Who is Walter Anderson?

In my mailbox at school I had a large manila envelope from Random House,waiting for me the other day!! I was pretty excited to get something other than junk mail and when I opened it a beautiful book fell out. I deliver here the story line from Random House's website.

The secret world of Walter Anderson (Sept. 8, 2009)

Synopsis:

Enter the fascinating world of reclusive nature-lover Walter Anderson — perhaps the most famous American artist you’ve never heard of.Residents along the Mississippi Gulf Coast thought Walter Anderson was odd, rowing across twelve miles of open water in a leaky skiff to reach Horn, an uninhabited island without running water or electricity. But this solitary artist didn’t much care what they thought as he spent weeks at a time on his personal paradise, sleeping under his boat, sometimes eating whatever washed ashore, sketching and painting the natural surroundings and the animals that became his friends. Here Walter created some of his most brilliant watercolors, work he kept hidden during his lifetime. In a beautifully crafted picture book biography, writer Hester Bass and Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator E. B. Lewis pay homage to an uncompromising American artist.

Of course, I took it home and read it to my quirky 6-year-old daughter. We've been reading chapter books this summer with an occasional picture book thrown in so she was excited to see this something-new book. We read our chapter of Felicity of American Girl fame and I thought my little sweet pea would be to, to sleepy to read a biographical picture book, because she was looking pretty droopy.

She perked right up at the very first page, her head bobbed up and asked "is this poetry?" wow, what a compliment...I hope when I write a book someday, she might say the same thing to me!! Mind you, it is not written in rhymming words but it is lyrical. She listened all the way through Walter's story and even explored the end pages with examples of his art work. Perfect book, Lovely, really lovely illustrations from E.B. Lewis!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you to whomever-you-are- marketing genius who made the decision to send advanced copies to librarians!!! I love mine and will share it frequently!