Keeler, Patricia (Patricia A. Keeler)

Personal

Born in Washington, DC; married Francis X. McCall, Jr. (a photographer). Education: Attended Madison University; Virginia Tech, bachelor's degree; Virginia Commonwealth University, M.A. (art).

Addresses

Home and office—Hoboken, NJ. Agent—Carol Bancroft & Friends, P.O. Box 2030, Danbury, CT 06813. E-mail—patriciakeeler@mindspring.com.

Career

Author and illustrator. Has also worked in advertising for Richmond Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA, and as art director for WCVE-TV, Richmond.

Writings

(As Patricia A. Keeler; with Paul Fleisher; and illustrator) Looking Inside: Machines and Constructions, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1991.

(As Patricia A. Keeler, with Francis X. McCall, Jr.; and illustrator) Unraveling Fibers, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Francis McCall) A Huge Hog Is a Big Pig: A Rhyming Word Game, Greenwillow Books (New York, NY), 2002.

(And illustrator) Car Wash, Bebop Books (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Júlio T. Leitão; and illustrator) African Dance: Drumbeat in Our Feet, Bebop Books (New York, NY), 2005, published under name Patricia A. Keeler as Drumbeat in Our Feet, Lee & Low Books (New York, NY), 2006.

ILLUSTRATOR

(As Patricia A. Keeler) Paul Fleisher, Secrets of the Universe: Discovering the Universal Laws of Science, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1987.

Paul Fleisher, Changing Our World, Zephyr Press (Tucson, AZ), 1993.

Paul Fleisher, Our Oceans: Experiments and Activities in Marine Science, Millbrook Press (Brookfield, CT), 1995.

Paul Fleisher, Brain Food: Games That Make Kids Thinks, Zephyr Press (Chicago, IL), 1997.

Doreen Virtue and Kristina Tracy, Thank You, Angels, Hay House (Carlsbad, CA), 2007.

Contributor of photographs, with Francis McCall, to I Need to Ask You Something by Miriam Marx, Bebop Books. Contributor of illustrations to educational books and magazines.

Sidelights

Patricia Keeler is the author and/or illustrator of children's picture books and nonfiction books for young readers. "Illustrating [for] kids is a hoot!," Keeler stated on her home page, adding that "it's a challenge to be artistically up to their standards."

Keeler began in children's books by illustrating nonfiction texts by author Paul Fleisher. Their first collaboration, Secrets of the Universe: Discovering the Universal Laws of Science, appeared in 1987. In the work, Fleisher examines the contributions of scientists throughout history, from Greek mathematician and engineer Archimedes to German physicist Werner Heisenberg, and explains such concepts as planetary motion, gravity, the behavior of gases, and quantum mechanics. Reviewing Secrets of the Universe in School Library Journal, Margaret Chatham noted that Fleisher's experiments and activities "are often accompanied by useful … line drawings to illustrate the natural laws he presents." Another collaboration between author and illustrator, Looking Inside: Machines and Constructions, explores the inner workings of more than a dozen familiar objects, including a piano, a clock, a steam iron, and a camera. Keeler's "beautiful cutaway illustrations" are a highlight of the work, observed School Library Journal contributor Kathleen Riley.

Keeler teamed with her husband, Francis X. McCall, Jr., to create Unraveling Fibers, an "interesting account of natural and synthetic fibers," according to Horn Book reviewer Margaret A. Bush. Keeler and McCall look at the sources and uses of plant fibers such as flax and cotton, animal fibers such as wool and silk, and manmade fibers such as polyester and Kevlar. "Full-color photographs accompany the text; diagrams of enlarged fibers supplement the photos," remarked School Library Journal reviewer Nancy E. Curran. A Washington Post Book World contributor complimented Unraveling Fibers as a "handsomely designed book," and Carolyn Phelan described the work in Booklist as "a useful introduction to fibers, their production, and their uses."

