- 6 hours ago
I'm excited to be interviewed for AIArchitect magazine regarding two of my picture book biographies: THE GLASS PYRAMID: A Story of the Louvre Museum and Architect I.M Pei and MAYA LIN: Artist Architect of Light and Lines.Thank you to architect Lori Apfel Cardeli for such a terrific article, "How authors shape early design literacy" (part of a three part series).
Here's a taste:
"The emphasis on perseverance is echoed in Jeanne Walker Harvey’s work.
In The Glass Pyramid, Harvey explores Pei’s vision for the Louvre and the resistance it faced. In Maya Lin: Artist–Architect of Light and Lines, she traces the evolution of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, including the criticism Maya Lin encountered as a young designer.
Harvey shared that children are often captivated by unexpected details, like Maya Lin sculpting an early memorial model out of mashed potatoes. These moments demystify architecture, showing that powerful ideas can begin in unconventional ways.
'Even highly regarded architects face challenges,” Harvey noted. “I want kids to understand that believing in your ideas matters—even when others don’t right away.'"
Oh la la! 🌟 I'm so honored that the wonderful Legion of Honor Museum shop in San Francisco is featuring our children's picture book, THE GLASS PYRAMID: A Story of the Louvre Museum and Architect I.M. Pei illustrated by Khoa Le, as part of their French themed display tied to the exhibit, "Manet & Morisot".
I signed books (always thrilling) and savored reading the "STAFF RECOMMENDS" review:
"This is the story of Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei, who designed the famous glass pyramid at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Through elegant text and illustrations, young readers learn about his surprising inspirations: from the formal gardens of Versailles to organic rock gardens at his family’s retreat in Suzhou, China. When plans for the new pyramid were unveiled, the public reaction was not positive. Once completed, this iconic landmark was recognized as one of the Louvre’s treasures."
And THE GLASS PYRAMID and our ABLAZE WITH COLOR about artist Alma Thomas are also both available on their online shop! ❤️
Calkins Creek
(Astra Books for Young Readers)
(pub. 10.14.2025)
48 pages
Ages 7 -10
Author: Erin Frankel
Illustrator: Jasu Hu
Character: Mary Oliver
Overview:
" Young Mary Oliver was enthralled by nature. In the forest, she wondered about the birds and the lilies and the water in the stream—about all the things that cannot speak yet somehow spoke to Mary. She wondered, too, about poetry, about how words pieced together filled her with light and how some poems felt like they were written just for her. How could this be?
Author Erin Frankel shows how Mary Oliver held on to that sense of wonder from her childhood, channeling it into some of the most beloved poems of the past hundred years. Illustrator Jasu Hu’s lush nature scenes beautifully complement Frankel’s soulful writing about the creative process. Together text and art honor Mary Oliver and her astonishing poetry."
Tantalizing taste:
" Mary had many questions.
How would it feel to be a forest creature -
or to have wings and fly?
Is the center of a flower called the heart?
Are rocks somehow alive?...
She noticed
and listened
and wondered,
then wrote poems that long to be told –
poems meant for everyone.
Because Mary Oliver hoped that there was someone
just like you
on the other side of her words
holding onto wonder
just like Mary."
And something more: The author, Erin Frankel, shared in the Author's Note: "Mary did not have all the answers to her questioning, nor did she want them. To wonder and rejoice in the unknown was much more interesting. We all start out as children wondering, but it isn't easy to hold on to wonder in a world that favors knowing over not knowing. Holding on to wonder was the life work of Mary Oliver. Her words remind us that it can be our work too."
