Friday, October 31, 2025

Art History - Nonny Hogrogian

In my 2025-2026 school year plan, I decided that November's artist would be Nonny Hogrogian. (Here's the list of all the artists we've studied so far.) Let's dive into some resources and my planning notes:


Nonny Hogrogian
1932 - 2024


written (or retold) and illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian:


written and illustrated in partnership with her husband, David Kherdian:


illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian:


She also wrote the preface to Lester Walker's Housebuilding for Children: Step-by-Step Plans for Houses Children Can Build Themselves.


obituaries

Nonny Hogrogian, 92, Honored Illustrator of Children’s Books, Dies
The New York Times - Jun 4, 2024

Remembering and Celebrating Artist and Author Nonny Hogrogian (1932-2024)
National Association for Armenian Studies and Research


her memoir

Finding My Name, 2004
"A memoir of her first thirteen years growing up in the Bronx, New York. It explores both her efforts to find herself as a budding artist and the joys and difficulties of growing up as an Armenian-American torn between two cultures."


her 1966 Caldecott Award acceptance speech
encyclopedia.com


her 1966 essay, "The Story Sets the Pace: An Illustrator's View of Design"
encyclopedia.com


other articles

Caldecott Winning Illustrators Series: Nonny Hogrogian
bookstellyouwhy.com

Maurice Sendak Sent Beautifully Illustrated Letters to Fans — So Beautiful a Kid Ate One
openculture.com


ideas

read Nonny Hogrogian's obituary and memoir and compare the two

read Balderdash! and learn more about the Newbery and Caldecott Medals

make recipes from Armenia

older children can read The Road From Home: A True Story of Courage, Survival and Hope by David Kherdian (about the Armenian genocide)

have the children do outdoor storytelling inspired by Suzanne Down's Nov 2025 puppetry workshop "Creating Healing Shelter Puppet Stories in Nature"

look at several books illustrated with woodcuts, then make our own relief blocks by carving Ivory soap and inking and stamping our designs

read Ann Durell's essay from Mar 15, 1966 (Library Journal 91, no. 6)

pass out books and have children try to identify what art material(s) Hogrogian used to illustrate them

read Down Come the Leaves and interpret it by doing Layered Seed Stitch

find examples of books (or poems, which may be easier) that have been interpreted and illustrated in different ways by different artists

give a child a "manuscript" to illustrate using whatever style they feel is appropriate to the story

read Handmade Secret Hiding Places and build a cozy fort on Pajama Day!




Still waiting for a lot of these books to arrive from the library, so I will write up my ideas as I read and am inspired by her work. Looking forward to this!


week of November 3:

Mon

    introduce Nonny Hogrogian

    because we have so many of her books, I decided to read one each day at snacktime and tie it in with our academic work wherever I can

    read The Hermit and Harry and Me

    Philosophy discussion (Responsibility, session 1)


Tue


Wed


Thu



week of November 10:

Mon

    read Sir Ribbeck of Ribbeck of Havelland

    Spelling pretest (is, are, was, were)

      Sir Ribbeck's son is very selfish and greedy.

      The pears are juicy and delicous.

      The old man was very clever.

      The children were happy to have the pears once more.


Tue


Wed


Thu

    read "Sandy MacNeil and His Dog" from Gaelic Ghosts

    test our soap carvings by inking them with stamp pads
    (this did not work, which was disappointing because they were very excited about this idea! if I did this again I would use potatoes)


all the books I've found that Nonny Hogrogian illustrated with woodcuts:

King of the Kerry Fair by Nicolete Meredith, 1960

Gaelic Ghosts by Sorche Nic Leodhas, 1963

Arbor Day by Aileen Fisher, 1965

Ghosts Go Haunting by Sorche Nic Leodhas, 1965

Hand in Hand We'll Go... 10 Poems by Robert Burns, 1965

The Kitchen Knight by Barbara Schiller, 1965

Sir Ribbeck of Ribbeck of Havelland translated by Elizabeth Shub, 1969


week of November 17:

Mon


Tue

    read The Glass Mountain retold from the Brothers Grimm

    begin to read excerpts from Finding My Name (Nonny Hogrogian's memoir of her childhood) as our lunchtime read aloud story


Wed


Thu



week of December 1:

Mon


Tue

    read Always Room for One More by Sorche Nic Leodhas

    go outside into the snowy weather and tell shelter stories (inspired by notes from the Nov 2025 puppetry workshop with Suzanne Down)


Wed


Thu



Note: This link is driving me nuts because I can't find out any more about it. It says, "Nonny Hogrogian, Reading Pictures Exploring Illustrations with Children" but my assumption is that it is actually "Reading Pictures: Exploring Illustrations with Children" by Nonny Hogrogian. Is it an article?

    ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0931205298

    Publisher ‏ : ‎ Jenson

    Language ‏ : ‎ English

    Print length ‏ : ‎ 32 pages


This post contains affiliate links to materials I truly use for homeschooling. Qualifying purchases provide me with revenue. Thank you for your support!

No comments: