Over the summer, Splashdance, the first picture book for children written and illustrated by Liz Starin, MA ’09, was published by Farrar Straus Giroux to considerable acclaim. Chosen as an Amazon.com Summer Reading Editors’ Pick, a Junior Library Guild selection, and a Publishers Weekly Best Summer Book, Starin’s tale concerns Ursula, a sweet white bear. Ursula hopes to win the upcoming water ballet championship, but when the pool adopts a “No Bears” policy (because “Bears are too hairy”), her human partner drops her. Spoiler alert: the good guys win. Starin’s sly tale, with its message of tolerance and inclusiveness, showcases her gently zany drawing style, which has been featured in FIT’s magazine, Hue.
