Dutton, Sandra

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Dutton, Sandra

Personal

Born in MO; married Wayne Sheridan (a marketing consultant and poet).

Addresses

Home—Boothbay Harbor, ME. E-mail—sjsdutton@hotmail.com.

Career

Author, illustrator, and educator. Former teacher at the elementary and high-school level; University of Maine, Farmington, instructor in writing for children and young adults. Exhibitions: Paintings have been exhibited in galleries throughout Maine.

Awards, Honors

Pick of the Lists designation, American Bookseller, for The Magic of Myrna C. Waxweather.

Writings

The Magic of Myrna C. Waxweather, illustrated by Matthew Clark, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1987.

Just a Matter of Time: The Musical (play), produced in New York, NY, 2007.

Contributor of reviews to the New York Times Book Review.

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

The Cinnamon Hen's Autumn Day, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1988.

Tales of Belva Jean Copenhagen, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1989.

Capp Street Carnival, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 2003.

Dear Miss Perfect: A Beast's Guide to Proper Behavior, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2007.

Sidelights

One of Sandra Dutton's first memories dates from her very early childhood, she once explained. "Like my dad, I have a passion for words and pictures," she recalled on her home page. "One of my fondest memories is sitting with him at the kitchen table drawing." Dutton grew up among storytellers, including her father, sisters, and mother, and she learned through practicing that the excitement of a story is in how it is told.

Dutton's first book for children combines reality and fantasy, a trend that has become characteristic of her work. The Magic of Myrna C. Waxweather concerns a fifth-grade teacher's pet inspired to misbehave by her fairy godmother. Dutton's next story, The Cinnamon Hen's Autumn Day, was her first self-illustrated volume. Although Cinnamon Hen loves how autumn leaves sound in her yard, she allows Mr. Rabbit to rake the leaves away. As soon as the lawn is clear, however, the hen misses the crunching sound of the leaves, so she offers to help rake her neighbor's lawn. Nancy Seiner, writing in School Library Journal, called The Cinnamon Hen's Autumn Day "a fine story about autumn's pleasures."

The titular star of The Tales of Belva Jean Copenhagen tells the "true" stories of a woman's life in exaggerated form. Belva Jean's narrative "brims with funny, quirky perceptions about life," according to a Publishers Weekly contributor. "The black-and-white illustrations, in a simple and homey way, enhance the stories," concluded Carrol McCarthy in School Library Journal.

Dutton's Capp Street Carnival is the story of Mary Mae Krebs, an eleven-year-old gossip and problem solver. To raise money to help a young child she baby-sits for treat a heart condition, Mary Mae puts together a neighborhood carnival. "This heartwarming story just might inspire some readers (and musicians) to try to make a difference in their own communities," wrote School Library Journal critic Ashley Larsen. Noting the setting, Booklist reviewer John Green commented that Dutton "offers a rare glimpse into an underrepresented culture: the contemporary, working-class, southern family." According to a Publishers Weekly critic, "readers will likely find the spunky, big-hearted girl's efforts … highly entertaining."

In Dear Miss Perfect: A Beast's Guide to Proper Behavior Dutton features an animal's guide to etiquette. Miss Perfect is an advice columnist for the Beastly Gazette, and though some of her advice applies to animals and readers alike, others are only helpful to the elephants or komodo dragons who send her letters. A Kirkus Reviews contributor noted Dutton's illustrations, writing, "Dutton's understated watercolor-and-ink illustrations are charming without trying too hard, providing a perfect complement to the humorous text."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2003, John Green, review of Capp Street Carnival, p. 1326; July, 2007, Grace Oliff, review of Dear Miss Perfect: A Beast's Guide to Proper Behavior, p. 74.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, June, 1987, review of The Magic of Myrna C. Waxweather, p. 186; March, 1989, review of The Tales of Belva Jean Copenhagen, p. 169.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2003, review of Capp Street Carnival, p. 533; March 15, 2007, review of Dear Miss Perfect.

New York Times Book Review, September 21, 2003, review of Capp Street Carnival, p. 26.

Publishers Weekly, August 26, 1988, review of The Cinnamon Hen's Autumn Day, p. 86; March 10, 1989, review of The Tales of Belva Jean Copenhagen, p. 89; April 7, 2003, review of Capp Street Carnival, p. 67.

School Library Journal, December, 1988, Nancy Seiner, review of The Cinnamon Hen's Autumn Day, p. 85; May, 1989, Carrol McCarthy, review of The Tales of Belva Jean Copenhagen, p. 103; March, 2003, Ashley Larsen, review of Capp Street Carnival, p. 191.