Susan L. Roth is the fascinating author/illustrator of over 35 children's books. Susan is a native of New York City. She spent her childhood in Madison, Wisconsin. Susan received both her BA and MA in art from Mills College in Oakland, CA. As as adult, Susan has lived in California and Maryland and now makes her home back in New York City, where she lives with her husband. Susan loves art, music, theater, travel, dogs, writing and of course, illustrating books for children. Susan doesn't paint! Over the years she has developed her own collage technique into one which is exclusively faithful to cutting and tearing. From the most complete background papers to the tiniest dots of eyes and I's, she ONLY cuts or rips. She is very proud of this technique she has developed. An Oratorio was compossed for an inspired by Do Re Mi; If You Can Read Music, Thank Guido d'Arezzo. The text of the book became the libretto.
Selected Reviews of Susan's Books
Great Big Guinea Pigs
Susan L. Roth
Did you know that there were prehistoric guinea pigs? This book tells the story of how guinea pigs evolved from a giant size to the small pets they are today. Based on scientific research, this fictionalized account begins with a guinea pig telling her child a bedtime story of how the guinea pigs lived in prehistoric times. She tells him that they were as big as buffalo and weighed a ton. They lived in Venezuela in the swamp and ate grass. They loved to swim, but had to watch out for the hungry alligators. The fact is that when their food began to disappear, they became smaller and quicker. Some stayed wild, but some became "cuter and friendlier." The last page includes a bibliography and facts list about guinea pigs. The large collage illustrations are made from textured cut papers such as canvas, cellophane, and contact paper. The splashy results are interesting and create visual fun. Children will be fascinated by the story and the artwork. 2006, Bloomsbury, $17.95. Ages 2 to 6. Reviewer: Vicki Foote (Children's Literature).
Leon's Story
Leon Tillage
Illustrated by Susan L. Roth
Author Leon Walter Tillage has worked as a custodian at The Park School in Baltimore, Maryland for the last thirty years. A twelve-year-old girl heard him tell the story of his life at a school assembly. She went home and told her mother what he had said. That mother, illustrator Susan L. Roth, felt his story needed to be told to more than the seventh grade at The Park School. Roth met with Tillage and asked him to tape his story for her. It was transcribed and eventually became this book--a moving account of growing up black on a North Carolina farm. Leon was born in 1936, the son of a sharecropper. The family lived on a farm owned by Mr. Johnson. No matter how hard they worked, they always ended up owing him money "because once you got on a farm you could work a lifetime and never get out of debt." Leon talks about his parents, who were strict and religious. They didn't allow fighting but insisted on respect. Everyone had chores to do, such as chopping wood or carrying water. The children didn't mind that, but they wanted to know why they didn't have the nice things that Mr. Johnson's children had. Their parents would tell them, "Well, that's the way it's intended." Times were hard. The white kids beat up the black kids and threw rocks at them on the way to school. Blacks could buy clothes at stores frequented by whites, but they could not try them on first. When blacks went to the movies, they had to sit in the balcony or on Coca-Cola crates. At the Tastee-Freez, they had to go to the back of the building to be waited on. When chased by Klansmen, they didn't call the police because some of them were Klansmen, too. But in the fifties things started to change. People started marching, and Martin Luther King came to Raleigh. Leon Tillage tells his story with frankness and warmth. As readers, it's easy to feel we are in the same room with him--and we are as amazed and disturbed as the twelve-year-olds in The Park School auditorium. Susan L. Roth chose to illustrate the story with patterns made from "soft black mulberry paper on top of heavy white stock," a stunning accompaniment to the text. The contrasting use of black and white and the simple designs make a strong statement and speak to the depth of the author's experience. 1997, Farrar Straus Giroux, 5 x 7, 107 pages, $14.00. Ages 8 up. Reviewer: Kem Knapp Sawyer (The Five Owls, January/February 1998 (Vol. 12, No. 3).
Do Re Mi: If You Can Read Music, Thank Guido D'Arezzo
Susan L. Roth in assosciation with Angelo Mafucci
One thousand years ago, choirmasters taught children to memorize songs. They didn't teach them to read music, because a way to read music didn't exist. If a song were forgotten, it could be gone forever. A child singing long ago in a small Italian city thought how easy it would be to learn songs if only music could be read. That child was Guido d'Arezzo. Guido's name was Guido d'Arezzo, because he came from the town of Arezzo, i.e Guido of Arezzo; He is also know as Guido Monaco(Guido the monk). For many years, he persisted in his quest to find a way to write music, despite steady opposition. He searched for a way to write music so that it could be read universally, and for many years, he was rebuffed. Choirmasters dug their heels in; what was wrong with memorizing songs--that was the way it had been done for hundreds of years, they claimed. Additionally, choirmasters were afraid of losing their jobs if songs could be "read." Guido d'Arezzo countered that choirmasters would not lose their jobs; their jobs would only be different. With lovely paper collages, the colorful artwork depicts Guido putting his thoughts and efforts to work over a lengthy period of time before developing his system. His epiphany came when he connected pitches, which go in order from low to high, with lines and spaces. He showed others how each line and each space represented a unique pitch. By this time, Guido had an audience and the support he desired. The pope even invited Guido d'Arezzo to live in Rome after he learned how to read music! Children will be amazed to learn that Guido used the "do-re-mi-fa-sol-la syllables from parts of the poem he set to music a thousand years ago." The illustrations evoke a Tuscany of that era, with cypress trees on verdant hills and noble churches with bell towers. Guido and the choristers are dressed in long black or white robes. Each page weaves lines and spaces into its picture. And each page features fragments from sheets of music woven into the design, to great effect. The engaging prose and textured paper collages combine to make this picture book an outstanding selection for any library. Children taking music lessons would be especially interested in Guido's story. An author's note at the back of the book provides additional details about Guido d'Arezzo's life. There is a glossary of musical terms, a reproduction of his "autograph," and a select bibliography. There is also a foreword by Angelo Mafucci, a noted choral director and music teacher from Arezzo, the town in Tuscany where Guido was born. 2006, Houghton Mifflin Co, $17.00. Ages 7 to 11. Reviewer: Jeanne K. Pettenati, J.D. (Children's Literature).
A sampling of Susan's presentations: Collage demonstrations, chalk talk format.
- Walk With Me: From the Idea to the Bound Book - This can be based on subject, particular title, technique, or all of the above.
- How to Get into this Crazy Business
- Hands on Collage Workshops
- Multi-Media Events - This can include music: performed for you, performed by your group, or even commissioned for your group.
- Create Your Own Book With Susan L. Roth: - this can be produced individually or as a classroom or other group.
- "The Big Apartment Theory" or How To Use The Sky For Your Limit: an inspirational message, but with no Sunday School overtones.
- Artist and/or Writer-in-Resident Programs
Fees: Susan's fees are negotiable. Her audience size is flexible depending on which program she is presenting. It is advisable to keep grade levels together for the presentations so that she can address the students at their level. Susan also presents to adult groups and conferences. Transportation and lodging costs to be paid by sponsoring organization.
To learn more about Susan and her publications please visit www.susanlroth.com.
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