Mary Jane Begin's latest book to publish in July
Mary Jane Begin, 85 IL and award winning Indie Publisher, Nancy Cleary 90 GD (Wyatt-MacKenzie), teamed up to produce Mary Jane's latest picture-book, Ping Meets Pang.
The two alums had never met, but when Mary Jane's agent shared the manuscript for the story with Nancy, she was enthusiastic about taking on the book as the theme of "otherness" and Mary Jane's approach resonated with her.
Ping and Pang are both Pandas, but they don't look a thing like one another and that's a problem. Each maintains they possess the true qualities of being a Panda; the correct color, the size and shape of their ears, the even fluffiness of their tails. It is only when they realize what they have in common do they slowly appreciate each other's differences. The analogy to today's political and racial climate points to acceptance of the other side's differences and finding common ground.
Author/illustrator Mary Jane Begin says of Ping Meets Pang: "While on a recent trip to China I had the chance to visit the world-famous Chengdu Panda Research Base. My hope was to have a glimpse these roly-poly creatures in person. While on tour through the sanctuary, I spotted a section with Red pandas. I thought these don't look like pandas, they look more like red raccoons! I immediately imagined that the Red Panda would have a bit of a chip on its shoulder because everyone thinks a panda looks like a Giant Panda. When I came back to the States, I started sketching. Slowly the story transformed to be about two pandas who don't believe the other is actually a panda because they look and act so differently from each other."
The book, published on July 6 will have a book launch at Barrington Books, Country Rd. Barrington, RI on July 17th @ 11 am with a reading, drawing exercise and signing. The book is also available on-line.
