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Anna Alter

Biography:

Anna Alter grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia in a house full of artists. Because both her parents and sisters were always involved in a creative endeavor of some kind, Anna was exposed to many different ways of making art: from posing for her father’s photographs, to her mother’s painting and collage techniques, to her sister’s adventures in printmaking and painting.
Anna was always drawn to books as a form of self expression. She writes stories that are deeply personal and stem from her childhood experiences. She likes to invent characters that readers can relate to, and stories that give children a place to see themselves in the world. Her books aim to reflect the complicated, difficult, beautiful intricacy of being a child.

After graduating with a BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design, Anna entered into her career in children’s publishing at Houghton Mifflin Company, where she worked in the children’s book design department for three years. There she learned about the inner workings of a major children’s book publisher, which helped her to begin her freelance career as an author and an illustrator. When her first picture book, Estelle and Lucy, was published in 2001 it was a dream come true.

This book was followed soon after by a retelling of the classic nursery rhyme The Three Little Kittens, and her next authored and illustrated book, Francine’s Day. She has since illustrated a number of books for children written by other authors.

Throughout the course of her career in publishing, Anna has spent much of her time working with children. She was a preschool teacher for five years, and can be found teaching private art lessons to kids in the Boston area.

Anna presently resides in Jamaica Plain, where she freelances out of her home. Anna shows her original paintings frequently in various galleries and other venues around New England.

To learn more, visit Anna's website.

Anna is also a proud member of the Blue Rose Girls.

Also by Anna Alter

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Priscilla & the Hollyhocks

Author: Anne Broyles Illustrator: Anna Alter
ISBN: 978-1-57091-675-5
Ages: 7 - 10
Availability: In stock.
Price: $15.95

Based on a true story, Priscilla and the Hollyhocks follows a young slave girl named Priscilla from her early years on a Southern plantation to her forced march along the Trail of Tears to the chance encounter that leads to her freedom.

"Priscilla and the Hollyhocks tells a story too often ignored or overlooked — a story of how the west was not won but captured. Reading about Priscilla's remarkable life makes all our hearts a bit warmer while filling our heads with a much-needed piece of American history."
— Nikki Giovanni, poet