Cooper Edens
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Cooper Edens | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1945 (age 79–80) |
| Occupation | Author, illustrator |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Children's books |
| Notable awards | Children's Critic Award, 1980 Golden Apple Award nominee |
Cooper Edens is an author and illustrator of more than 25 children's books..[1] He's best known for "If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow" and "Add One More Star to the Night". These works reflect his "horizontal" approach to storytelling. that asks the reader to solve a non-linear string of "problems" ("If you're afraid of the dark ...") rather than follow a hero or heroine through a linear progression of plot points He has also collaborated with other artists on a number of children's books and in compilations of classic children's story illustrations.[1]
Cooper Edens (the pen name of Gary Drager) was born and raised in the Seattle area. His parents' house, on Lake Washington, encouraged solitary daydreaming and reading. In first grade, his principal told his mother that he shouldn't return to class because he was too creative. His mom said "Good". He took a year off from school and spent much of his time with coloring books, graduating soon to channeling Monet and Van Gogh with crayons and cardboard.[2]
Edens used that medium—crayon on cardboard—to illustrate his first words-and-art creation. He was steered by other publishers to Harold and Sandra Darling, of Green Tiger Press, who published "If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow" in 1978. The title highlights the style: antique-looking images, colored in a luminous, impressionist style, are juxtaposed with brief, haiku-like "If ... (Then)" statements. The style found a large audience: over 1.3 million print copies of "...Night Rainbow" have been sold. Many of his works are now published by Chronicle Books.
While other books (such as "The Starcleaner Reunion", "Caretakers of Wonder" and "If You're Still Afraid of the Dark Add One More Star to the Night") use the same "horizontal" approach, Cooper has also worked with other artists on numerous collaborations. His partnership with Sandra Darling (Alexandra Day), author of the popular "Good Dog Carl" series, has produced seven books . Edens has also worked with partners to compile books that use art from the history of children's literature to retell the story, and to show how different artists create different realities for their stories. He is now working on projects to create digital, interactive versions of some of his classics.
According to Edens, he "is for infinite possibilities. If you don't like the way the world looks straight ahead, use your peripheral vision."
