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Local author explores the ocean with ‘Manfish’
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| Jennifer Berne |
Jennifer Berne one of many children’s authors participating in book festival
By Andrew Amelinckx
ANCRAM — “Bubbles rising through the silence of the sea, silvery beads of breath from a man deep, deep down in a strange and shimmering ocean land. ... A Manfish,” begins “Manfish, A Story of Jacques Cousteau,” Jennifer Berne’s critically acclaimed first picture book biography, which is illustrated by Frenchman ƒric Puybaret.
The author, an Ancram resident with a past almost as interesting as her subject, will be one of 55 authors and illustrators at the Hudson Children’s Book Festival May 16 at the Hudson Middle School on Harry Howard Avenue.
Berne was born and raised in New York City, went to art school at Parsons The New School of Design and at one point worked for famed Pop artist Andy Warhol at his studio known as the Factory.
After that she went into advertising, which she enjoyed thoroughly.
“It was a fun career. It really was,” she recalled.
Her move from advertising copywriter to that of author wasn’t as big a leap as one might imagine, she said.
According to Berne, the two pursuits are similar because in both you have a limited amount of space in which to draw in the audience both visually and with words.
“You have to get a message out in 30 seconds,” she said of advertising. But, she added, there were many differences between the pursuits as well, her favorite being that now she gets to write about subjects that interest her, especially science.
Berne is a regular contributor to the children’s magazine Nick Jr.
She said writing about Cousteau allowed her to explore her interest in the ocean. “Jacques Cousteau is it,” she said.
In 40 pages “Manfish” dives into the life of Cousteau, a famed explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who pioneered marine conservation and co-developed the Aqua-Lung — the diving apparatus still in use today.
Berne said it has never been hard for her to boil down a lot of information into its essential parts, something that helped her during her career in advertising.
“I love doing the research,” she added.
Even with all the research, she still strives to convey a child-like sense of wonder at the subject matter, she said.
With “Manfish” she knew from the beginning that it would be a picture book without a lot of writing and that it would be for a younger audience.
She didn’t want the story to lose its sense of awe, she said, which can sometimes happen with books geared toward older audiences. “It becomes more textbooky,” said Berne.
Berne explained that while writing for ages five and up, which she referred to as “the age of wonder,” she still feels it’s important not to “write down” to the audience.
The writing in “Manfish” has a poetic quality that Berne, who is also a songwriter, said came naturally because of both her love of verse as well as the lyrical quality of Cousteau’s own work.
“Cousteau is very poetic,” she said.
Berne shares a love of the aquatic with her subject. She and her husband, Nick, an artist and art director, spent two years in the early 1990s sailing the high seas. They summered in Maine — which they still do — and spent their winters in the Bahamas.
She brings her research with her on their sea jaunts.
Berne’s love of science led her to write about Albert Einstein. The manuscript, titled “The Story of Albert Einstein, The Boy Who Rode On A Beam of Light,” was recently sold.
She said this book allowed her to explore her fascination with the cosmos.
Berne is currently working on another picture book biography. She wouldn’t say about whom, but gave a few tantalizing clues.
She said that this person, like Einstein and Cousteau, followed his or her passion that began in childhood and grew up to teach the world something new.
“They all started as curious children,” she said.
To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx please call 518-828-1616, ext. 2267, or e-mail aamelinckx@registerstar.com.
By Andrew Amelinckx
ANCRAM — “Bubbles rising through the silence of the sea, silvery beads of breath from a man deep, deep down in a strange and shimmering ocean land. ... A Manfish,” begins “Manfish, A Story of Jacques Cousteau,” Jennifer Berne’s critically acclaimed first picture book biography, which is illustrated by Frenchman ƒric Puybaret.
The author, an Ancram resident with a past almost as interesting as her subject, will be one of 55 authors and illustrators at the Hudson Children’s Book Festival May 16 at the Hudson Middle School on Harry Howard Avenue.
Berne was born and raised in New York City, went to art school at Parsons The New School of Design and at one point worked for famed Pop artist Andy Warhol at his studio known as the Factory.
After that she went into advertising, which she enjoyed thoroughly.
“It was a fun career. It really was,” she recalled.
Her move from advertising copywriter to that of author wasn’t as big a leap as one might imagine, she said.
According to Berne, the two pursuits are similar because in both you have a limited amount of space in which to draw in the audience both visually and with words.
“You have to get a message out in 30 seconds,” she said of advertising. But, she added, there were many differences between the pursuits as well, her favorite being that now she gets to write about subjects that interest her, especially science.
Berne is a regular contributor to the children’s magazine Nick Jr.
She said writing about Cousteau allowed her to explore her interest in the ocean. “Jacques Cousteau is it,” she said.
In 40 pages “Manfish” dives into the life of Cousteau, a famed explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who pioneered marine conservation and co-developed the Aqua-Lung — the diving apparatus still in use today.
Berne said it has never been hard for her to boil down a lot of information into its essential parts, something that helped her during her career in advertising.
“I love doing the research,” she added.
Even with all the research, she still strives to convey a child-like sense of wonder at the subject matter, she said.
With “Manfish” she knew from the beginning that it would be a picture book without a lot of writing and that it would be for a younger audience.
She didn’t want the story to lose its sense of awe, she said, which can sometimes happen with books geared toward older audiences. “It becomes more textbooky,” said Berne.
Berne explained that while writing for ages five and up, which she referred to as “the age of wonder,” she still feels it’s important not to “write down” to the audience.
The writing in “Manfish” has a poetic quality that Berne, who is also a songwriter, said came naturally because of both her love of verse as well as the lyrical quality of Cousteau’s own work.
“Cousteau is very poetic,” she said.
Berne shares a love of the aquatic with her subject. She and her husband, Nick, an artist and art director, spent two years in the early 1990s sailing the high seas. They summered in Maine — which they still do — and spent their winters in the Bahamas.
She brings her research with her on their sea jaunts.
Berne’s love of science led her to write about Albert Einstein. The manuscript, titled “The Story of Albert Einstein, The Boy Who Rode On A Beam of Light,” was recently sold.
She said this book allowed her to explore her fascination with the cosmos.
Berne is currently working on another picture book biography. She wouldn’t say about whom, but gave a few tantalizing clues.
She said that this person, like Einstein and Cousteau, followed his or her passion that began in childhood and grew up to teach the world something new.
“They all started as curious children,” she said.
To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx please call 518-828-1616, ext. 2267, or e-mail aamelinckx@registerstar.com.
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