Cathy Ballou Mealey and Daughter, Grace

Posted on by Penny Parker Klostermann
Ants may rule the hill, but they don’t rule here! Art by Landon (Click to Enlarge)
Ants may rule the hill, but they don’t rule here! Art by Landon (Click to Enlarge)

Hello, Great Readers of our series! Just in case you haven’t visited before, let me tell you a little about A Great Nephew and A Great Aunt. My great nephew, Landon (a fifth-grader) and I (his great aunt) collaborate. I write a poem which he illustrates. We started this collaboration in the fall of 2014 and have had so much fun with it that we decided to invite others along. Landon and I will continue to have a new episode on the second Friday of each month. The other Fridays are filling up quickly with guests. I have created a page on my website to view all the episodes of A Great Nephew and a Great Aunt. Click HERE to visit the page and enjoy past episodes.

Today it is my pleasure to share a creative collaboration from . . .

Cathy Ballou Mealey and her Daughter, Grace

I know I’ve said it before but I have to say it again! When I open an email with the “goods” from collaborators, I just want to dance. Each and every collaboration has been unique and delightful! All it takes is a look at the words or the art to see why one collaborator was inspired by the other collaborator’s work. This week is no exception.

Grace’s Gator

Stoney Alligator
Art by Grace Mealy

Doesn’t it make sense that such a cute gator would lead to gator-inspired words?

Cathy’s PoemSlide1

I’ll bet you’re all grinning big gator-like grins, aren’t you? Many thanks to Cathy and Grace for being a part of this series.

photo of Cathy and Grace
Meet Grace: Grace Mealey will enter seventh grade this fall at Lynnfield Middle School. She is an honors student, a visual artist and a soprano with the Pioneer Singers, a choral ensemble of musical ambassadors.

Meet Cathy: Cathy Ballou Mealey is a picture book writer and occasional poet. She reviews children’s books at Good Reads with Ronna and for the Boston newspaper North Shore Children & Families. Cathy is represented by Liza Fleissig of the Liza Royce Agency. Find Cathy online HERE at her blog.

Keri at Keri Recommends has the Poetry Friday Roundup today. If you’d like to know more about Poetry Friday, click HERE for an explanation by Renee LaTulippe.poetry friday button

 

63 thoughts on “Cathy Ballou Mealey and Daughter, Grace”

  1. I think Grace would like NASTY BUGS, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins she can read about friends for her tick. Thank you for the beautiful hike and for the book recommendations including mine!

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  5. Sorry I missed this earlier, since we our guests arrived on the 30th!

    Love this collaboration between Cathy & Grace–vibrant art and playful text–a perfect match!!

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  8. I love that the gator has his own setting to frolic in! A clever use of the materials at hand and both gator and poem are beautifully executed. Well done!

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    2. I’ll bet that he does frolic with abandon when no one is watching Keri! 😉 Thanks for your kind words.

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    2. Thank you Joyce. We were wading at the ocean yesterday in our East Coast heat wave. A big bag of shells came home with us, so perhaps Grace will articulate another critter!

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    2. I borrowed two additional art pieces from Grace for the background, Linda. The pink spotted wall is from her interpretation of Monet’s “Japanese Footbridge” and the blue is a piece of hand-marbled paper. We are very lucky that her public school maintains a healthy arts program!

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    2. What a great observation Larry on the colors, spots and stripes. I know she used lots of fine brushes and spent lots of time designing his look. Thank you for noticing!

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    2. Thank you Teresa! This series always makes me smile on Fridays, so I am doubly glad that we could participate!

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    3. Thank you Teresa! This series always makes me smile on Fridays, so I am doubly glad that we were able to participate!

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  20. I loved every bit of this collaboration but especially how the poem told us how the gator was made! Fantastic work!

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    1. Thanks Rebecca! Gator is sunning himself on the windowsill today and warming his bones…I mean, stones!

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    2. Grace will be so pleased that her paint really brought those stones to life for you. Woof to Cupcake!

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