P.S. 8 [37 Hicks Street] will hold a Craft Fair Saturday (12/10). There will be many items up for sale and local children’s author Melanie Hope Greenberg will be on hand to do a reading for the kids. The fun happens from noon – 4pm.

Some random highlights from Sunday’s Atlantic Antic caught on the Bugle Flipcam by Homer:
Melanie Hope Greenberg’s story time for kids
Simon Rich and Farley Katz : New York Superheroes
The East Village Wine Geek Keith Beavers pairs a wine with LA Slugocki’s Erotica Project
…and Dylan the doggie!

The Brooklyn Bugle gang including your pals from Brooklyn Heights Blog and Cobble Hill Blog will be out in full force this Sunday (10/4) at the Atlantic Antic. Our tent will be stationed in front of the Atlantic Bookshop between Court and Clinton Streets.  We’ll have limited edition Bugle T-shirts that feature a cool Brooklyn Bugle logo remix by Brooklyn Tattoo’s Adam Suerte (while supplies last!!).

Stopping by the big tent — BHB Ten members Melanie Hope Greenberg (10:30am – 11am) and SNL writer Simon Rich (1pm).

Greenberg will be hosting a storytime for kids at 10:30 am – children of all ages are welcome!

Rich and his writing partner/ New Yorker cartoonist Farley Katz will stop by the tent at 1pm to meet and greet fans.  Their New York Superheros cards will be on sale in our tent from 1pm – 2pm.

We’ll be taking photos, shooting video and live blogging from the Antic as well.  Stop by and say hello!

See you Sunday!

(BHB/Sarah Portlock)

The Brooklyn Public Library is current exhibiting a 20-year retrospective exhibit of Brooklyn Heights resident — and BHB 10 member — Melanie Hope Greenberg’s picture books that portray the city’s urban communities.

The show, “Ordinary into Extraordinary,” runs until June 13 in the Youth Wing of the library’s main branch at 10 Grand Army Plaza.

Melanie recapped the opening party on her blog, and here’s a brochure with more information about other exhibits at the library. [pdf]

From Melanie:

When a child grows up in an urban environment, simple everyday occurrences can become extraordinary when the child first discovers the wonder of them. The ordinary also becomes extraordinary when captured in art. Most of my books portray various views of urban life in a snapshot. There are ordinary moments, like a child watching a Brooklyn Heights dog walker in On My Street, and extraordinary moments, like a bird’s eye view of early morning Brooklyn in A City Is or a local Coney Island performance art troupe in Mermaids on Parade.

When I was young, my world vision was shaped in part by looking at picture books, either at home or in school. I could visually identify objects before I knew how to read their names. With that memory in mind, I illustrate children’s picture books so that the art conveys my story in a clear and detailed way. I relate my own environment to those who may never visit New York City. As much as children are literal thinkers, I respect their innate intuitive curiosity. My goal is to broaden children’s vision and help them learn to read.

Melanie Hope Greenberg — 32-year Brooklyn Heights resident and a longtime author/illustrator of children’s books — is on tour, and if her fans at PS 58 are any indication, she’s a rock star.

Greenberg — who was named to The BHB 10 last year — gets inspiration for her books from the neighborhood around her, and for her latest book, “Mermaids on Parade,” focuses on the annual Mermaid Parade in Coney Island.

And so there she was, on Tuesday morning in the snow, reading her book to first and second graders at PS 58 in Carroll Gardens, who couldn’t stop squealing with delight whenever they saw pictures of the boardwalk or the Cyclone.

“The kids were so engaged,” said librarian Maureen Vadala. “She’s very animated, and held their interest. The subject matter is something they identify with, and she was able to use that to her advantage to get them to see the larger picture of how a book is made.”

What’s most noticeable about her work is the color — bright blues, pinks, purples and oranges fill the pages of the Mermaid parade and Coney Island scenes, and in her other books as well.

“Mermaids on Parade” is about a young girl — the narrator — who dresses up as a Mermaid Coming Out of Her Shell, marches in the parade-slash-block-party, and then wins the Best Little Mermaid award.

That was 6-year-old Luke’s favorite part, he said.

“She was so good,” he said, beaming.

Greenberg first conceived of the idea three years ago, marched in the parade twice for research (and for fun), and then wrote her mermaid tale.

Rekindling her inner child wasn’t a problem with this project — it’s hard to not to internalize that creative, youthful energy and spirit of the parade, after all.

“The book was always good vibes from the get-go,” Greenberg said.

“I thought kids would really enjoy the feeling of the book and the magic of the parade, because I knew if I loved it and it brought out my child spirit, children would love it.”

The book itself is Greenberg’s latest Brooklyn Heights-inspired hit. She wrote “Supermarket” in 2001, which is based on the Key Food on Montague Street, and “Aunt Lilly’s Laundromat” in 1994, inspired by Montague Laundry.

“I just like bringing the whole community together,” she said. “It’s exciting.”

