teachers of English; US

"...Susan Roth tells us that Polo dictated The Travels of Marco Polo to a professional writer. Using that historic work as a guide, Roth has imagined what the original travel journal may have been like..."
~Mary Lou Burket (The Five Owls, March/April 1991 (Vol. 5 No. 4))

"...One might ask why, if Polo's own book is still fascinating, a fictionalized account is needed for children. Marco Polo: His Notebook succeeds on its own terms, as a visually unified and lively introduction to a large subject..."
~Mary Lou Burket (The Five Owls, March/April 1991 (Vol. 5 No. 4))

The Story of Light
Morrow Junior Books, 1990. Paperback, for school use, Mac Millan.
ABA Pick of the List; Notable Children's Trade Book in the field of Social Studies.
1994; Kaleidoscope, A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8; National Council of Teachers of English; United States

"In this Cherokee tale the animal people send possum, then buzzard, for light to dispel the dark on their side of the world; but lowly spider is the one who is finally able to bring the sun to her people. Roth illustrates her gracefully cadenced text with dramatic collages (they look like linoleum prints) in black and brilliant yellow. A striking book distinguished by outstanding use of graphics."
~Kirkus

Gypsy Bird Song
Farrar Straus Giroux, 1991.
Represented in The Original Art Show, Society of Illustrators, N.Y.C.

"Visually arresting with bold patterns and bright colors, this picture book celebrates gypsies through the voice of a girl who revels in her family's way of life: the caravans, tinkering, fortune-telling, music, food, dress, bargaining, signs, campfires, dances, and kinship to nature...Just as the artwork is a series of cut-paper collages, so the text is a collage of free verse that forms a picture of gypsy ways."
~Carolyn Phelan (Booklist, Dec. 15, 1991 (Vol. 88, No. 08))

Another Christmas
Morrow Junior Books, 1992.

"...Puerto Rico is the setting for writer/illustrator Roth's Another Christmas. The bright collages give voice to the sparkle of turquoise waters and counter the dark feelings of Ben who is grieving his grandfather's death...The message of healing may make this book an excellent choice for a family that is remembering loss as well as joy during the holiday season."
~Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)

Ishi's Tale of Lizard
(translated by Leanne Hinton), Farrar Straus Giroux, 1992.
Paperback, Farrar Straus Giroux.
ABA Pick of the List
Starred Review, Chicago Bulletin for Children's Books
Aesop Accolade, American Folklore Society; promotional postcard.

"An ancient Native American story told by Ishi, the last of his tribe. He and other members hid in the woods for more than forty years, living life according to their own customs. When the older ones died, Ishi was forced to join the world of the white man in order to survive. The tale retold by Hinton is part of a longer story learned through his tribe's oral tradition. It was written down by anthropologists and has been illustrated with striking collage art by Roth."
~Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature)

"...Roth's vibrantly handsome collages of paper and fibrous materials are more reflective of the story's emotional than cultural content. (Paul Goble's elegant style does both.) Still, fascinating, valuable source material, in striking format."
~Kirkus

Princess
Hyperion, 1993.

A girl whose mother has called her to get up and go to school imagines all the things she would be free to do if she were a princess.

Pass the Fritters, Critters
(written by Cheryl Chapman), Simon and Schuster, 1993.
Paperback, school book club sales, Scholastic; Spanish edition.
Starred review, Publishers Weekly
Represented in The Original Art Show, Society of Illustrators, N.Y.C.
Honored by Parent's Choice Journal.

"Chapman's first book is an ingenious exploration of language, rhymes, and manners...The toothy alligator and the other animals, plus a brown-skinned child, are all cheerfully rendered in arresting collages of paper and fabric in vibrant colors. After a first reading, kids will enjoy chiming in on the answers."
~Kirkus

Buddha
Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1994.

The Great Ball Game
(retold by Joseph Bruchac), Dial, 1994.
1997; Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K--Grade 6; National Council of Teachers English; United States.
1997; Kaleidoscope, A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8, Second Edition; National Council of Teachers of English; US
2001; Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition; H.W. Wilson; United States.

"How the bat found its niche in the animal kingdom and why birds fly south in winter are explained in this Muskogee tale, one of a dozen similar stories on the topic found in Native American lore...Roth's distinctive collages have a Red Grooms busyness ranging from bright and appealing to appropriately subtle, rendered from elegant handmade papers gathered in Tibet, Italy, Japan, and Thailand."
~Kirkus

How Thunder and Lightning Came to Be
(retold by Beatrice Orcutt Harrel), Dial, 1995.
Translated into Korean; Honored by the Cooperative Children's Book Center, Madison, Wisconsin.

