Life & Style INFLUENCER

By Elyse Major

Meet Cheryl Hatch

Whether

You’ve enjoyed a career as an international journalist. How does that differ (or not) from telling local stories?

In Africa, the Middle East, or on Aquidneck Island, I have the same principles and practices that guide my approach to reporting and telling local stories. I am over the moon to be the Newport Bureau Reporter for The Public’s Radio. I have joined a group of big-hearted, talented, dedicated sta and journalists. We’re on a mission. I’m happy and honored to be a part of it.

Have you always lived in Rhode Island?

I did not grow up here but both sides of my family go back generations on this island. My mother and father grew up about one and a half miles from each other and went to URI. My dad was a career Army o cer, so we moved 20-plus times before I graduated high school; we often came home for Christmas and summer vacations. My father taught me to body surf at Sachuest Beach and to drive in the parking lot! I moved here four and a half years ago with the intention to make this my home.

What are your favorite small businesses to eat, shop, and visit across the East Bay?

I love to break bread with people, so this is a question after my own heart. In Newport: Bar ‘Cino, the Black Pearl, and Hummingbird Cafe (the jerk chicken with plantains is my fave). Over in Middletown: Anthony’s for seafood, Bangkok City, Chelsea’s, and Island Books; Le Bec Sucré and Le Bec Salé are my new favorite additions. The Boathouse in Tiverton is a perennial favorite, Beehive Cafe in Bristol, and if I leave the island, I like BEECH in Jamestown for lunch and dinner.

When you’re not working on a story, where can we find you?

By, in, or on the ocean. Body surfing at Second Beach. Walking Sachuest Point. Swimming with friends in Potter Cove in Jamestown. For years, even before I lived here, I’ve joined my friend Elizabeth Gibbs on her monthly beach clean-up at Sachuest Point for Clean Ocean Access. Also find me at the post o ce. I still write letters and postcards and send them to my friends and family all over the world. Or at home: I am gently caring for the house where my mom grew up. And I love to bake, so when I’m not in the yard working or reading a book, I’d be in the kitchen baking pies and cookies. Read Hatch’s article about the closing of Gary’s Handy Lunch on page 14.

Linden Place’s Derby Day Party will run neck and neck with the celebrations at Churchill Downs! This annual favorite now offers two ways for people to celebrate “the most exciting two minutes in sports.” Attend the full event, which includes watching the Derby on the big screen, dinner and a live auction, or join the festivities at Derby Night, the after party immediately following with a live band under the big tent.

This event sells out every year so grab your tickets early!

By Callie Bisset

A Knight’s Tale

A chat with Barrington’s own Caldecott Honor winner Christopher Denise on how his award-winning hero was hatched

For children’s book illustrator Christopher Denise, a family dinner just might turn into another award-winning title. His latest book, Knight Owl , a New York Times bestseller, recently won an American Library Association Caldecott Honor, and the initial concept began at a family pizza night.

Denise, a Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) graduate, works from his home studio in Barrington. Born in Massachusetts but raised in Ireland, Denise always had a passion for art. He explains, “I was that kid who was always drawing. But the idea of being an artist or an illustrator never occurred to me. I didn’t even know what an illustrator was.” He briefly studied art history and archaeology before transferring to RISD and finding his creative direction.

Denise has an acclaimed career in children’s illustration, but Knight Owl is the first book he wrote as well as illustrated. “Over the years, I’ve been so lucky to work with and learn from amazing authors like Brian Jacques, Jane Yolen, wife Anika Denise, Phyllis Root, and Rosemary Wells. My first editor told me that when I was ready, I should start writing my own books. I guess I was finally ready,” says Denise.

Knight Owl features an unlikely hero who saves the day with his nocturnal strength and pizza. Denise recites how a chat over a pie inspired the story: “I was trying, unsuccessfully, to get a story together about an owl that stays up all night… a night owl. Then our daughter Isabel asked the magic question: ‘What if?’ She asked, ‘What if the owl was a knight?’ I immediately started sketching on my iPad. With that one question, I knew the character and a good part of the story.”

The book is filled with word play and enchanting digital illustrations. Denise works almost exclusively digitally and draws upon artistic influences such as N.C. Wyeth, Johannes Vermeer, and Hiroshi Yoshida; his technique lends itself to the moody images that immerse viewers into this storybook realm.

Within this world, little Owl dreams of being a proper knight and battling dragons. After completing knight school, he is assigned to the night shift and succeeds as the only knight to stay awake. The illustrations of the glowy castle scenes, fierce dragons, and wide-eyed owl enchant readers.

“Many kids and adults have written to me about appreciating Knight Owl ’s themes of bravery and friendship. I think those are universal themes any age reader can relate to, and I’m glad they see a bit of themselves in Owl’s story,” says Denise.

Through his distinguished career, Knight Owl is Denise’s first Caldecott Honor. “With Knight Owl , I knew I had created a really solid piece of work but never expected anything that happened after we published. The Caldecott Honor is just amazing and I am so grateful. I have no idea what it means yet… it’s still sinking in,” he shares.

The American Library Association (ALA) announced the winners of the 2023 Youth Media Awards at its LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience conference in January. The awards are selected by judging committees composed of librarians and other children’s experts, and per ALA, “encourage original and creative work.”

What’s next? Denise is always at work on a new project and plans to produce more Knight Owl books. “Owl will have a few new adventures, and make a few new friends,” he shares. Denise also illustrated a forthcoming book Willow and Bunny by Anita Rowe Schulte to be released in 2023 or early 2024. For upcoming events and more visit ChristopherDenise.com

BY MAGGIE MULVENA PEARSON