GOODMAN, Joan Elizabeth 1950-

PERSONAL: Born June 18, 1950, in Fairfield, CT; daughter of Milton Joel (an architectural engineer) and Fayalene (a psychiatric social worker; maiden name, Decker) Goodman; married Keith A. Goldsmith, September 12, 1987; children: a son and daughter. Education: Attended L' Accademia di Belle Arti, Rome, 1969-70; Pratt Institute, B.F.A., 1973. Hobbies and other interests: Tennis, bridge, medieval history.

ADDRESSES: Home—684 Washington St., 1-B, New York, NY 10014. Agent—Robin Rue, Writers House, 21 West 26th St., New York, NY 10010. E-mail—jelizg@worldnet.att.net.

CAREER: Writer and illustrator. Village Voice, New York, NY, began as a type specker, became a designer, 1968-69; worked for designer, Leslie Tillett, c. 1971; Hallmark Cards, Kansas City, MO, greeting card artist, 1974-76.

WRITINGS:

for children; self-illustrated

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Grosset (New York, NY) 1979.

Bear and His Book, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1982.

Right's Animal Farm, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1983.

Amanda's First Day of School, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1985.

The Secret Life of Walter Kitty, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1986.

Good Night, Pippin, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1986.

The Bunnies' Get Well Soup, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1987.

Edward Hopper's Great Find, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1987.

Hillary Squeak's Dreadful Dragon, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1987.

The Bears' New Baby, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Time for Bed, Golden Books (New York, NY), 1989.

(Adapter) Hush Little Darling: A Christmas Song, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1992.

Woodland Lullabies, Millbrook Press (Brookfield, CT), 1998.

illustrator

David Cutts, reteller, The Gingerbread Boy, Troll Associates (Mahwah, NJ), 1979.

Olive Blake, The Grape Jelly Mystery, Troll Associates (Mahwah, NJ), 1979.

Ruben Tanner, The Teddy Bear's Picnic: A Counting Book, Gingerbread House (New York, NY), 1979.

Carol Beach York, Johnny Appleseed, Troll Associates (Mahwah, NJ), 1980.

Judith Grey, Yummy, Yummy, Troll Associates (Mahwah, NJ), 1981.

Rose Greydanus, Hocus Pocus, Magic Show!, Troll Associates (Mahwah, NJ), 1981.

Robyn Supraner, The Case of the Missing Rattles, Troll Associates (Mahwah, NJ), 1982.

Eileen Curran, Easter Parade, Troll Associates (Mahwah, NJ), 1985.

Kim Jackson, First Day of School, Troll Associates (Mahwah, NJ), 1985.

Robyn Supraner, The Cat Who Wanted to Fly, Troll Associates (Mahwah, NJ), 1986.

"bernard" children's series; illustrated by dominic catalano

Bernard's Bath, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 1996.

Bernard's Nap, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 1999.

Bernard Goes to School, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2001.

Bernard Wants a Baby, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2004.

young adult novels

(Self-illustrated) Songs from Home, Harcourt Brace (San Diego, CA), 1994.

The Winter Hare, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1996.

Hope's Crossing, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1998.

Peregrine (sequel to The Winter Hare), Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2000.

Paradise: Based on a True Story of Survival, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2002.

"great explorers" series

Beyond the Sea of Ice: The Voyages of Henry Hudson, illustrated by Fernando Rangel, maps by Bette Duke, Mikaya Press (New York, NY), 1999.

Despite All Obstacles: La Salle and the Conquest of the Mississippi, illustrated by Tom McNeely, Mikaya Press (New York, NY), 2001.

A Long and Uncertain Journey: The 27,000 Mile Voyage of Vasco da Gama, illustrated by Tom McNeely, Mikaya Press (New York, NY), 2001.

SIDELIGHTS: Joan Elizabeth Goodman has gone from being a successful author and illustrator of picture books for young children to writing novels for older readers. Combining her love of history with her talent for art, Goodman has entertained countless young people with her whimsical illustrations and her imaginative stories. Goodman once commented: "I have always loved books: Babar by Jean de Brunhoff, first of all, Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers, the 'Narnia' books by C. S. Lewis, and many, many others. Books have enlightened me, comforted me, and taught me the value of humor." And books would become her life's work.