Putting the focus on fun, Fleischer and Keeler also joined forces to create A Huge Hog Is a Big Pig: A

Rhyming Word Game, a picture book for younger children. Illustrated with colorful photographs, the text provides briefly worded clues to silly, rhymed word pairs: for example, a "cozy beetle" is revealed to be a "snug bug." "A terrific read-aloud, the interactive format encourages students to call out responses," noted a critic in Kirkus Reviews. Phelan similarly commented that the "bright, well-designed picture book will provide some shout-it-out fun for children who enjoy wordplay."

After publishing her self-illustrated title Car Wash, in which a young African-American girl enjoys a sudsy outing with her family, Keeler joined with Júlio T. Leitão; to create Drumbeat in Our Feet, "a young reader's guide to African dance," according to a critic in Kirkus Reviews. Keeler developed an interest in African dance after viewing a performance of the Batoto Yetu dance troupe in New York City. To research the work, she began spending time with Leitão, a native of Angola and the founder of the troupe, as well as with his young dancers. "I basically became a detective," Keeler recalled to an interviewer on the Lee & Low Books Web site. "I followed the Batoto Yetu dancers to practices and on stage. I even followed them into their dressing rooms."

Drumbeat in Our Feet received strong positive reviews. "Eschewing primitive stereotypes and generic connections, the authors present a wealth of detailed information" about African dance traditions, observed Booklist critic Hazel Rochman, and Mary N. Oluonye commented in School Library Journal that "Keeler's watercolor-and-pencil illustrations impart a sense of vibrancy, movement, and joy." "I want children to know Africa as an artistically wealthy continent, overflowing with dances, songs, and musical instruments," the author/illustrator remarked in her interview. "From the art in Drumbeat [in Our Feet], they may also increase their awareness of the beauty and variety of African printed fabrics, costumes, and carved statues. Traditional African dance is an ancient treasure, and children should know the joy of singing African songs and performing African dances."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August, 1995, Carolyn Phelan, review of Unraveling Fibers, p. 1944; January 1, 1996, Hazel Rochman, review of Our Oceans: Experiments and Activities in Marine Science, p. 804; December 15, 2001, Carolyn Phelan, review of A Huge Hog Is a Big Pig: A Rhyming Word Game, p. 740; November 1, 2006, Hazel Rochman, review of Drumbeat in Our Feet, p. 63.

Horn Book, May-June, 1995, Margaret A. Bush, review of Unraveling Fibers, p. 342.

Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2001, review of A Huge Hog Is a Big Pig, p. 1687; October 1, 2006, review of Drumbeat in Our Feet, p. 1016.

New York Times Book Review, September 10, 1995, review of Unraveling Fibers.

Publishers Weekly, November 27, 2006, review of Drumbeat in Our Feet, p. 50.

School Library Journal, June-July, 1987, Margaret Chatham, review of Secrets of the Universe: Discovering the Universal Laws of Science, p. 105; June, 1991, Kathleen Riley, review of Looking Inside: Machines and Constructions, p. 116; June, 1995, Nancy E. Curran, review of Unraveling Fibers, p. 120; February, 2002, Shawn Brommer, review of A Huge Hog Is a Big Pig, p. 108; December, 2006, Mary N. Oluonye, review of Drumbeat in Our Feet, p. 124.

Voice of Youth Advocates, June, 1987, review of Secrets of the Universe, p. 96.

ONLINE

Carol Bancroft and Friends Web site,http://www.carolbancroft.com/ (October 27, 2007), "Patricia Keeler."

Childrensillustrators.com,http://www2.childrensillustrators.com/ (October 17, 2007), "Patricia Keeler."

Lee & Low Books Web site,http://www.leeandlow.com/ (October 17, 2007), "Booktalk with Patricia A. Keeler and Júlio T. Leitão."

Patricia Keeler Home Page,http://www.patriciakeeler.com (October 17, 2007).