A Letter to Amy

Last updated
A Letter to Amy
Cover page for A Letter to Amy.jpeg
Author Ezra Jack Keats
IllustratorEzra Jack Keats
CountryUnited States
Genre Children's picture book
PublisherViking Books (originally HarperCollins)
Publication date
1968
ISBN 0-14-056442-X
OCLC 165695
[E]

A Letter to Amy is a 1968 children's picture book by American author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats.

Contents

Plot

"Peter [from Keats' The Snowy Day ] is having a birthday party, and he's asked all of his friends to come. But Amy is a special friend because she's a girl, so Peter decides to send her a special invitation. When he rushes out in a thunderstorm to mail it, he bumps smack into Amy herself and knocks her to the ground. Will she come to his party now?" [1]

Adaptations

In 1970, Loretta Long narrated the story in a film adaptation from Weston Woods Studios.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Keats</span> English Romantic poet (1795–1821)

John Keats was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculosis at the age of 25. They were indifferently received in his lifetime, but his fame grew rapidly after his death. By the end of the century, he was placed in the canon of English literature, strongly influencing many writers of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; the Encyclopædia Britannica of 1888 called one ode "one of the final masterpieces". Jorge Luis Borges named his first encounter with Keats an experience he felt all his life. Keats had a style "heavily loaded with sensualities", notably in the series of odes. Typically of the Romantics, he accentuated extreme emotion through natural imagery. Today his poems and letters remain among the most popular and analysed in English literature – in particular "Ode to a Nightingale", "Ode on a Grecian Urn", "Sleep and Poetry" and the sonnet "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Lowell</span> American poet

Amy Lawrence Lowell was an American poet of the imagist school, which promoted a return to classical values. She posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezra Jack Keats</span> American childrens writer and illustrator -Library Journal

Ezra Jack Keats was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He won the 1963 Caldecott Medal for illustrating The Snowy Day, which he also wrote. Keats wrote A Letter to Amy and Hi, Cat! but he was most famous for The Snowy Day. It is considered one of the most important American books of the 20th century.

<i>The Snowy Day</i> 1962 book by Ezra Jack Keats

The Snowy Day is a 1962 children's picture book by American author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats. It features Peter, an African American boy, who explores his neighborhood after the season’s first snowfall. Keats’ illustrations helped pave the way for more inclusive and diverse children’s literature. Keats received the 1963 Caldecott Medal for his collage artwork, which made The Snowy Day the first picture book with an African American protagonist to win a major children’s award. The book’s reception was largely positive, although some critics pointed out subtle stereotypes, such as how Peter’s mother was portrayed. Since its publication The Snowy Day has sold millions of copies and has been translated, adapted, and honored leaving a lasting impression on generations of readers.

The Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival is an annual book festival that was founded in 1968 and is sponsored by The University of Southern Mississippi.

<i>Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint</i> 1956 novel by Raymond Abrashkin

Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint is the first novel in the Danny Dunn series of juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams. The book was first published in 1956 and originally illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats.

<i>Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine</i> 1958 novel by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams

Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine is the third novel in the Danny Dunn series of juvenile science fiction/adventure books written by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams. The book is "about a boy who invents a machine to do his homework for him only to be tricked into doing more with his spare time".

Angela Johnson is an American writer of children's books and poetry, with over 40 books to her credit since beginning her writing career in 1989. Her children's picture books are simple yet poetic stories about African-American families, friendships, and common childhood experiences such as moving. Her books for older children revolve around similar themes but also explore deeper issues such as teen pregnancy and divorce. Her characters are realistic and the treatment sensitive, positive, and hopeful. Many of Johnson's books have connections to Alabama and Alabama history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McCain Library and Archives</span> Chief reserve library for The University of Southern Mississippi, United States

The McCain Library and Archives is the chief reserve library for The University of Southern Mississippi. It houses the items in Southern Mississippi's possession that are not available for checkout. Besides being the archives, the building also houses the office of the President Emeritus, and the universities audio visual department. The Archives also house the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, one of the largest collections of children's literature in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gigantic Turnip</span> Russian folktale

"The Gigantic Turnip" or "The Enormous Turnip" is a cumulative Russian fairy tale, collected in Arkhangelsk Governorate and published in 1863 by folklore researcher Alexander Afanasyev in his collection Russian Fairy Tales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanny Brawne</span> Fiancee of John Keats

Frances "Fanny" Brawne Lindon is best known as the fiancée and muse to English Romantic poet John Keats. As Fanny Brawne, she met Keats, who was her neighbour in Hampstead, at the beginning of his brief period of intense creative activity in 1818. Although his first written impressions of Brawne were quite critical, his imagination seems to have turned her into the goddess-figure he needed to worship, as expressed in Endymion, and scholars have acknowledged her as his muse.

Petra Mathers is a German-born American writer and illustrator of children's picture books.

<i>Goggles!</i> 1969 picture book by Ezra Jack Keats

Goggles! is 1969 children's picture book by American author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats published by the Penguin Group in 1998. The book is about two boys finding motorcycle goggles. Goggles won a Caldecott Honor in 1970. The illustrations consist of mellow colors created using Keats' signature style of a combination of painting and collage.

<i>My Dog Is Lost</i> 1960 childrens book by Ezra Jack Keats

My Dog Is Lost is a 1960 children's picture book by American author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats. My Dog is Lost was Keats' first attempt at authoring a children's book. Keats has authored and/or illustrated more than 85 books for children.

<i>Peters Chair</i>

Peter's Chair is a 1967 children's picture book by American author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats.

<i>Tía Isa Wants a Car</i> 2011 childrens book by Meg Medina

Tía Isa Wants a Car is a 2011 illustrated children's book by Cuban-American author Meg Medina. It was first published on 14 June 2011 through Candlewick Press and has won the 2012 Ezra Jack Keats New Writers Award. The book focuses on the title character of Isa, a young woman that wants to save money towards a new car while also thinking of family in other countries that could also use the money.

The Ezra Jack Keats Book Award is an annual U.S. literary award.

Phoebe Wahl is an illustrator, sculptor and children's book author from the United States. She is the author of Sonya's Chickens, for which she earned the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award for New Illustrator and a Kirkus Star. Her primary media are watercolor, collage and fabric sculpture. Wahl's work deals with "themes of comfort, nostalgia and intimacy with nature and one another".

<i>Thank You, Omu!</i> 2018 Picture book

Thank You, Omu! is a 2018 picture book written and illustrated by Oge Mora. The story is about Omu, who cooks a stew and shares it with her neighbors; they show their gratitude by bringing her food. The book started as an assignment for a class of Mora's at the Rhode Island School of Design, where it was seen by an editor from Little, Brown. Thank You, Omu was well reviewed and a recipient of the 2019 Caldecott Honor for its illustrations. The book's mixed media drew praise for their detailed depictions of characters and locations.

References

  1. "A Letter to Amy". Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2020.