Stone (When the Wind Bears Go Dancing) turns from picture books to middle-grade fiction with a novel about a family devastated by a shocking "incident." Set during the Kennedy administration, the story is heavy with references to period TV shows, hand-me-down poodle skirts and Necco Wafers, details that may seem to the target audience as mannered as the characters. The narrator, 11-year-old Fiona, who makes much of her admiration for Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, lives with her younger sister, Wallace, in a dilapidated mansion, surrounded by their withdrawn, ex-sculptress mother's unfinished statues. Fiona wants to fit in, and she also wishes more than anything to dance, but her passion (partly born from her father's likening of Fiona to his mother, a Russian ballerina) never transcends plot device. Indeed, Fiona remains more a lens than an effective central character, overshadowed by the unconventional, angst-ridden Wallace and their friend Kit. Allusions are made to better times four years earlier, but Wallace must run away, and be found, before the author reveals the family tragedyAthe father was shot to death in their home. The family's recovery from their grief seems pat, and readers who have labored through the lengthy build-up may feel let down by the conventional resolution. Ages 9-12. (Sept.)

Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Phoebe Stone is the only painter in a family of writers. She spent her childhood drawing and telling stories as she drew. "I was always painting and drawing," she says, "but, I learned to write by osmosis, by hearing my parents read their beautiful work."

Before concentrating on creating books for children and young adults, phoebe had a very successful career established as a fine art's painter. During that time, she received two Vermont Council on the Arts Fellowships in painting and exhibited her work in many museums and galleries all around New England and New York City, and influenced many New England artists with her unique, brightly colored narrative and metaphorical style. "I was already working in sequences," she says, "but at some point I began to realize that I could combine my love for images and words in picture books for children."

Phoebe's most recent novel Sonata #1 for Riley Red was published in the Fall of 2003. In a recent review The Boston Globe said: "Stone's books speak to the heart of youth -- its frailty, wild ambitions, and promise. Literature doesn't get much better than this." Phoebe Stone's first novel All the Blue Moons at the Wallace Hotel is well-loved story read and reread by children and adults alike. The New York Times called it "haunting and poetic."

When the Wind Bears Go Dancing, the first children's book both written and illustrated by phoebe Stone, was published in the fall of 1997 by Little, Brown and Company to much critical acclaim and attention. Six original pieces of art from the book were included in the exhibit, Telling Stories with Pictures, the Art of Children's Book Illustration, at the DeCordova Museum in the Boston area. The show featured the work of 30 prominent children's book illustrators from the past 25 years. Well-known artists such as Maurice Sendak, Chris van Allsburg, Marc Brown, Edward Gorey and Eric Carle were also featured. phoebe was selected as one of the new illustrators working in the field today to be included in the exhibit.

When the Wind Bears Go Dancing was also selected by The Society of Illustrators to be included in their Original Art '97 exhibition. The show was held at the Museum of American Illustration in New York City, and featured the original art from the year's best illustrated children's books. Booklist also featured art from When the Wind Bears Go Dancing on the cover of their February 1998 cover.

Most recently we've had news that When the Wind Bears Go Dancing was published in Korea.

What Night Do the Angels Wander? was phoebe Stone's second book as both author and illustrator. It was published September 1998 by Little, Brown and Company. The book is best described as a dreamy and poetic personification of the spirit of Christmas. One night each year, following a flurry of celestial preparation, all the angels come together for a single purpose. It is a night of heavenly celebration, one that brings together all the children and animals of the earth. It is a night filled with light. It is a night to hear the angels sing because it's Christmas Eve.

What Night Do the Angels Wander? received as great deal of attention and generated a lot of excitement last fall. It was a November selection of the Children's Book-of-the-Month Club and was featured on the December cover of the Hearthsong Catalog. You can read what Kirkus Reviews had to say about this new book.

Phoebe's picture book: Go Away Shelly Boo, was published book by Little, Brown and Company for fall 1999. It has appeared on the cover of the Hearthsong Autumn catalog and been chosen by the American Bookseller's Association as a "Pick of the Lists". Kirkus Reviews describes phoebe's drawings as "exhuberant" and writes of the book: "Children will identify with Emily Louise's anxiety about a new neighbor and share her relief when she finally does meet the infamous 'Shelley Boo'…" The Boston Globe called Go Away Shelley Boo! --"totally irresistible."

In God's Name, written by Sandy Sasso and illustrated by phoebe Stone, is an award-winning book that celebrates multiculturalism as well as nondenominational and nonsectarian religion. First published in 1994, In God's Name is in its fifth printing. A One Spirit Book-of-the-Month Club selection, it still remains at the top of many religious and spiritual book bestseller lists. In God's Name was a finalist in the Hungry Mind Review Children's Books of Distinction Awards, a finalist in the Marion Vannett Ridgeway Awards and part of The Children's Book Councils exhibit, Not Just for Children Anymore, at the 1997 American Booksellers Association Conference.