Greenberg started drawing as a child, and sold paintings and pins on Montague Street in the 1980s. She then fell into designing greeting cards, scored an agent, and discovered children’s books. For more than 20 years, the two worked together to secure book deals, but recently Greenberg decided to strike out on her own. “Mermaids on Parade” is her first foray, and so far, things are positive, she said.

The PTA at PS 58 purchased 200 copies of her book “A City Is,” which she signed and distributed to second graders. The students are learning about communities, and she taught them how to create dioramas of streetscapes with recycled materials in art class, like making water towers from cocktail umbrellas and paper towel rolls, and windows from plastic bag ties.

But what’s next?

Greenberg focuses on her blog, mermaidsonparade.blogspot.com, where she posts about the process of creating her books and upcoming events.

In April, the Brooklyn Public Library’s main branch in Grand Army Plaza will host a 20-year retrospective of Greenberg’s work titled “Ordinary into Extraordinary,” which will showcase her picture books and illustrations of Brooklyn.

The title, she said, is emblematic of how she views her work.

“In an ordinary street scene, a kid sees things with eyes of wonder and it becomes extraordinary,” she said. “I have a childlike vision, and that’s how I see my work, and that’s the audience I paint for.”

Captions:

Top: Melanie Hope Greenberg, a children’s book author and illustrator, poses with some of her books. “Mermaids on Parade” is her latest.

Bottom: Greenberg explains the process of how to write a book, sell it, and market it to the first graders at PS 58 in Carroll Gardens — and captured the kids’ attention wholeheartedly.

BHB Photos by Sarah Portlock

We thought it would be interesting to compile a list of 10 people who live or work in Brooklyn Heights who we think made an impact on our neighborhood, our city, our country or the world.  We asked for your input as well and the list reflects that.

None of those named in the BHB Ten were notified ahead of time regarding their selection.  If you’re on the list (or if you didn’t make it!) we welcome your comments.

And now, the first ever BHB Ten:

1. Daniel Squadron
In defeating 30 year incumbent NYS Senator Martin Connor,  NYS Senator-elect Daniel Squadron provided Brooklyn Heights (and the NYS SD-25) with its own face of change.  While the 28 year old protege of Senator Chuck Schumer enters one of the most dysfunctional legislative bodies in the Free World this week with no seniority, he’s already keeping his promise to voters that he’d “work hard” if elected.

2. Paul Giamatti
With his Emmy Award winning portrayal of President John Adams, Paul Giamatti helped feed America’s renewed interest in Presidential politics. We’re looking forward to his performance in the upcoming sequel to BubbaHotep.

3. Tim Oltmans
Honored by the BHA in 2007, we applaud Jack the Horse Chef/Owner Tim Oltmans for keeping to his own high standards, rising above the culinary debacles unfolding a block away at the Corner of Cranberry, and continuing to excel at bringing great food, innovative cocktails and an amazing vibe to the (hopefully) burgeoning North Heights food scene.

4. Alan Fishman
While Alan Fishman made an estimated $60K an hour and a $7.5 million signing bonus in the few weeks he spent at the helm of the doomed WaMu Bank, he kindasorta redeemed himself a tiny bit when it was announced that he would refuse a reported $11.6 million severance package.

5. James Grant
BHB’s Claude Scales gets to the point, ” James Grant [had] the prescience to see the omens of the current financial crisis.” He published his fifth book, Mr. Market Miscalculates: The Bubble Years and Beyond in 2008.

6. TK Small
We hadn’t planned to be self-indulgent and name one of our own to the BHB Ten.  However, the efforts by TK Small in 2008 to save LICH, fight for voter accessibility and his countless insightful comments and blog posts here earned him a spot on the list.

7. David Yassky
Whether he’s fighting for parking permits or casting a controversial vote on term limits, our man in the City Council David Yassky seems to be at the center of everything.  The next year is a pivotal one for the Brooklyn Heights resident, he’s got stiff competition should he decide to run again for his council seat (provided term limits are really “readjusted”). If he doesn’t do that, he’ll face uncertain challenges in the race for City Comptroller.

8. Greg Clayman
A local boy and St. Ann’s alum who made good.  As one of the foot soldiers of Web 1.0 companies, Greg Clayman co-founded Upoc a mobile social networking company that pre-dated Twitter by almost a decade.  Now as EVP, Digital Distribution & Business Development at MTV Networks, Clayman is one of the innovators who are laying  the track for the entertainment and music industry’s future.

9. Simon Rich
Son of NY Times columnist Frank Rich, Simon Rich had the distinction of being a writer this year during the most watched and talked about season of Saturday Night Live in two decades. At 24, he’s the youngest writer ever at the show.  His second book  Free Range Chickens was released in 2008. He is currently working on a third book.

10. Melanie Hope Greenberg

The author of 16 books for children, Brooklyn Heights resident Melanie Hope Greenberg released her ode to Coney Island, Mermaids on Parade, in 2008.  Her work keeps art alive in kids’ homes and classrooms everywhere.