Nancy Patz

Her lively lectures on the art of the picture book are well received, and her paintings have been shown at the Baltimore Museum of Art and in other museum and regional exhibits. Nancy has taught workshops on the writing and illustration of the children's picture book -- "The Making of a Picture Book" -- at Johns Hopkins University School of Continuing Studies, Goucher College Center for Educational Resources, Frostburg State Literature Conference, The Children's Book Guild of Washington, and many ALA and IRA teachers' and media specialists' conferences. She regularly makes illustrated presentations about the writing and illustration of her books to elementary schools, Grades K-3 and 4-6. She's also taught children as a Resident Scholar, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

My Books

Author and Illustrator of:
BABIES CAN'T EAT KIMCHEE!
Written and illustrated with Susan L. Roth
Bloomsbury Publishing, New York, London, and Berlin
Publication date: January, 2007

Awards:
Children’s Book-of-the-Month Club Alternate Selection, January, 2007

For every big sister who's had to wait... and wait... and wait for her baby sister to be big enough to play with, this funny and true-to-life story will hit the spot. Susan L. Roth and Nancy Patz -- both recognized for their unique art styles -- have joined talents to create a heartwarming story about two Korean sisters. And yes, that baby sister will grow up... maybe even big enough to eat kimchee one day!

WHO WAS THE WOMAN WHO WORE THE HAT?
Dutton Books, N.Y., 2003

Awards:
The Children’s Book Council and the Council of Social Studies: Winner of the Selectors’ Choice Award, 2003
The Association of Jewish Libraries:  Winner of the Sydney Taylor Award, 2003

A meditation on a woman's hat once on display in the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam inspired this moving combination of drawings, photographs and poetic prose.

Illustrator of:
The Family Treasury of Jewish Holidays
Written by Malka Drucker, Illustrated by Nancy Patz
Little, Brown and Company, Boston, N.Y., Toronto, London, 1994. $22.95. All ages.

"A book successfully celebrating family life comes along once in a great while. Even more unusual is such a book rooted in historical fact, legend, spiritual stories and rituals that have been passed from generation to generation. Malka Drucker has compiled this enticing text, simple enough to catch and hold the attention of children from preschool to teenage. Nancy Patz's illustrations are full of movement and humor; they keep youngsters looking and smiling. Rarely have we seen a collaboration as pleasant, or work as authentic."
~Parents' Choice

Author and Illustrator of:
To Annabella Pelican From Thomas Hippopotamus
Four Winds Press, N.Y., 1991. $12.00 Ages 5-8

"...warm and honest. Children will recognize the security of having a best friend, and the anger and loss of losing that friend.... The tiny framed picture of Thomas reveals how diminished he is by the loss of his friend as vividly as the picture of the recovered hippo -- eating popovers with strawberry butter as he bursts out of the frame -- shows that he realizes that he still has the love and pleasure of all the good times he and Annabella have had together."
~Judith Rosenfeld, The Baltimore Sun

No Thumpin', No Bumpin', No Rumpus Tonight!
Atheneum, N.Y., 1990. $12.00 All ages.

"A capricious rhyme enhances Patz's lively story." ~Publishers' Weekly

"Benjamin and his pal Elephant stay up all night and turn the kitchen into a disaster area before cleaning up the mess in time to surprise Benjamin's mother with breakfast in bed....Patz has a good ear as pots crash, clank, clink, clatter and clunk....Benjamin can break all the rules at night and still be loved in the morning."
~All Asia Review of Books

Sarah Bear and Sweet Sidney

Four Winds Press, N.Y., 1989. $12.00 Ages 3-7
"A loving old bear couple are snoozing through winter when Sidney wakes up just before spring. Unable to rouse Sarah Bear, he begins his spring cleaning and preparation for a picnic.... Brimming with wide smiles and exuberance, the watercolor illustrations spill out of their frames with energy and good humor...." ALA Booklist

"...captivating -- with the Üeasily understood themes of seasonal change and living with disappointment."
~Tim Warren, The Baltimore Sun

Gine Farina and the Prince of Mintz
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, San Diego, N.Y., London, 1986.$12.00 All ages over 4.

"Gina Farina, known for her delicious pies, joins a troupe of traveling players to see the world. Warned by her father to be wary of a terrible-tempered prince who lives in Mintz, Gina pays little attention because she has a mind of her own. When the troupe reaches Mintz, ...the prince demands that Gina remain in Mintz and bake her pies for him alone. Naturally, Gina refuses, and a battle starts. How the two reach a compromise provides a happy, surprising ending. Exquisite illustrations by the author and a superb choice of language enhance the tale."
Evelyn T. Winfield, PTA today

"This is a rare type of fairy tale..."
The Boston Phoenix

Moses Supposes his Toes are Roses
and 7 Other Silly Old Rhymes
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, San Diego, N.Y., London, 1983. $13.95 All ages.
Paperback: A Voyager/HBJ Book, $4.95

"The author continues her obvious love of wordplay with these eight delightful rhymes.... As much fun as the rhymes themselves are the wonderfully amusing illustrations penciled in soft reds and grays on antique white backgrounds. The wry characters costumed in colonial garb...leap from their Pennsylvania Dutch borders...."
~Brenda D. Maloney, School Library Journal, Starred Review.

Nobody Knows I have Delicate Toes
Franklin Watts, N.Y.and London, 1980. Ages 4-8. Not available.

"This story is likely to elicit a child's laughter no matter how many times it is read aloud, and Elephant, who wears a floppy yellow hat and a silly grin, looks as funny as he sounds."
Robert Wilson, Book World, The Washington Post

Pumpernickel Tickle and Mean Green Cheese
Franklin Watts, Inc., N.Y. and London, 1978. Ages 4-8. Re-publication by SunSource, summer, 2000. Call 410-332-6800 to order.
ALA Booklist

"... it was their favorite picture book of the year...."
Barbara Elleman

Awards:

The Family Treasury of Jewish Holidays has been chosen a Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book of the Center for Children's Books. It has also received starred reviews from the Bulletin and from Publisher's Weekly.

Parents Choice Awards have been given to: Moses Supposes His Toeses Are Roses, Sarah Bear and Sweet Sidney, and To Annabella Pelican from Thomas Hippopotamus. Also, What Kids Who Don't Like To Read Like To Read: Parents' Choice Award was given to Moses Supposes His Toeses Are Roses.

Moses Supposes His Toeses Are Roses received a starred review from School Library Journal.

Sarah Bear and Sweet Sidney received a 1989 Notable Award from the National Council for the Social Studies, Children's Book Council.

The Gold Star Award, Fund for Educational Excellence, 1991, was awarded to Nancy Patz for achievement in writing and illustrating her books and for her work in the schools as author/illustrator/lecturer.