THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 5, 1995 TAG: 9511020206
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Mary Ellen Riddle
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
Hot off the press are two children's books that mark Sara Hodder Daniels' debut as an illustrator.
The Roanoke Island dancer and visual artist has left her mark on what the books' author, Mary Maden, has titled the ``Outer Banks Animals Adventure Series.''
``Flying High with the Wright Brothers'' and ``The Secret of Blackbeard's Treasure'' are the first two stories to come out.
The books are based on Outer Banks history, but with a twist: They are written from animals' point of view.
Getting the illustration job was thrilling, Daniels said.
``I've drawn since I was little,'' Daniels said. ``It is a dream come true.''
She met Maden by answering Maden's newspaper ad. This basic approach to entering the publishing field echoes Daniels' demeanor. A straightforward and humble sort, soft-spoken Daniels is unafraid to tell you that at first she was anxious.
``It was overwhelming, especially the Wright Brothers. But once I got started, it was really inspiring,'' she said. ``To hope that people like it is quite scary.''
After Maden gives her a rough draft of the book with ideas for each page, Daniels does sketches and may even develop some extra characters. Mr. Snake and Mr. Frog are two delightful images that she came up with that appear in each book.
``They are very me,'' she said. ``I usually put them in last, fit them behind something or have them peering out.''
While neither creature has a speaking part, kids stay on their toes looking for the benign duo on each page. At first, Mr. Snake was red and yellow - until Daniels' husband, Billy, recited to his wife the boyhood warning: ``Red and yellow kill a fellow.''
Daniels changed Mr. Snake from a poisonous creature by adding black to his stripes.
The entire Daniels family has gotten into the act by modeling for the artist-in-residence. Billy has posed for some of the human characters in the book, as have Daniels' sister and anyone else staying at the home. The house pets also had a role in stardom.
``I did a lot of just sketches from photographs and my own dogs - just how they move,'' she said.
Daniels also had to study the anatomy and movement of horses for Petey the wild Corolla pony, a main character of Madens'. She drew jumping and trotting horses, noting the twist of the head or the bend in their legs.
``The dog is a lot easier to draw than the horse, because he's on two legs. He's more humanized,'' Daniels said of Petey's friend Tazz.
Daniels does not profess to draw human beings with as much precision as her animals, but in these books the focus is on the ``wilder kingdom.''
She brings to Tazz a friendly, almost fatherly feeling. The facial expressions and body gestures of all her animals are drawn with care and variety and are appropriate for each scene. In one picture, a group of animals including ponies, Tazz, Mr. Snake and Mr. Frog gather around Grandfather pony to hear the tale of ``the most feared PIRATE of THEM ALL - BLACKBEARD.''
Their expressions are wondrous, frightened and pensive. Daniels, a graduate of the Legat School of Russian Dance in Sussex, England, was told that her dance background showed in her characters. She imparts a sense of rhythm and grace to her drawings.
``I see them moving in my head,'' she said. ``Then I pick a position that I would like to see and freeze frame them almost.''
There's also a friendly feel to the way she groups the animals, a nice touch for a children's book. In one scene, Mr. Snake is cozily wrapped around Tazz's tail. In another, a dog, osprey and mockingbird are nestled together high on a sand dune with spyglass in hand watching the Wright Brothers' progress.
The warmth of the drawings contrasts nicely with the drama present in the stories. The illustrations are rendered in colored pencils.
``We wanted a bright color, something that would appeal to children and that worked best for the printing to keep the intensity and detail,'' Daniels said.
``We've had a good response from children so far. And it's something they use,'' Daniels said of the pencils. ``They can see that.''
Look for Maden's book number three, ``In Search of the Lost Colony,'' early next year. This historic storybook will also be graced with the straightforward and warm pictures of Sara Hodder Daniels.
by CNB