The Tri-County Journal
& Chattahoochee Chronicle
PO Box 850, 71 Webb Lane
Buena Vista, GA 31803
229-649-6397
tjournal@alltel.net
articles about Ellaville-Schley County on the website.
illustrates new children's book
By RICHARD HARRIS (From the May 17, 2006 issue)
Albert Whitman & Company recently published a children’s book based on a BC era legend on the other side of the world. However, while “The First Marathon – The Legend of Pheidippides” is based on a 2,500-year-old legend, it has modern and local connections. The book was illustrated by Ellaville native and Tri-County High School graduate Daniel Minter.
Community Calendars |
The legend of the brave young Greek soldier/runner named Pheidippides has inspired the running of marathons worldwide. The book’s author, Susan Reynolds, brings the legend to life for youngsters and adults alike, and is complemented very well by Minter’s dramatic, colorful and realistic drawings (including a two-page spread depicting the invading Persian Army as their ships reach the shore of Greece).
Booklist described it like this: “The dramatic, full-color, double-page illustrations with heavy black accents, show the strong, rhythmic movement of the brave young athlete, the battle scenes, and then the runners across the world today. … A long, fascinating afterword for older readers offers information about the research, the line between legend and history, and the struggle of women to participate in marathons.”
Minter has illustrated other books as well (including Seven Spools of Thread, Bubber Goes to Heaven, New Year Be Coming, The Riches of Oseola McCarty, and The Foot Warmer and the Crow), but his art also takes various other forms. In 2004 he designed the “Kawanza Stamp” for the U.S. Postal Service. He also has artwork featured in “Picture Stories: A Celebration of African American Illustrators,” which is a traveling exhibition.
Minter is a graduate of the Art Institute of Atlanta. He often works in the same medium used by many generations of southern African-Americans, carving and painting on wood, and his art reflects the beauty and richness of his heritage.
The Ellaville native is currently living in Portland, Maine with his wife, Marcia and their son, Azari.
For more information about “The First Marathon – The Legend of Pheidippides,” contact Albert Whitman & Company at 800-255-7675 or visit www.albertwhitman.com. For more information about Daniel Minter’s art career, visit his personal website at www.danielminter.com.
