Date: Fri 27-Nov-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Steven-Kellogg-Skog-Huntin'

Full Text:

Steven Kellogg Goes A-Hunting On A Flight Of Fantasy

(with photos & drawings from book)

"A-hunting we will go!

A-hunting we will go!

We'll catch a fox

And put him in a box

And never let him go!"

BY KAAREN VALENTA

Only one known verse remains of "A-Hunting We Will Go," a more than

300-year-old folk song usually sung to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell."

But that verse was enough to send Steven Kellogg's imagination on a flight of

fantasy.

When he was done, he had recast the lyrics about the hunting of animals into a

roundup of congenial beasts who join two children on a playful journey toward

bedtime.

"It's a rambling pre-bedtime romp that ends in a gentle lullaby," Mr Kellogg

explained. "I was really doing it as a parent-child read-aloud, snuggle-up

before bed book."

Mr Kellogg, the award-winning author/illustrator of more than 90 books for

children, will autograph A-Hunting We Will Go and a dozen or more other titles

during a booksigning at the Cyrenius H. Booth Library in Newtown from 1 to

3:30 pm on Saturday, December 12. Each book also will include an original

sketch done by Mr Kellogg when he signs the book. Proceeds from the sale will

benefit the library.

A resident of Sandy Hook for more than 30 years, Mr Kellogg and his wife,

Helen, have six grown children and eight grandchildren. They also have a

summer home, an old farmhouse overlooking the Champlain Valley in upstate New

York, where he did most of the illustrations for his latest book.

"Essex is a town of 600 during the summer months, only 300 year-round," he

said. "The entire town -- which is very small -- is a historic district."

It was to Essex that his grandmother and aunt came with nine children every

summer to their adjacent "campsites," and where Steven Kellogg spent many

summers as a child.

"There was a house -- I called it the 1836 house -- it's really the Block

House -- that I always told my sister I'd live in someday. Now 50 years later,

I do," he said.

As a child, Mr Kellogg enjoyed making up his own stories and reciting them to

his sister, drawing illustrations on a pad as he went along. He called it

"telling stories on paper."

At the December 12 booksigning, Mr Kellogg will present a 45-minute program in

which he will tell the story and draw 26 illustrations for The Island of The

Skog, his 1973 book about adventurous mice in search of a new home.

The book, which has parallels with the story of the first Thanksgiving, will

be performed by the Dallas Children's Theater at the Kennedy Center For the

Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on November 27-29.

"This is the flagship performance of a 66-city tour," Mr Kellogg said. "The

closest it is coming to Connecticut is in Burlington, Vt., on January 27, but

that performance is already sold out."

Mr Kellogg, whose The Christmas Witch also was adapted for the stage by the

Dallas Children's Theater, is delighted with the adaptation of The Island of

the Skog.

"I loved the way they did the show, and I am thrilled with the fact that it is

touring to the Kennedy Center," he said. "It is a credit to the high standards

of the entire staff, as well as an accolade to [executive director] Robyn

Flatt, who does a brilliant job inspiring the theater and the whole staff."

Playwright Linda Daugherty adapted the book for the stage. The set design and

costumes were envisioned by Irene Corey, creator of the Barney the Dinosaur

costume, and adapted by set designer Zak Herring and costume designer

Mary-Therese D'Avignon. The mice costumes are exact replicas of Mr Kellogg's

illustrations; the cats and the skog are giant puppets.

The production has drawn the interest of a Japanese theater producer who is

coming to discuss with Robyn Flatt the possibility of bringing it to Japan, Mr

Kellogg said.

Anyone who wishes to purchase an autographed book but is unable to attend the

booksigning, can sign up in advance at the main circulation desk at the Booth

Library. For more information, call the library at 426-4533.