Red Nose Studio: 2017 WSRA Children & 2017 Maryland Blue Crab Book Awards for "the secret subway"

 

For: The Secret Subway

The following Random House Children’s Books have been nominated to the 2017 WSRA Children's Book Awards:
 
THE SECRET SUBWAY by Shana Corey; illustrated by Red Nose Studio
 
The WSRA Children's Literature Committee members dedicate themselves to reading widely in order to evaluate the newest books published each year. This is done to recommend the most interesting and valuable books for educators and children to read. The committee considers titles based on the quality of the literature, the appeal for students, and the value for classroom use. The committee creates two lists to help educators select titles for use in their specific areas. The "Just One More Page" list highlights the committee's recommendations for the best of the newest chapter books through eighth grade, while "Picture This" highlights the recommendations for the best of the newest picture books.

THE SECRET SUBWAY has also been named a Transitional Nonfiction Honor Book for the 2017 Maryland Blue Crab Book Awards!
 
The Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award was created in 2004 in an attempt to stimulate interest in books for the beginning reader and the emergent independent reader. At that time, there were few books produced in this niche, and it was hoped that an award that could garner national attention would encourage authors, illustrators and publishers to produce better quality books in this niche

 

Congrats Red Nose Studio!

 

RED NOSE STUDIO: The Secret Subway Trailer

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RED NOSE STUDIO Trailer for The Secret Subway by Shana Corey, available March 8th, 2016 Published by Schwartz & Wade / Video editing by Dempsey Rice

From Chris' blog: “Absolutely wonderful in every way” – Kirkus, Starred Review New York City in the 1860s was a mess: crowded, disgusting, filled with garbage. You see, way back in 1860, there were no subways, just cobblestone streets. That is, until Eli Beach had the idea for a fan-powered train that would travel underground. Fifty-eight days of drilling and painting and plastering later, Beach unveiled his masterpiece on February 26, 1870 – and throngs of visitors took turns swooshing down the track. This true story by Shana Corey and a New York Times Best Illustrated artist, Chris Sickels, will wow readers just as Beach’s subway wowed riders over a century ago.

 

RED NOSE STUDIO: MTA Arts & Design

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RED NOSE STUDIO for the Metropolitan Transportation AuthorityFrom Chris' blog: "Last fall, I was approached by the folks at MTA Arts & Design about the possibility of creating an art card for the subways. The art card project is a way for the MTA Arts & Design to give daily riders something to look at, among all the hustle, that hopefully makes the ride a bit more enjoyable… As we started talking about the project, they also asked if I would consider creating a 2 minute stop-motion animation that would run on the 52 screens throughout the Fulton Center."

 

RED NOSE STUDIO: The Secret Subway

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RED NOSE STUDIO for The Secret Subway by Shana Corey Published by Schwartz & Wade, available March 8th, 2016

Kirkus Reviews (January 1st, 2016) "A long-forgotten chapter in New York City history is brilliantly illuminated. In mid-19th-century New York, horses and horse-drawn vehicles were the only means of transportation, and the din created by wheels as they rumbled on the cobblestones was deafening. The congestion at intersections threatened the lives of drivers and pedestrians alike. Many solutions were bandied about, but nothing was ever done. Enter Alfred Ely Beach, an admirer of "newfangled notions." Working in secret, he created an underground train powered by an enormous fan in a pneumatic tube. He built a tunnel lined with brick and concrete and a sumptuously decorated waiting room for passenger comfort. It brought a curious public rushing to use it and became a great though short-lived success, ending when the corrupt politician Boss Tweed used his influence to kill the whole project. Here is science, history, suspense, secrecy, and skulduggery in action. Corey's narrative is brisk, chatty, and highly descriptive, vividly presenting all the salient facts and making the events accessible and fascinating to modern readers. The incredibly inventive multimedia illustrations match the text perfectly and add detail, dimension, and pizazz. Located on the inside of the book jacket is a step-by-step guide to the creative process behind these remarkable illustrations. Absolutely wonderful in every way."

Publishers Weekly (January 4th, 2016) "Corey’s absorbing story of New York City’s ill-fated first subway provides an ideal venue for the sculptural artistry of Chris Sickels, aka Red Nose Studio. Sickels (The Beginner’s Guide to Running Away from Home) crafts stylized clay figures and furnishings with infinite care, then photographs them under dramatic lighting—they could be stills from a movie. In the 1860s, Alfred Ely Beach conceived of an underground train that could be propelled pneumatically. He oversaw the building of a short tunnel, a single car, the machinery to make it move, and a luxurious underground waiting room, complete with a fountain. “Beach’s train was a sensation,” writes Corey (Here Come the Girl Scouts!). A witty spread shows the car traveling to the right of the page, then back to the left, its momentum causing the wide-eyed, elaborately dressed passengers to sway. Shopkeepers and corrupt city leadership scotched the project, and it was forgotten, but Corey’s account sheds light on the way that commonplace institutions are often preceded by false starts, error, and scandal. Ages 4–8."

RED NOSE STUDIO: Society of Illustrators Workshop

RED NOSE STUDIO for Society of Illustrators A Workshop with Red Nose Studio: January 9th, 2016  12:00 - 5:00 p.m. "Join the Society and sculptural/ 3D illustrator Chris Sickels, the artist behind Red Nose Studio, for a bare bones, lo-fi stop-motion animation workshop that is an opportunity to submerge into a miniature world of Red Nose characters that you and your fellow participants bring to life via 24 minuscule movements/frames per second." Get tickets HERE. Image: The Blowing Bowler (c) Red Nose Studio (2015). Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design.

RED NOSE STUDIO: Angie's List

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RED NOSE STUDIO celebrates 7 years with Angie's List From Chris' blog: "2008 was the year. Tanja Pohl, an Art Director I had previously worked with at Weekly Reader, moved back to Indiana to head up the art dept at, the then little pub, Angie’s List Magazine. Tanja asked if i would be interested in creating a cover and I said yes. The pub’s budget was small and she wanted to first re-use an existing illustration of mine and we would see how they were received. In 2009 the magazine went through a re-design and we started collaborating regularly on the covers. 80+ covers in all. Topics ranged from aging to tree houses focusing on the service provider industry." Visit Chris' blog to see his favorite covers from the past 7 years.

RED NOSE STUDIO: Future Film Festival

RED NOSE STUDIO for Future Film Festival Chris Sickels' animated short, CREOSOTE, was accepted into the Future Film Festival, May 5-10, in Bologna, Italy. Watch the trailer (above) and visit his blog for more information. Chris invites you to create your own scene or short featuring the CREOSOTE characters by downloading the high-res print file available on his blog and posting it with the hashtag, #creosoteshort.