Picture Book - Pencils, Pens & Brushes: A Great Girls' Guide to Disney Animation by Mindy Johnson

Illustrated by Lorelay Rove

2019 Disney Enterprises

HC $18.99

78 pgs.
J 791.4334 Johnson

Goodreads rating:  4.150 - 106 ratings

My rating:  5
Endpapers: solid pink

My comments:  I totally enjoyed reading through this book, and learned so much!  I'm not a huge Disney fan, but all the information about the women associated through the years of Disney history is just wonderful. 
     I particularly enjoyed learning about Kae Sumner, who was 6' 3" tall, and because she drew for the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was written up in Life magazine.  She became popular, with many people of height contacting her, and she began a club for tall people called the Tip Toppers.  So cool!
     I was looking at this book because I wanted more information about Mary Blair, who I was researching.  So glad I found this book, since Bosler doesn't have it and I had to borrow it from Coy/Shippensburg.

Included:
Lillian & Edna, the two Mrs. Disneys (Walt and his brother Roy
Dorothy Ann Blank - founder of the Story Development Department, starting with Snow White
Nelbert Chouinard - Chouinard Institute teachers taught original animators at Disney
Marge Champion -

Goodreads:  Based on the critically acclaimed Disney Editions title, Ink & Paint: The Women of Walt Disney's Animation, this nonfiction picture book is a fun and inspiring look at a few of the amazing women who have worked at Disney Animation over the years—from sculptors to inkers to painters to story artists, all with unique personalities and accomplishments, such as becoming a world record-holding pilot or creating an international club for tall people!

Kae Sumner: Six Foot Three Disney Artist and Founder of International Tall Person's Clubs

  

While reading through Disney Pencils, Pens & Brushes: A Great Girl's Guide to Disney Animation by Mindy Johnson and illustrated by Lorelay Rove, I learned about Kae Sumner.  How interesting!

Born in 1916, she was always the tallest in her classes, topping out at 6' 3".  Her artwork was so good that when she took her portfolio to Disney's Hyperion Studio during the depression, she was haired to work in the Ink & Paint Department.  And it's noted that they even made a special desk that was a bit taller so that she could easily work beside the other artists.

"Kae's talents shined and when the newspapers heard about her artistry on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, she became famous as 'the giant girl who painted Walt's seven little men.' "

She didn't let her height dwarf her (that's said with tongue in cheek), she was contacted by so many other tall people that she started a club and called it the TIP TOPPERS.  The story was featured in a Life magazine article, and Kae went on to found the International Tall Person's clubs, some of which are still around today.

Born in 1916, she died in 1996.

Have you seen Tall Girl, the movie? It's on Netflix, looking forward to seeing it.

Tall Clubs International
Tall Clubs International Foundation includes a short biography on Kae Sumner Einfeldt

The Art of Mary Blair

Born in 1911, Mary Blair was first and foremost an artist for Walt Disney. She began working for Walt Disney Studios in 1940. Her designs and artwork for Peter Pan, Cinderella, and  Alice in Wonderland are unforgettable. She illustrated several Little Golden Books and many advertisements. She also designed the Small World exhibit in the mid-1960s!  She died in 1978.

Website:  Magic of Mary Blair

Books by and about Mary Blair, plan to find and read:

MOVIE - Frozen

PG (1:25)

Wide Release 11/27/2013 

Viewed January 1, 2014 (We tried during Thanksgiving vacation, but it was sold out) with Ella at the Carlisle 8

RT Critic: 89 Audience:  90

Cag:  4.5/Liked it a whole lot  Ella:  6/Awesome

Directed by Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee

Walt Disney Pictures

Idina Menzel (Elsa) Kristin Bell (Anna)

My comments:  This was a great story - at the end it said it's based on the story of the Snow Queen, which I'm apparently not familiar with, so I'll have to look it up.  The faces of all the characters were really beautifully crafted, giving each a distinct personality.  And the winter-ness of it all was just spectacular!  (Both Ella and I really enjoyed the little snowman, Olaf, and all his antics...)

Ella's comments:  I really liked crystals and freezing.  I loved the end when Anna turns to ice and her sister hugs her and starts to cry. I really liked the music - everything about it...the singing, the songs, and the singers.

Rotten Tomatoes:  Featuring the voices of Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel, "Frozen" is the coolest comedy-adventure ever to hit the big screen. When a prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, Anna, a fearless optimist, teams up with extreme mountain man Kristoff and his sidekick reindeer Sven on an epic journey to find Anna's sister Elsa, the Snow Queen, and put an end to her icy spell. Encountering mystical trolls, a funny snowman named Olaf, Everest-like extremes and magic at every turn, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom from destruction.