The importance of nature and outdoor playing is pivotal for a healthy childhood. And local author Cindy Jenson-Elliott is heralding this cause. She has exposed the truth many a wise educator has noted before: in the presence of nature, humankind can find peace. Jenson-Elliott took an in-depth look into the childhood of Ansel Adams and created a pictorial book to portray the delight one can so easily find in nature. The environmental educator and nature columnist knows the incredible importance nature plays in creating a well-rounded atmosphere for a healthy childhood. Many children today are said to have ADD or other similar conditions; all which prompted Jenson-Elliott to begin thinking about the essential role simply spending time outside has on kids. “In 2009, I read a book that catalyzed everything I had been thinking about the environmental movement. Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder really spoke to me about how important it is to get kids outside. I began to look for more ways to get kids outside — through my work as a teacher and my work as a writer. A few years later, I heard Louv lecture about his books, and he mentioned Ansel Adams, and how his father had taken him out of school and let him play outside as a cure for what Adams later called his “hyperactivity” and lack of focus. In an instant, the words “Antsy Ansel” had popped into my head. I went home and began to research Ansel Adams’ life.”
Part of what Jenson-Elliott found was that Ansel Adams’s childhood of the early 1900s is in some ways very similar to children’s lives today. “While he had plenty of access to nature near his home because his father insisted upon it, polite society had strict expectations for children. He went to school in what he called “grimly brown” schools, with straight rows, little access to play, and rote learning,” Jenson-Elliott observed. Having taught in many schools, Jenson-Elliott noted that we are fortunate today that many schools understand children’s need to move and have access to nature through school gardens and natural school yards.
But she also realized that in today’s society, children need the comforts given freely by being in the natural world. This influence led Adams’ to staggering heights as a photographer. “I hope children and adults find an affirmation for their own needs to be outdoors to move and connect with nature. In Antsy Ansel, I tried to recreate what it must have felt like to be in Ansel’s mind — bombarded with stimulus, twitchy from lack of movement, and needing open air. I wanted them to feel the wonder of being alone in nature both big and powerful, and small and delicate. I wanted them to feel Ansel’s joyful connection with nature. I hope they find hope in Ansel Adams’s story — that the things our children struggle with are often gifts —both energy and introversion, insight and attentiveness to things that we may not notice — these may all be signs of greatness to come at a later stage in life.”
Jenson-Elliott said it’s a lovely feeling to see Antsy Ansel finally in print. “I feel so grateful that I have been able to see my ideas come to life through the beautiful art of illustrator Christy Hale. I feel very lucky to be able to share an idea that I believe is so important to the world: that getting kids outside can change them and change the world.”
Antsy Ansel is Jenson-Elliott’s 17th book for children. Her most recent picture books, Weeds Find a Way (Beach Lane Books/Simon and Schuster, 2014) and Dig In! (Beach Lane Books/Simon and Schuster, 2016) are odes to the wonders of the ordinary, every-day aspects of nature– weeds and dirt.
Warwick’s Books will host a book launch for Antsy Ansel: Ansel Adams, a Life in Nature by local author, Cindy Jenson-Elliott, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. at 7812 Girard Ave.
