The Link

9/21/2012
Edgerton Chamber of Commerce

2012 North Award winner named

Susan Meddaugh - the creator of many humorous and inventive books for children, including the wildly popular tales about Martha the talking dog - thinks the Martha stories are so popular because both kids and grownups wonder what their pets would say if they could talk.

Meddaugh is 2012's recipient of the Sterling North Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, which will be presented at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012, at the Edgerton Performing Arts Center at Edgerton High School, 200 Elm High Drive, Edgerton, Wis.

Meddaugh is set to receive the award at the 600-seat auditorium from 3:30 to 4 p.m. Sept. 29, when she will speak and sign copies of her books. She is also scheduled to sign copies of her books at the festival's book fair, which will be held in the school's gymnasium, from 1 to 2 p.m. Sept. 29.

Meddaugh has been a past participant at book events on the East Coast, especially stops at Boston gatherings and at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.

She joins past recipients of the prestigious North Award, including Ben Logan (author of "The Land Remembers"), Kevin Henkes (author of "Kitten's First Full Moon"), Jacqueline Briggs Martin (author of "Snowflake Bentley"), John Schoenherr (illustrator of "Rascal" and "The Wolfling"), and Chris Van Allsburg (author and illustrator of "The Polar Express").

"I can just imagine how much my dad would have appreciated Susan Meddaugh's wit and good humor," said Arielle North Olson, Sterling North's daughter, who writes books for children from her home in Missouri. "She is an ideal recipient of the Sterling North Award for Excellence in Children's Literature. With her hilarious "Martha Speaks,' she delights both young readers and adults."

The North Award is presented jointly by the family of Sterling North and the Sterling North Society of Edgerton, which has restored North's childhood home at 409 W. Rollin St. in Edgerton as a museum.

North was the author of the 1963 best-selling memoir "Rascal," which has sold millions of copies worldwide. He was born in the Dane County town of Albion in 1906 and died in New Jersey in 1974.

The Edgerton Sterling North Book and Film Festival will bring 18 featured authors and 21 book fair authors to EHS. Watch for the book festival program tabloid in next week's newspaper.

Internationally known as a writer and an illustrator, Meddaugh lives in Sherborn, Mass., surrounded by dogs. The pack now includes Kaiser (a 98-pound black labrador retriever from a shelter), Oats (a pug who needed a new home, and now has a role in Meddaugh's adored PBS series), and Dudley (a stray dog abandoned at a Georgia gas station). Susan's house obviously has "decor by dog."

Born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey. Meddaugh worked briefly for an advertising agency after graduating from college, then moved to Boston, where she worked for a time as a children's book designer and later as art director. During this time she illustrated her first picture book, "Good Stones," which was written by Anne Epstein. The experience inspired her to strike out on her own as a freelance illustrator and author/illustrator of children's books.

She has since illustrated numerous books for such authors as Eve Bunting and John Ciardi. Meddaugh's book, "Martha Speaks," was included on the New York Times Best Illustrated List in 1992. In 1998, Meddaugh was the honored recipient of the New England Book Award, given by the New England Booksellers Association to recognize a body of work.

Meddaugh's latest endeavor has been her involvement in the PBS Television series based on her series of Martha books. The show has been appropriately titled "Martha Speaks."

Martha was a real dog who lived with Susan and her family. One day, when Susan's son Niko (who was then seven) was eating alphabet soup, he wondered what would happen if they fed the soup to Martha. Would she talk?

Meddaugh's imaginative response to that simple query inspired the vast series of Martha books, which have included "Martha Speaks," "Martha Calling," "Martha Blah Blah," "Martha Walks the Dog," "Perfectly Martha," "Martha and Skits," "Martha Says It With Flowers," "Funny Bone," "Farm Dog Martha," "Play Ball," "Shelter Dog Blues," "Martha Go Go Goes Green," "Campfire Stories," "So You Want To Be A Dog?", "Detective Dog," "Canine Comics," "Martha on the Case," "Thief of Hearts,"?"White House Dog," "A Pup's Tale," "Toy Trouble," "Meet Martha," "Haunted House," "Leader of the Pack," "Martha and Skits Out West," "Fireworks for All," "Martha Camps Out," "Pool Party," "A Winter's Tail," "Good Luck Martha," "Secret Agent Dog," "Martha Bakes A Cake," "Purrfect Friends," "Space Dogs," and "The Show Must Go On."

Meddaugh usually starts a new story with one picture, adds more drawings and then writes the words to go with them. Meddaugh notes that creating picture books is hard work but that she loves the chance to think like a kid and have fun. She loves drawing both people and animals, as long as she can really show their personality in the picture.

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(Contact: Mark Scarborough, featured author coordinator, Edgerton Sterling North Book and Film Festival, 608-884-3367, mdscarby@yahoo.com)

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	"Martha Speaks" author Susan Meddaugh poses with her famed creation during a recent event in Boston, Mass. She will appear at the Edgerton Sterling North Book and Film Festival at the Edgerton High School, 200 Elm High Drive, in Edgerton, Wis., on Sept. 29, 2012. (Photo courtesy of WGBH TV/Boston, Mass.)