Respect - Showing consideration and regard for yourself, others, and the world around you.

Denise Fleming’s birthday is on January 31st.

Author-Illustrator Denise Fleming was born in Toledo, Ohio, and studied illustration at Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her whimsical illustrations and engaging use of language were evident from her first book, 1991’s In the Tall, Tall Grass. One reviewer wrote: “Rhymed text (crunch, munch, caterpillars lunch) presents a toddler’s view of creatures found in the grass from lunchtime till nightfall, such as bees, ants, and moles.” Its sequel, In the Small Pond, was a Caldecott Honor recipient in 1993.

Pulp painting is her medium of choice.“Papermaking is cathartic. Part of its appeal is that it’s very physical—toting buckets of water, beating large quantities of pulp, hand-mixing huge vats of color.” The layers are built slowly up to three quarters of an inch thick before Denise presses them dry.

Denise is married and has one daughter, named Indigo; she lives in Toledo, Ohio, with her family and (at last count) seven cats and a dog. She says she and her husband, David, like to build things, and she enjoys using power tools. Her favorite exercise is “swinging in a hammock, which is particularly fun because you don’t need any special shoes.”