Iowa City author, illustrator takes kids on Alaskan adventure in new picture book

You may not be familiar with award-winning children's author and illustrator Claudia McGehee's books, but if you've ever swilled a to-go cup of coffee from one of Iowa City's Java House cafes, you've most likely seen her striking images without realizing it.

On March 3, McGehee celebrated the release of her newest picture book, 'My Wilderness: An Alaskan Adventure” (Little Bigfoot/Sasquatch, 2015, $16.99, ages 5 to 9). In this gorgeously illustrated biographical father-son adventure, McGehee takes us back to one 1918 winter when early American Modernist artist Rockwell Kent II spent seven months on Fox Island off the coast of Seward, Alaska, with his 9-year-old son, Rocky, at 'a time when the world was wide, travel was slow and unexpected adventures happened, even to children.”

While Kent found inspiration in the stark, rugged beauty of the wilderness and wished to share that beauty with his son, McGehee, a Pacific Northwest native, found inspiration in Kent's paintings and pen, brush and ink drawings, which graced many classic novels published in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. After reading Kent's 1920 memoir detailing his and Rocky's winter on Fox Island, McGehee decided to write and illustrate the story from Rocky's boyhood perspective.

These seven months on Fox Island, inhabited only by each other, their old frontiersman guide Mr. Olson and Mr. Olson's goats and foxes, ignited Rocky's imagination. Fueled by readings of 'Treasure Island” and Mr. Olson's tales of his prospecting days panning for gold, Rocky had fancies of grizzlies, pirates and wood trolls and enjoyed snow for the first time, declaring himself King of the Wilderness.

Yet, even with its moments of hardship inherent with rugged loneliness, the time came when he had to say goodbye to this wild, special place that McGehee brings to life so beautifully: 'An eagle soared above us, guiding us back to the mainland. We left Fox Island behind, but the wilderness came to stay in my heart forever.”

It is evident that wilderness lives in McGehee's naturalist heart as well, shown passionately through her subject matter. Earning both anthropology and graphic design degrees, McGehee also studied natural history at Oxford University, making for a perfect blend to complement her artistic medium of choice: etched scratchboard lavished with watercolor paints. Her art is often mistaken for woodcuts, just as Rockwell Kent's pen, brush and ink bookplate drawings were over half a century ago.

Last year, McGehee had the pleasure of visiting Fox Island, standing where Rocky and Rockwell Kent stood, peering onto what now are cabin ruins. Traveling their course from Seward to the island, she recalls, 'Somehow being on the same waters that Rocky and his father rowed across connected me over the years.”

Ending the book with a wonderful author's note and three historic photographs showing Rocky, his father and Mr. Olson with goats alongside their small wilderness cabin, McGehee also includes a thoughtful teacher's guide with discussion questions and activity suggestions.

McGehee's not-to-be-missed past titles include 'A Tallgrass Prairie Alphabet” (2004, $17.95, ages 2 and up), 'A Woodland Counting Book” (2006, $17.95, ages 2 and up), and 'Where Do Birds Live?” (2010, $17.95, ages 4 and up), all published by University of Iowa Press.

' Wendy Henrichs is a children's author living in Iowa City.

If you go

What: Claudia McGehee will speak at the following upcoming events

Cedar Rapids: 'From Studio to House: How Illustrators Work with their Publishers” panel discussion and book signing, 1 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, 410 Third Ave. SE

Iowa City: Book launch party followed by light reception and display of original art from her book, 4 p.m. March 28 at Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St.

Iowa City: Presentation and book signing 3 p.m. April 26 at the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History, 11 Macbride Hall

For more information: claudia-mcgehee.com