"An inspired story and visual pleasure, from a new author and a well-known collagist. Crafted from a number of sources, Harrell provides an author's note to place the tale, and follows with a matter-of-factly goofy story of two foolish birds commissioned by the sun god to warn his "chosen people" of bad weather...Roth's pages are bright, good-humored, and wildly inventive; lightning is rendered in broken and sprinkled snatches of white darting across the page. Her ability to compose canny gestures and poses--the leaning close for a whisper, a crazy-legged pursuit of tumbling eggs--is almost eerie and always effective."
~Kirkus

"This humorous Choctaw tale begins when The Great Sun Father wants to give his chosen people a warning to seek shelter before a storm comes...Children will enjoy the author's presentation of these two foolish, but lovable characters. Striking collage art by Susan Roth illuminates this delightful story."
~Wendy Ricci (Children's Literature)

How the Sky's Housekeeper Wore Her Scarves
(written by Patricia Hooper), Little Brown, 1995.

The old lady who lives in a house at the back of the wind has her chores to do.... For each of these tasks she dons a scarf of a different color.... Roth brings to the amiable stow bright, busy collages; these are original and entertaining when it comes to the cosmic characters, although her deep-space housekeeper, referred to as an "old woman" throughout, looks quite youthful.
~Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews)

Creak, Thump, Bonk!
Simon and Schuster, 1995.

"Three children and a dog tiptoe around in the dark, crawling, bumping into one another, shining flashlights, and finding ways to be startled and scared. The collage illustrations--constructed of paper and fabric (specifically, cloth closely associated with the manufacture of pajamas)--convey a strong sense of undirected physical activity usually linked to wandering through the night..."
~Kirkus

The Biggest Frog in Australia
Simon and Schuster, 1996.
Starred review, School Library Journal; Aesop Accolade, American Folklore Society.
American Booksellers Pick of the Lists, Spring, 1996 ; American Booksellers Association; US
Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001 ; H.W. Wilson; United States
Kaleidoscope, A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8, Third Edition, 2001 ; National Council of Teachers of English; US
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, June 1996 ; Cahners; United States
Aesop Prize Accolade 1996 United States
Kentucky Bluegrass Award, 1998 ; Kentucky

"Roth...achieves startling collage images that beautifully enhance a comic Australian folktale...The colors, textures, and layout of the illustrations place readers smack-dab in the Australian outback. There are other stories about Tiddalik the frog--Roth mentions her inspiration in an author's note, and also provides a glossary--but this one casts a very long spell."
~Kirkus

"The biggest frog in Australia is very thirsty, so he drinks up all the water. The other animals are parched, and decide to make him laugh so he will spill some of the water. The animals' antics are captured in delightful, textured collages. The text includes several uniquely Australian terms, which are explained in a glossary at the back."
~Dr. Judy Rowen (Children's Literature)

Brave Martha and the Dragon
Dial, 1996.

"Here's a fire-breathing rascal wreaking havoc in Susan Roth's Brave Martha and the Dragon. Happily, a young, curly-haired stranger strolls into Tarascon and tumbles the green fellow into the dungeon. Roth's striking collage art incorporates fabric actually worn by the townspeople, who celebrate this ancient Provenal legend with parades and revelry each year."
~Mary Quattlebaum (Children's Literature)

How the Sky Got Its Stars
(retold by Gail Tuchman), Harcourt, Brace, 1996.
(Educational supplement publication).

White Crow
(written by Shirley Frederick), Harcourt, Brace, 1996.
(Educational supplement publication).

My Love For You
Dial, 1997. (Now in third printing).
1999; Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K--Grade 6, 12th Edition; National Council of Teachers of English; US

"Roth...creates charming collages that quietly--then thunderously--spell out the size, strength, durability, and expanse of the love one mouse has for another."
~Kirkus

"This is a delightful story of two mice who declaim their love for each other by comparing it to a different number of animals. "My love for you ... is heftier than 9 hippos" offers a spread filled with the requisite number of hippos which are imaginatively stacked on top of each other in three hefty piles. It's a warm, funny, and humorous counting lesson."
~Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature)

