Doug
Anderson
Margot Apple
Robin Brickman
Nancy Sippel Carpenter
Ken Condon
Diane deGroat
Anna Dewdney
Beverly Duncan
Roc Goudreau
Linda Graves
Rebecca Guay
John Steven Gurney
Nancy Haver
Laura Jacques
Gary Lippincott
Rich Lynes
Andrew Magee
Bob Marstall
Lauren Mills
Matthew Mitchell
Michael Nelson
Dennis Nolan
Beth Roberge Friedrichs
Shelley Rotner
Ruth Sanderson
Kevin Slattery
Nicole Tadgell
Richard Walz
Wendy Watson
Peter O. Zierlein
Margot Apple
Robin Brickman
Nancy Sippel Carpenter
Ken Condon
Diane deGroat
Anna Dewdney
Beverly Duncan
Roc Goudreau
Linda Graves
Rebecca Guay
John Steven Gurney
Nancy Haver
Laura Jacques
Gary Lippincott
Rich Lynes
Andrew Magee
Bob Marstall
Lauren Mills
Matthew Mitchell
Michael Nelson
Dennis Nolan
Beth Roberge Friedrichs
Shelley Rotner
Ruth Sanderson
Kevin Slattery
Nicole Tadgell
Richard Walz
Wendy Watson
Peter O. Zierlein
Dancing in the Moonlight
Nicole Tadgell
14 Sampson Street
Spencer, MA 01562
Nicole Tadgell was born in Detroit, Michigan. Her family moved frequently, living in Michigan, Texas, New York and Massachusetts. In Texas, when it was too hot to play outside, she and her older sister would spend hours playing with dolls, reading, and their favorite activity, drawing. We used up our coloring books quickly, and realized it was much more fun to make our own. We wrote our own stories and made paper dolls with elaborate paper costumes, and even a swimming pool! Nicole recalls. I loved being a kid, and somehow I never let go of that feeling. Frequent moves only increased her natural shyness, especially because she was sometimes the only black kid in the class or even the whole grade. Feeling different drew Nicole further into her own created worlds on paper, art was both fun and an escape. While at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, Nicole studied studio art and education, hoping to become an art teacher. But she recalled how much fun it was to draw her own stories, and concluded that illustrating childrens books could be the right path. I knew I wanted to be an artist from a very early age, Nicole says. It wasnıt until after college that I realized there was something missing from my childhood: books with kids who looked like me. Her growth as an artist included becoming comfortable with herself, her shyness, being the new kid, and being black. Joining the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), taught Nicole a great deal about illustration as a career. Encouraged to develop her art in a more realistic direction, Nicole created a portfolio showing lively characters with an authenticity that was uniquely hers. Today, Nicole has eight books and numerous educational pieces published. I love working on childrenıs books, Nicole says. Sometimes I pretend Iım the kid in the book, and do the things they do in the story to really get a feel for each book. Nicole met Mark Tadgell, a student at WPI, while at Wheaton College. They married after graduation, and now live in Spencer with their two border terriers, Brandy and Boomer. Her other interests include birdwatching, hiking, canoeing, quilting, knitting and of course, reading.
Published Titles:
Josias, Hold the Book by Jennifer Reismeyer Elvgren.
Boyds Mills Press (forthcoming)
Lights Out! by Angela Shelf Medearis. Color-Bridge Books
A Day With Daddy by Nikki Grimes. Color-Bridge Books
I'll Do The Right Thing by Jean Alicia Elster. Judson Press
I'll Fly My Own Plane by Jean Alicia Elster. Judson Press
Moving Day Surprise by Tina Stolberg. Bebop Books
I Have a Dream, Too by Jean Alicia Elster. Judson Press
Fatuma's New Cloth by Leslie Bulion. Moon Mountain
2003 Children's Africana Book Award Winner
Just Call Me Joe Joe by Jean Alicia Elster. Judson Press
