Deborah Blumenthal encourages kids to pursue their artistic visions by playing with size, shape, color, materials and style. She is the author of 27 books, about half are written for children ages 4-9. Her latest children''s book, "Frank, Who Liked To Build" (Kar-Ben) is about the architecture of Frank Gehry. Blumenthal is an award-winning journalist, a regular contributor to The New York Times, including four years as the Sunday New York Times Magazine beauty columnist, and a home-design columnist for Newsday. She and her husband lived in West University for five years. Gehry is best-known for his unorthodox buildings that are the opposite of the severe sharp-edged box - like modern building style, devoid of superfluous ornament - architecture stripped to its barest bones. In contrast, Gehry''s buildings, like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the Olympic Fish Pavilion in Barcelona, "curve and swerve and undulate like swimming fish" according to Blumenthal. "Gehry''s buildings are more about fun and seeing the world in a different way," Blumenthal told the JHV.

"His ideas come from playing, dreaming and looking at architecture in a positive way. Sometimes, his architectural drawings seem goofy and crazy, but they are very grounded in reality when it comes to function. At age 93, Gehry is still working. "I love people who have a passion for work, who are constantly creating," said Blumental. "I discovered there wasn''t a picture-book biography about Gehry. I''m always looking for picture-book ideas. It takes me longer to find an idea than to write the book because, once I start, I work on it 24/7." Blumenthal has written other children''s books about visionary artists and designers, such as jeweled evening bag designer Judith Leiber; fashion photographer Bill Cunningham; and party gown designer Ann Cole Lowe.

These people are not the usual subjects of juvenile literature. Lowe, for example, designed the wedding dress that Jacqueline Bouvier wore when she married John F. Kennedy. However, Lowe received little public recognition because she was Black. "Kids love to dress up and are interested in the subject of clothing," remarked Blumenthal. "I''m trying to encourage kids in a positive way from early on." That said, her own kids didn''t have any special exposure to build environments other than the usual Lincoln Logs and LEGO building sets. "We would vacation at beach houses, and the kids would play with sand and shells.

But none of my kids became architects or wedding gown designers, for that matter." Blumenthal wrote her first children''s book, "The-Chocolate-Covered-Cookie Tantrum" in 1996. The story is simple: Coming home from the park with her mother, Sophie sees another kid munching on a chocolate covered cookie. Sophie wants that cookie. Now! Her mom logically explains why Sophie can''t have that cookie. Sophie doesn''t respond to her mom''s logic. She throws a tantrum that escalates with fury on each page. "Kids think it''s funny, the idea of another child having a tantrum," said Blumenthal.

"It''s the kind of story they want to read over and over. So, it covers two of the most important things you need in a children''s book: a fun factor and a situation that keeps kids reading it over and over." In "Frank, Who Liked To Build," Blumenthal emphasizes how, as a youngster, Gehry would use "scraps of whatever was around" to create his structures. Bits of wood from a sack for the family''s woodstove. Chunks of dough his grandma would give him to play with while she baked challah. As a youngster, Gehry played with whatever materials he had. He learned through play. And, he was always playing.

That''s why his parents thought he was a dreamer and wouldn''t amount to anything if he didn''t grow up. Blumenthal''s message to her juvenile readers: Keep dreaming, playing and following your passions. "Writing kid''s books forces you to crystalize your thoughts," she said. "When I go over juvenile writing in my classes for writers, I ask students: What do you want to say? Why is each word on the page? There''s no room for anything extraneous. "Write your story in the most simple and elemental way. Everything has to be clear, perfectly expressed. Writing children''s books is wonderful training for any kind of writing.".