Leon's Story
(written by Leon Walter Tillage), Farrar Straus Giroux, Fall, 1997. Junior Guild Selection.
1997; Best Books for Young Adults; American Library Association-YALSA; United States
1997; Best Children's Books of the Year; Bank Street College of Education; United States
1997; Booklist: Editors' Choice: Books for Youth; American Library Association; United States
1997; Capitol Choices; The Capitol Choices Committee; United States
1997; Fanfare Honor List; Horn Book; United States
1997; Lasting Connections; American Library Association; United States
1997; Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of the Social Studies; National Council for the Social Studies; United States
1997; Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, September; Cahners; United States
1997; Smithsonian Magazine's Notable Books for Children; Smithsonian; United States
1998; Children's Books of Distinction; Riverbank Review; United States
1998; Notable Books for Children; American Library Association-ALSC; United States
1998; Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People; National Council for the Social Studies; United States
1998; Teachers' Choices; International Reading Association; United States
1998; Boston Globe--Horn Book Awards Winner Nonfiction United States
1998; Jefferson Cup Award Winner Virginia
1999-2000; Lone Star Reading List; Texas
1999-2000; Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award; Pennsylvania
2000; Middle And Junior High School Library Catalog, Eighth Edition; H.W. Wilson; US
2000; Georgia Children's Literature Awards; Georgia

"Author Leon Walter Tillage has worked as a custodian at The Park School in Baltimore, Maryland for the last thirty years. A twelve-year-old girl heard him tell the story of his life at a school assembly. She went home and told her mother what he had said. That mother, illustrator Susan Roth, felt his story needed to be told to more than the seventh grade at The Park School...Susan Roth chose to illustrate the story with patterns made from "soft black mulberry paper on top of heavy white stock," a stunning accompaniment to the text. The contrasting use of black and white and the simple designs make a strong statement and speak to the depth of the author's experience."
~Kem Knapp Sawyer (The Five Owls, January/February 1998 (Vol. 12 No.)

Cinnamon's Day Out
A Gerbil Adventure, Dial, Summer, 1998.
2001; Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition; H.W. Wilson; United States

"Illustrated with vivid and expressive collages composed of wood chips, cardboard, wallpaper, an assortment of fibers, and textured, handmade papers, this is the thoroughly charming tale of a gerbil's unexpected adventure outside his cage...Spare text, perfect pacing, innovative illustrations, and delightful tongue-in-cheek humor make this work on many levels."
~Kirkus

"Cinnamon is a gerbil with a personality. He tells his friend Snowball about his big adventure outside their cage. He climbed a mountain (a stack of books), spied a wolf (a dog), found a pond (cat's water dish), and escaped from a tiger (housecat). The adventure is related visually from Cinnamon's perspective and Roth's cut paper collages and mixed media scenes are wonderful. The center spread with the big cat created out of corrugated paper is just wonderful. Little Cinnamon looks so real, you want to stroke his furry body. Young children will share in this daring outing by the brave little gerbil and will want it read to them more than once."
~Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature)

Journal Article: "A Legend of One's Own: Brave Martha and the Dragon,"an article in Book Links
ALA, a Booklist Publication, May 1997.

Night-Time Numbers: A Scary Counting Book
Barefoot Books, $15.95. 1999

"Nighttime can be a scary with suspected spooky creatures hiding in the darkness. Count from one ghoulish monster to ten chilling bats, and count them in the eerie darkness of night. "Who can you see in the backyard tonight? I can see one monster in the pale moonlight." Six sharks swim in the bathtub, seven spiders spin webs in the toy chest and eight ghosts haunt an ancient closet. Roth's cut paper collages bring a comforting visitor at the end to banish any nighttime monsters."
~Bonnie Bruneau (Children's Literature)

"What creepy-crawlies lurk in the dark?...Vibrant collage illustrations in a wide variety of textures complement the short rhyming text, and culminate in a golden yellow scene showing an angel watching over the sleeping child, who, having named her fears, can now sleep soundly."
~Kirkus

Made in Mexico
Peter Laufer ; [illustrated by] Susan L. Roth
Washington, D.C. : National Geographic Society, c2000.
1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill. ; 23 x 28 cm.
2000; Lasting Connections; American Library Association; United States
2001; Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People; National Council for the Social Studies; US

"So many American children are never exposed to the reality of life in other countries. Tourist trips, airplanes, and hotels manage to hide the real aspects of many foreign lands. The National Geographic Society does a good job of introducing the real Mexico, both poor and enchanting, through this tale of the world renown Paracho guitars. Collage illustrations are full of detail and are made with different authentic souvenirs: Mexican confetti, tablecloths, shopping bags, and Paracho guitar wood shavings! An interesting and fun educational gift!"
~A. Braga (Parent Council Volume 8)

"In Paracho, Mexico, there are guitars everywhere...Readers learn about the guitar-making process and that it takes one month to make a fine guitar...Susan Roth has created a series of bright mixed-media collaged illustrations to tell the story. One of her creations even uses wood shavings from master craftsmen and papers from Mexico and the U.S..."
~Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature)