Goodman was born into a family of artists, and her grandmother, who lived with them, introduced her to oils at a very early age, "as soon as she could trust me not to eat them," quipped the author. Goodman studied at the Pratt Institute and in Italy, after which she tried her hand at various forms of design before she discovered her strengths as an illustrator. She created greeting cards and worked in bookstores before receiving her first book assignment. Goodman's first published work as an illustrator was author David Cutt's version of the classic story The Gingerbread Boy. Many illustration projects would follow, including Yummy, Yummy by Judith Grey, and The Cat Who Wanted to Fly, a picture book by author Robyn Supraner. In addition to providing the artwork for others' stories, Goodman knew that she wanted to write as well. "As soon as I began focusing on a future as an illustrator, I began trying to write my own children's books," Goodman explained to CA. "Trying does not mean succeeding. But I did keep trying." In the early 1980s, she began attending a writers' workshop run by Margaret Gabel at New York City's New School for Social Research. The writers who gathered there—"some of the best writers of children's literature currently being published" by Goodman's standards—were both helpful and inspiring. "By paying attention to what they do, and taking to heart their sensitive and sensible editorial direction, I have been learning to write," she said.

In addition to continuing to illustrate the works of other writers, Goodman began composing stories of her own. In Good Night, Pippin, a not-so-sleepy young bear and his mother share an adventurous tale of makebelieve at bedtime. Pippin wants a story about what things were like when he was a baby, and Mama weaves tales of pirates and wizards and aliens with freeze beams into an imaginative saga that finds the baby Pippin safe at home at the end. "Goodman's watercolor illustrations of the bear at home are warmly reassuring, as is the gentle dialogue," noted Genevieve Stuttaford in Publishers Weekly. And in Bernard's Bath, an elephant's dislike of a good soaking keeps him from getting into the bathtub, despite the lure of lots of bubbles and bath toys. Finally, Papa, Mama, and even Grandma climb in the tub, just to show Bernard how much fun getting clean can be. In Kirkus Reviews, a critic praised Goodman's technique of having parents practice what they preach, noting that Bernard's Bath is exemplary for its omittance of the "pandering found in some books targeted at balkers." And Patricia Pearl Dole added in School Library Journal that "the humorous, lively, yet simple text reads aloud well."

In more recent years, as Goodman's interest in writing fiction for older readers has increased, her career has moved from illustrator to writer. Part of the change was due to getting married and beginning a family. "I've been able to pursue my interests in history and enjoy the more leisurely pace of writing a novel," she explained to CA. "Now that I have two children—a daughter and son—the writing career is easier to maintain than the illustrating. A sentence can be interrupted by a baby's cry without much damage done, but an interrupted watercolor can be ruined."

Goodman's first full-length work of juvenile fiction, Songs from Home, was published in 1994. In the story, eleven-year-old Anna Hopkins has lived in Europe with her widower father for most of her life, traveling from place to place. Tired of living such a Bohemian existence, she gradually comes to understand the reason for her father's refusal to return to the United States and tries to help him come to terms with their future, the family left behind in the States, and his wife's tragic death. While several critics noted that the characters were not quite believable, they praised the author's vivid descriptions of life in Italy. "Young readers will enjoy the local color of [the novel's] Roman setting and Anna's exotic and glamorously shabby existence," wrote Deborah Stevenson in the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. And in Voice of Youth Advocates, Beth E. Anderson called Songs from Home "a sweet tale gently told of the child-as-parent."

In The Winter Hare, which takes place in twelfth-century Britain, Goodman tells the story of twelve-year-old Will Belet as he aspires to become a knight worthy of the legendary Round Table of King Arthur. Dubbed "little rabbit" due to his shortness, Will eventually finds himself involved in court intrigue and several battles between rival factions supporting King Stephen and his rival, the Empress Matilda. Praising the novel, a contributor to Kirkus Reviews noted that Goodman has created a "riveting plot that culminates in an escape scene worthy of translation into film."

Goodman's next historical novel for young readers is Hope's Crossing, set during the American Revolution, and in which a young woman, Hope Wakeman, is kidnapped by British Loyalists. Peregrine, the sequel to The Winter Hare, finds fifteen-year-old Lady Edith, who has lost her husband and child, and is being forced into another marriage, escaping to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage. Traveling with her is a servant, her brother, a monk, other monks from the monastery, bodyguard Sir Raymond, and Rhiannon, a mysterious Welch girl. The group travels through Europe to the Holy Land, meeting a number of historical women along the way.

