Ezra- Jack-Keats Newsletter

Keats Film Festival

Take Eight

MAGGIE AND THE PIRATE

View our new Film Festival page: you can watch the video, hear some human chirping and learn fun facts about crickets. Click here

Fun Fact: MAGGIE AND THE PIRATE

This book was originally going to be called ANNIE AND THE PIRATE until a friend of Ezra's suggested that the title character be

named Maggie. Ezra often took suggestions for names from

his friends.

UP NEXT

Take Nine

LOUIE

None of the kids has ever heard Louie speak, until one day, Susie and Roberto put on a puppet show. When the puppet Gussie appears, it's love at first sight as Louie shouts a joyous "Hello!"

Fun Fact: LOUIE

Ezra often used details from his childhood in his books. Louie was the name of a friend of Ezra's older brother who was nice to Ezra when he was little. And Gussie is not just a puppet but was the nickname of his mother, Augusta.

Take Seven

PET SHOW!

Fun Fact: PET SHOW!

The letters in the title on the original cover for PET SHOW! were drawn by kids who wrote to Ezra about his books. The publisher changed the letters on the cover, but if you look at the first page of the story you'll still see the PET SHOW! as drawn by kids in the early 1970s.

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Minigrant Application

Dear Friends,

This month, we are gearing up for the opening of the "The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats," at the Jewish Museum in New York on September 9. The first major U.S. retrospective of Ezra's life and work also features a life-size replica of Keats's neighborhood for kids to read and play in, plus lots of special events. The show kicks off our yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of THE SNOWY DAY, in 2012, as it travels around the country to museums in Massachusetts, Ohio and California.

We're trying something a little different in the Keats Film Festival this month. To highlight MAGGIE AND THE PIRATE, a teacher, a librarian and a parent meet at the library to talk about how the art enlivens the drama in this unusual tale.

Sincerely,

Deborah Pope

Executive Director

Ezra Jack Keats Foundation

Mark Your Calendar

"The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats"

debuts at the Jewish Museum on September 9, the first major exhibition in this country to pay tribute to the award-winning author and illustrator.