Hecho en Mexico
Peter Laufer ; Illustrated by Susan L. Roth
National Geographic Society; $16.95. 2000

"The guitar factory in the small Mexican town of Paracho, has helped its residents avoid the grueling poverty which exists in many Mexican towns. The town has become quite famous for the quality and sound of its guitars. Written in Spanish and illustrated with colorful torn and cut paper pictures, this is an interesting story for an intermediate Spanish class."
~M. Pasela-Grimley (Parent Council Volume 8)

Grandpa Blows His Penny Whistle until the Angels Sing
Barefoot, $16.99. 2001
School Library Journal Book Review Stars, May 2001 ; Cahners; United States

"...Susan Roth's storytelling voice is charming and her collages are chockful of intriguing materials from her country setting--pressed flowers and leaves, fragile angel-wing netting, and even portions of a chenille bedspread."
~Mary Quattlebaum (Children's Literature)

"In this rambling story, Little Boy James refuses to go to church...The ambitious paper-cuts compensate for this, though Roth's habit of showing characters from the back seems odd. The book is at its best during the church scenes, where tiny pieces of colored paper evoke stained glass windows, and lace-bedecked angels add a heavenly note."
~Ilene Cooper (Booklist, Apr. 1, 2001 (Vol. 97, No. 15))

"...Roth...pairs her long but simply told miracle tale with huge, stunning collages made from tissue, handmade papers, fabrics, and leaves. Her small, crumpled figures float upon wide abstract backgrounds colored in hues chosen, she writes, to evoke dry, dusty, late summer days in America's heartland...It's a heart-filling (not to mention eye-filling) episode that will leave few readers unmoved-and the art is astonishing."
~Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews (Vol. 69, No. 7))

It's a dog's New York
Washington, D.C.
National Geographic Society, 2001; 1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill. ; 30 cm.

"This exuberant picture book is yet another valentine to New York City, this time from a dog's point of view. Pepper has moved to New York, but misses his blue doghouse and the big beech tree in his old backyard, until the neighbor dog, Rover, describes all the charms of the Big Apple. The chuckles come from the reproduction of Rover's heavy New Yawk accent. It's the Empawya State Building and Cawnagee Hall and the Sta-chew a Libba-dee all the way. Roth's color illustrations, made of cut photographs assembled into collages with cut-paper representations of the dogs and other creatures, convey the angularity and power of the city. This is a masculine New York of towering buildings and vertical and horizontal lines, no curves or softness anywhere. Although the city is depicted as a scary, intimidating place, children will enjoy sounding out the New Yorkese, and may be intrigued by Rover's upbeat message and by Roth's artistic approach."
~Miriam Rinn

"...Susan L. Roth's background illustrations, collages of cut-up photographs of New York, are marvelous. They capture the jangling clatter, the pace, the images and colors of the place in a way that will touch the heart of anyone who loves it..."
~Beth Gutcheon (New York Times: May 19, 2002)

Happy birthday Mr. Kang
Washington, D.C.
National Geographic Society, c2001. 1 v. ( unpaged) : col. ill. ; 29 cm.
2002; Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young Readers; National Council for the Social Studies; US
2000; Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, November; Cahners; United States

Roth...honors the memory of her Chinese uncle through her story, which is partially based on her uncle's immigrant experiences and his talents as a poet and calligrapher...Roth's elegant collage illustrations are a delight to peruse, incorporating paper-cut figures, rice papers, brocades, feathers, newspaper scraps, and photographs to create a dynamic flow of art. Text is place carefully within its own frame on top of one side of each exquisitely crafted two-page spread..."
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews (Vol. 69, No. 2))

"For his seventieth birthday, Mr. Kang has three wishes: to read The New York Times, to paint poems, and to own a hua mei, a Chinese bird...Text-heavy pages and a funky, difficult-to-read font also make this a challenging read. But the inventive collage illustrations will draw children back into the quiet story, which offers glimpses of an artist, an immigrant's experience, and a close, intergenerational relationship."
~Gillian Engberg (Booklist, Jan. 1, 2001 (Vol. 97, No. 9))

"...Roth's mixed-media collages are visually arresting, however--fanciful constructions of cut paper, photographs, silk brocades, Chinese restaurant menus, woven wooden slats, newspaper clippings and corrugated cardboard that coexist in vibrant harmony with bordered blocks of text in a bold font suggestive of hand lettering..."
~Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April 2001 (Vol. 54, No. 8))

My Links

For an interview with Susan Roth and reviews of her books visit www.childrenslit.com.