Doris Burn
Encyclopedia
Doris "Doe" Wernstedt Burn (April 24, 1923 – March 9, 2011) was an American children's book author and illustrator. She lived most of her life on Waldron Island in the San Juan Islands
archipelago of Washington. Her book illustrations, mostly done between 1965 and 1971, consist of absorbingly detailed line drawings, often of children matter-of-factly doing extraordinary things.
Burn was born in Portland, Oregon
to explorer, mountaineer and United States Forest Service
worker Lage Wernstedt and his wife Adele. The family resided on Guemes Island
near Anacortes
. After being interviewed by June Burn
for the Bellingham Herald, Mr. Wernstedt and his family became friends of the Burns and built a summer cabin near theirs on Waldron, a small island without ferry service.
Burn attended the University of Oregon
and the University of Hawaii
, and graduated from the University of Washington
. She married South (Bob) Burn after World War II
and the couple made their home on Waldron Island. She had four children, whom she taught for one year on Guemes Island's one-room schoolhouse. Burn separated from her husband, but they remained lifelong friends and neighbors.
Burn worked on her meticulous illustrations in the evenings, in "a small cabin where she spends the day at work after chopping enough wood to keep the fire going through the day, hauling two buckets of water from the pump for washing brushes and pens and brewing 'a perpetual pot of tea'". Waldron Island was without electricity, telephone service, running water or merchants. All of her goods and supplies were brought by boat from the mainland.
In 1956 Burn took a portfolio of illustrations to publishers in New York and was encouraged to continue working. Her children remember her working late nights by lantern-light with the fireplace burning down to embers.
Burn's oldest son, Mark, was the inspiration for her first book, Andrew Henry's Meadow (1965
), the story of a boy who, ignored by his family, builds a retreat for himself in a nearby meadow. He is soon joined by other children for whom he also builds houses, tailored to their interests and hobbies.
Andrew Henry's Meadow won the Washington Governor's Art Award and was a Weekly Reader
book club selection. It was reissued in a 40th anniversary edition by San Juan Publishing in 2005. She went on to write two other works, The Summerfolk and The Tale of Lazy Lizard Canyon, and illustrated eight others.
Burn died in March 2011 after a long illness.
has been adapting Andrew Henry's Meadow into a film for Twentieth Century Fox since 2004. Barry Sonnenfeld
signed on to direct the film in early 2010.
San Juan Islands
The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the northwest corner of the contiguous United States between the US mainland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of the U.S...
archipelago of Washington. Her book illustrations, mostly done between 1965 and 1971, consist of absorbingly detailed line drawings, often of children matter-of-factly doing extraordinary things.
Burn was born in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
to explorer, mountaineer and United States Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
worker Lage Wernstedt and his wife Adele. The family resided on Guemes Island
Guemes Island
Guemes Island is a small island in western Skagit County, Washington state, USA. It is located north of the town of Anacortes on Fidalgo Island and is accessible by both private boat and by the Guemes Island ferry operated by Skagit County....
near Anacortes
Anacortes, Washington
Anacortes is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is a consolidation of the name Anna Curtis, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman. Anacortes' population was 15,778 at the time of the 2010 census...
. After being interviewed by June Burn
June Burn
June Burn was an American author.June Burn was born Inez Chandler Harris on June 19, 1893 in Anniston, Alabama. Her father was a Methodist circuit riding minister. At age sixteen she moved to Oklahoma and eventually graduated from Oklahoma State University. In 1917 she started working as a...
for the Bellingham Herald, Mr. Wernstedt and his family became friends of the Burns and built a summer cabin near theirs on Waldron, a small island without ferry service.
Burn attended the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
and the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
, and graduated from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
. She married South (Bob) Burn after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the couple made their home on Waldron Island. She had four children, whom she taught for one year on Guemes Island's one-room schoolhouse. Burn separated from her husband, but they remained lifelong friends and neighbors.
Burn worked on her meticulous illustrations in the evenings, in "a small cabin where she spends the day at work after chopping enough wood to keep the fire going through the day, hauling two buckets of water from the pump for washing brushes and pens and brewing 'a perpetual pot of tea'". Waldron Island was without electricity, telephone service, running water or merchants. All of her goods and supplies were brought by boat from the mainland.
In 1956 Burn took a portfolio of illustrations to publishers in New York and was encouraged to continue working. Her children remember her working late nights by lantern-light with the fireplace burning down to embers.
Burn's oldest son, Mark, was the inspiration for her first book, Andrew Henry's Meadow (1965
1965 in literature
The year 1965 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Lloyd Alexander - The Black Cauldron*J. G. Ballard - The Drought*Ray Bradbury - The Vintage Bradbury*John Brunner...
), the story of a boy who, ignored by his family, builds a retreat for himself in a nearby meadow. He is soon joined by other children for whom he also builds houses, tailored to their interests and hobbies.
Andrew Henry's Meadow won the Washington Governor's Art Award and was a Weekly Reader
Weekly Reader
Weekly Reader is a weekly educational classroom magazine designed for children in grades Pre-K–12. It began in 1928 as My Weekly Reader....
book club selection. It was reissued in a 40th anniversary edition by San Juan Publishing in 2005. She went on to write two other works, The Summerfolk and The Tale of Lazy Lizard Canyon, and illustrated eight others.
Burn died in March 2011 after a long illness.
Works
Author and illustrator
-
- Fortieth Anniversary Edition. (2005) Woodinville, WA: San Juan Publishing. ISBN 0-9707399-2-3
Illustrator
- Joseph Jacobs. Hudden and Dudden and Donald O'Neary. New York: Coward-McCann. 1968
- Robert Nathan. Tappy. Knopf. 1968
- Liesel Moak Skorpen. We Were Tired of Living in a House. New York: Coward-McCann. 1969
- Patricia Lee GauchPatricia Lee GauchPatricia Lee Gauch is an author who has written over 30 works of children's literature. In 1993, Gauch was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. She has been a resident of the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, New Jersey...
. My Old Tree. New York: Coward-McCann. 1970 - Patricia Lee Gauch. Christina Katerina & the Box. New York: Putnam & Grosset. 1971
- Oscar Brand, When I Came First to this Land. New York: G. B. Putnam's. 1974
Film
Actor Zach BraffZach Braff
Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...
has been adapting Andrew Henry's Meadow into a film for Twentieth Century Fox since 2004. Barry Sonnenfeld
Barry Sonnenfeld
Barry Sonnenfeld is an American filmmaker and television director. He worked as cinematographer for the Coen brothers, then later he directed and produced big budget films such as Men in Black.-Life and career:...
signed on to direct the film in early 2010.