ME + TREE reimagines what happens to the Giving Tree many years on, when a girl new to the city befriends an old tree at the playground. In sharing their stories and revealing their joys and sorrows, they see into each other’s lives, discovering, as all true friends do, that being seen and understood is one of the purest expressions of love. And friendship, in all its forms, is a balm for healing, a force for wholeness (Source).
Author(s): Alexandria Giardino, Anna Balbusso, Elena Balbusso
Alexandria Giardino lives in Northern California. When she is not writing and teaching, Alex is most likely riding her mountain bike or hiking on Mt Tam with her family and their beloved Boston terrier. She also has a black belt in karate and loves to share martial arts with kids. Alex previously lived in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Santiago, Chile, where she wrote, translated, and sold art. Her translation of Pablo Neruda’s wife’s memoir, My Life with Pablo Neruda is available here. Her essays have appeared in English and Spanish in numerous publications and on air at KQED. Alex is represented by Nicole Geiger at Full Circle Literary. Alex is a frequent panelist and presenter on topics related to writing for children. She also loves connecting with kids and their communities. To schedule a virtual or in-person event with Alex, please contact her HERE (Source).
Anna and Elena Balbusso, also known as the Balbusso Twins, are two award-winnig Italian sisters artists team living in Milan. Their work has been published by major international publishers and companies through out the world on various media. They’ve illustrated more than 50 illustrated books, including the luxury limited edition of The Great Gatsby for Beehive Books, the deluxe Folio Society editions of The Handmaid’s Tale, Pride and Prejudice, and Atlas Shrugged. In their career they received more than 90 international honors & awards, including three Gold medals, a Silver medal and the Stevan Dohanos Award from the prestigious Society of Illustrators, as well as two Joseph Morgan Henninger Awards and a Silver of the SILA of Los Angeles; a Gold Award of 3×3 Illustration Pro show n.18; the Victoria and Albert Museum Illustration Awards Best Book. In 2022 they won the Graphis Silver Award Designer for Peace United with Ukraine Protest Posters by Graphis Inc. Their work featured in numerous publications, magazines and newspapers including The Economist, The New Yorker, The New York Times and Reader’s Digest. The Norman Rockwell Museum has included Balbusso Twins in the illustration history among the illustrators of The Decade 2010. Their artwork has been exhibited internationally. They are part of the Tolerance project, the tolerance poster travel show curated by artist-activist Mirko Ilic with famous artists and designers from all over the world. They have been included among the 18 greatest Italian artists in the “Children’s illustration: Italian Excellence”, travel show of Bologna Children’s Book Fair. They participated to XXI Triennale of Milan, W-Women in Italian Design and to “Normal Wonders. The Hand. international Artists and Designers interpreted the ceramic hand designed by Mimmo Paladino”, the charity exhibition curated by Alessandro Guerriero and Alessandra Zucchi. Balbusso Twins have been featured in many publications including “The Power and Influence of illustration” by Alan Male Emeritus Professor of Falmouth University; “Le Figure per dirlo” by Paola Pallottino, history of Italian women illustrators active from the 17th century to today by Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani; “Illusive Contemporary Illustration Part 4”, from German publisher Gestalten. Their work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators New York, the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles (SILA), the AOI, The Society of Publication Designers (SPD), Graphis Inc., Communication Arts, American Illustration, 3×3 The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration, The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), The University & College Designers Association (UCDA), The Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists (ASFA), Spectrum, Creative Quarterly, Applied Arts Magazine, Andersen Review, Lürzers Archive 200 Best Illustrators worldwide, Bologna Children’s Book Fair, BIB Biennial of Illustration Bratislava, The CJ Picture Book Festival Seoul Korea. They have been members of the Society of Illustrators of New York since 2009 and of the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles since 2015. They are represented by Shannon Associates LLC New York, US (Source).