Paradise: Based on a True Story of Survival, is historical fiction based on the story of Marguerite de la Rocque, a young French woman who in 1542, was in the first group of women to colonize Quebec. The sixteen-year-old is chosen by her uncle, Sieur de Roberval, to accompany him after explorer Jacques Cartier returns to France with tales of riches in Canada. Also in the group is Pierre, a Catholic with whom Marguerite is forbidden to form an attachment, because she is Protestant. He takes a job as a deckhand, so that they can be together, but after reaching Canada, they are caught kissing, and Marguerite and her servant and friend, Damienne, are banished to the Isle of Demons in the St. Lawrence River. Pierre is sentenced to death, but he escapes and swims to the island. With a few tools and little else, the three construct a shelter, gather food, resist attack from natives, fight off mosquitoes, and ready themselves for winter. Janet Hilbun wrote in School Library Journal that "the intensity and honesty of the survival story make this book a real pageturner."

Pierre dies from eating poisonous mushrooms, and although the two women survive the winter, Damienne dies of a respiratory illness. Marguerite, pregnant with Pierre's child, must deliver it alone. Booklist reviewer Frances Bradburn noted that Goodman drew on several historical sources in writing this story, "altering it to be more hopeful but no less amazing." Bradburn called Paradise "an invaluable addition" to the record of New World colonization.

Kliatt reviewer Claire Rosser commented that although their island is far from being a paradise, there are experiences of paradise, "in the beauty of the wilderness and in the new beginning in the garden parallel with Pierre and Marguerite being a kind of Adam and Eve." Rosser noted the emotions that are skillfully represented in Goodman's story—love between Marguerite and Pierre, friendship between the two young women, and grief and anger at the senseless deaths. "This historical fiction," wrote Rosser, "will definitely have appeal to teenage readers."

Goodman has contributed several titles to Mikaya Press's "Great Explorers" series, including Beyond the Sea of Ice: The Voyages of Henry Hudson, Despite All Obstacles: La Salle and the Conquest of the Mississippi, and A Long and Uncertain Journey: The 27,000 Mile Voyage of Vasco da Gama. Each book includes a map with which the reader can follow each explorer's adventure. Susan Dove Lempke, who reviewed A Long and Uncertain Journey, in Booklist, called this a "practical, thoughtful touch." Lempke also noted that in writing of how the Portuguese da Gama's voyage was financed through the African slave trade and how he was chosen because he was an enemy of Muslims, she [Goodman] "does an excellent job putting these unsavory facts into historical context, neither justifying nor blaming."

Connie Forst wrote in Resource Links that "children with an interest in explorers will seek out this book for its ease in learning about a specific time in history. Older readers will gain much information for research projects as a detailed timeline and index are wellconstructed."

Goodman believes that those writers who choose to create books for children must have a special way of looking at the world and remembering. "I don't particularly remember details about the past," she once commented. "Neither do I always remember the sense of a past situation. My past, my childhood, is a jumble of oddly assorted sounds, scents, and images, sometimes vague and sometimes crystal clear. What I do remember with extreme clarity are the feelings of childhood…. When I write a picture book text or a 'young' novel, I reach back to that emotional grab bag for my material."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Booklist, April 1, 2000, Ilene Cooper, review of Peregrine; September 1, 2001, Susan Dove Lempke, review of A Long and Uncertain Journey: The 27,000 Mile Voyage of Vasco da Gama; January 1, 2002, Carolyn Phelan, review of Despite All Obstacles: La Salle and the Conquest of the Mississippi, p. 852; November 15, 2002, Frances Bradburn, review of Paradise, p. 588.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, December 1994, Deborah Stevenson, review of Songs from Home, p. 128.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 1995, review of Bernard's Bath, p. 1770; October 1, 1996, review of The Winter Hare, p. 1466; November 1, 2001, review of Despite All Obstacles, p. 1548; March 1, 2004, review of Bernard Wants a Baby, p. 222.

Kliatt, September, 2002, Claire Rosser, review of Paradise, p. 9.

Publishers Weekly, August 22, 1986, Genevieve Stuttaford, review of Good Night, Pippin, p. 94; March 27, 2000, review of Peregrine, p. 82; June 4, 2001, review of A Long and Uncertain Journey, p. 81.

Resource Links, June, 2001, Connie Forst, review of A Long and Uncertain Journey, p. 16.

School Library Journal, March, 1996, Patricia Pearl Dole, review of Bernard's Bath, p. 174; May, 1998, Peggy Morgan, review of Hope's Crossing, p. 141; May, 2000, Cheri Estes, review of Peregrine, p. 172; June, 2001, Ann Welton, review of A Long and Uncertain Journey, p. 171; April, 2002, Barbara Buckley, review of Despite All Obstacles, p. 132; December, 2002, Janet Hilbun, review of Paradise, p. 138; July, 2004, Liza Graybill, review of Bernard Wants a Baby, p. 76.

Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 1994, Beth E. Anderson, review of Songs from Home, p. 273.