{{Short description|American author and illustrator (born 1930)}} '''Helen Borten''' (b. 1930) is an American author and illustrator of [[Children's literature|books for children]], and an award-winning [[Journalist|broadcast journalist]].
== Early life and education == Helen Borten was born in [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Collection: Helen Borten Papers {{!}} University of Minnesota Archival Collections Guides |url=https://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/4/resources/6198 |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=archives.lib.umn.edu}}</ref> Her father, a [[Bench jeweler|jeweler]] who had fallen into financial difficulty due to the [[Great Depression]], abandoned the family on the day of her birth. He re-entered her life when she was eight years old.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Blumenthal |first=Ralph |date=August 18, 1997 |title=Radio Documentaries Focus on Overlooked Corners |work=New York Times |id={{ProQuest|<!-- Add ProQuest data here -->}} }}</ref>
Borten attended the [[University of the Arts (Philadelphia)|Philadelphia Museum College of Art]] on a full scholarship, and intended to become a painter. She described her first few years after art school as "trudging [her] portfolio around NYC from art director to art director," which resulted in work as a freelance illustrator for book jackets, album covers, and greeting cards.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2012-09-12 |title=Helen Borten: A chance chat with a famous Children's Illustrator. |url=https://fishinkblog.com/2012/09/12/helen-borten-a-chance-chat-with-a-famous-childrens-illustrator/ |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=Fish Ink |language=en}}</ref>
== Children's books == Helen Borten began writing and illustrating books for children in the late 1950s and continued her work throughout the 1960s. Her first published book was ''Little Big-Feather'' (1956), written by Joseph Longstreth with illustrations by Borten.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Burnett|first=Matia |title=Classic Children's Books by Helen Borten Return to Print |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/70206-classic-children-s-books-by-helen-borten-return-to-print.html |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=PublishersWeekly.com |language=en}}</ref> ''Little Big-Feather'' was named one of the ten best illustrated books of 1956 by ''[[The New York Times]]''. Borten appeared on that list again in 1959 with ''Do You See What I See?,'' her first book as sole author and illustrator.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Inglis |first=Theo |title=Mid-century modern graphic design |date=2019 |publisher=Batsford |isbn=978-1-84994-482-3 |location=London, United Kingdom |pages=219}}</ref> She went on to write a total of nine books of her own and illustrated, by her estimate, more than 20 others, including several from the [[Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science]] books series.<ref name=":4" />
After falling [[out of print]], Borten's work received renewed attention in the 21st century. In 2016 Flying Eye Books, the children's imprint of [[Nobrow Press]], announced that it would be reprinting several of her books. Flying Eye's co-founder Sam Arthur described Borten's work as "groundbreaking" and in line with the publisher's mission to rediscover and republish striking examples of [[Vintage (design)|vintage]] children's book art. The books were prepared for reprint using original artwork held in the Children's Literature Research Collections at the [[University of Minnesota]] libraries, as well as by making scans of original editions.<ref name=":2" />
The publisher Enchanted Lion also planned a series of reprints, beginning with ''The Jungle'' in 2017.<ref name=":2" /> Borten called this wave of interest in republishing her decades-old work "an eerie kind of rebirth."<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Danielson |first=Julie |date=April 27, 2016 |title=Seeing the World with Helen Borten |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/seeing-world-helen-borten/ |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=Kirkus Reviews |language=en}}</ref>
Borten used the [[Monotyping|monotype]] technique for her illustrations, working with [[oil paint]] on glass to make a transfer print.<ref name=":2" /> Although working in the limited palette of [[Four-color process|four-color separations]], she used areas of overlap to mix colors and achieve a wider range.<ref name=":6" /> She has cited the woodcuts of [[Antonio Frasconi]] as a major inspiration, as well as the work of [[Leonard Baskin]].<ref name=":4" />
Her books focus on exploring perception and introducing aspects of science and the natural world to young readers.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Popova |first=Maria |date=2019-06-28 |title=A Day in the Life of the Jungle: A Poetic Vintage Illustrated Ode to the Wilderness and the Glorious Diversity of Life on Earth |url=https://www.themarginalian.org/2019/06/27/the-jungle-helen-borten/ |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=The Marginalian |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> The reprint of ''Do You See What I See?'' was praised in [[Kirkus Reviews]] for the way it "explores the relationship between the design elements of line, shape, and color and how they make readers feel."<ref name=":6" />
== Journalism == In 1989, Borten moved from children's literature to a career in broadcast journalism.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Kansas |first=Dave |date=March 19, 1991 |title=Manhattan Profile / Helen Borten |pages=28 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|<!-- insert ProQuest data here -->}} }}</ref> She began volunteering at the [[Public broadcasting|public radio]] station [[WNYC]] in New York City, where she worked with [[Leonard Lopate]] on his weekly program ''New York and Company.'' She was quickly hired on as an assistant producer at WNYC, creating award-winning work for the station over the course of two years before losing her job during staff-wide layoffs.<ref name=":5" /> Borten went freelance from then on, building a national career as a reporter and producer. Her work was presented by [[NPR|National Public Radio]] (NPR), [[Monitor Radio]], and Crossroads.<ref name=":3" />
=== A Sense of Place === Between 1994 and 2004 Borten created a sprawling documentary series titled ''A Sense of Place,'' which covered a wide variety of topics over its three seasons and 43 parts.<ref name=":2" /> It was inspired by a six-week cross-country road trip she took with her son Laurence in 1987.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" />
The first 13 parts were broadcast nationally during the summer of 1997. The ''Times'' described Borten's approach to the series as "poking her tape recorder into odd and overlooked corners of the American landscape." She made episodes on the lives of [[Sideshow|sideshow performers]], [[Farmworkers in the United States|agricultural workers]], and [[Mohawk people#Mohawk ironworkers in New York|Akwesasne Mohawk ironworkers]], among many other subjects, and profiled larger-than-life figures like writer [[Thomas McGuane|Tom McGuane]], blues singer [[Diamond Teeth Mary]], and composer [[Conlon Nancarrow]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Michaelson |first=Judith |date=1998-11-26 |title=An American Mosaic |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-nov-26-ca-47807-story.html |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=A Sense of Place: The Life and Work of Conlon Nancarrow |url=http://radiom.org/detail.php?omid=AM.1994.01.28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304185134/http://radiom.org/detail.php?omid=AM.1994.01.28 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=radiOM.org}}</ref>
The series was edited by Borten herself, and was initially funded using ${{convert|157000|in|cm}} grant awards from the [[Corporation for Public Broadcasting]] (CPB) and the [[National Endowment for the Arts]].<ref name=":5" /> A second round of grants from CPB and the [[New York State Council on the Arts]] put more than $230,000 toward expanding the series into further seasons.<ref name=":7" /> Season 2 of ''A Sense of Place'' was distributed by [[Public Radio International]] (PRI) in 2001, followed by Season 3 in 2004.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=PRX – Helen Borten |url=https://exchange.prx.org/users/653-hebo |access-date=2023-07-10 |website=PRX – Public Radio Exchange |language=en}}</ref>
=== Awards and honors === Helen Borten won a [[Peabody Awards|Peabody Award]] for her 1991 audio documentary ''The Case Against Women: Sexism in the Courts'', produced for NPR's Horizons program while she was still on staff at WNYC.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" /> Another of Borten's NPR Horizons pieces, ''And Justice for All'', a documentary about tenant [[eviction]]s in New York City, received a [[Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award|duPont-Columbia]] Silver Baton in 1991.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=January 30, 1991 |title=Series on U.S.S.R. Tops Broadcast Awards |pages=C14 |work=New York Times |access-date= |id={{ProQuest|<!-- insert ProQuest data here -->}} }}</ref> Borten said she was proud of receiving this award, adding "I feel good about giving a voice to people who have no voice and trying to show the less fortunate as the human beings they are."<ref name=":3" />
Borten has been honored twice by the [[National Women's Political Caucus]] with their Exceptional Merit in Media award. She received an Honorable Mention from the [[Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award]]s in 2002.<ref name=":8" />
== Other writing == Helen Borten continued writing into her eighties. In 2016, she told [[Publishers Weekly]] that she was working on a nonfiction book called ''Dark Victories:'' ''A Murder Case, the Terrorist Scare and Lies in the Name of Justice.''<ref name=":2" /> She also described working on an unpublished memoir.<ref name=":6" />
== Personal life == Helen Borten married shortly after finishing art school, and had two children before the marriage ended in divorce.<ref name=":5" /> She moved to New York City and raised her sons, Peter and Laurence, as a single mother.<ref name=":3" />
Borten is a longtime resident of the [[Upper West Side]] of [[Manhattan]], where she lived in the same apartment for more than 40 years.<ref name=":2" /> She has expressed a great love for her neighborhood, saying, "there is no such thing as a boring walk in this neighborhood. I enjoy the electricity and the street life and the diversity".<ref name=":3" />
== Bibliography == * ''Little Big-Feather.'' By Helen Borten and Joseph Longstreth. New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1956. * ''Do You See What I See?'' By Helen Borten. New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1959. * ''The Moon Seems To Change''. By Helen Borten and Franklyn M. Branley. New York: Crowell, 1960. * ''Do You Hear What I Hear?'' By Helen Borten. New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1960. Reprint: London: Flying Eye Books, 2016. * ''What Makes Day and Night''. By Helen Borten and Franklyn M. Branley. New York: Crowell, 1961. * ''Copycat''. By Helen Borten. New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1962. Reprint: London: Happy Books Press, 2021. * ''A Picture Has a Special Look''. By Helen Borten. New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1962. * ''Do You Move As I Do?'' By Helen Borten. New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1963. Reprint: London: Flying Eye Books, 2017. * ''Halloween''. By Helen Borten. New York: Crowell, 1965. * ''The Jungle.'' By Helen Borten. New York: Harcourt, Brace, & World, 1968. Reprint: New York: Enchanted Lion Books, 2018. * ''Do You Know What I Know?'' By Helen Borten. New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1971. * ''Do You Go Where I Go?'' By Helen Borten. New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1972.
== References == <references />
== External links == * [https://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/4/resources/6198 Helen Borten Papers] at the University of Minnesota * [https://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/feature/hollister ''Hollister'' audio documentary] from ''A Sense of Place'' at Third Coast International Audio Festival
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Borten, Helen}} [[Category:1930 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:20th-century American writers]] [[Category:20th-century American women artists]] [[Category:20th-century American women writers]] [[Category:American children's book illustrators]] [[Category:American children's writers]] [[Category:American radio reporters and correspondents]] [[Category:American women children's book illustrators]] [[Category:American women radio journalists]] [[Category:Artists from Manhattan]] [[Category:Artists from Philadelphia]] [[Category:Peabody Award winners]] [[Category:University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni]] [[Category:Writers from Manhattan]] [[Category:Writers from Philadelphia]] [[Category:Writers who illustrated their own writing]] [[Category:20th-century American illustrators]]