Come experience joy, happiness, and sunflowers! Katie and I have coordinated gallery exhibits together (see Toni & Slade Morrison here, and unusual versions of fairy tales here), but our current exhibit is one we truly put our entire hearts into. “Be Happy: The Work of Barbara Valenza” is a tribute to the children’s books, original artwork, and handmade stuffed animals created by the talented Barbara Valenza. The exhibit runs through May 30th at the Cotsen Children’s Library.
Originally hailing from Columbus, Ohio, Barbara Hess Valenza (1961-2024) earned a B.A. in Communications and Theatre from Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) and began her career in New York City in the art department of Jim Henson Productions. In 2011, she transitioned to Princeton University as the Assistant Director of Graphic Services and The Digital Print Center, and then as the inaugural Director of Library Communications in 2017. A long-time resident of Hopewell, New Jersey, she and her husband, Mark, raised their two children — Laura and Nathaniel — with much love and laughter. Barbara believed in the positive power of art and literature, and, as a talented and giving artist, honored the responsibility and privilege that comes with creating.
Kindness, positivity, imagination, hope, and happiness run through Barbara’s works like golden threads on a beautiful tapestry. In her illustrations and words, Barbara shared her artistic soul while also encouraging readers to embrace and express their own creativity. Central to her stories are personal connections — families to be celebrated, friends to be discovered, and feelings to be shared.
From bears in bursting rainbow gardens to birthday parties for dachshund dogs, Barbara’s illustrations are vivid and bold; joyful and jubilant. The exhibition, coordinated by family, friends, and colleagues, is a loving tribute to her creative and giving spirit. To quote Barbara’s own inspiring words: This is a great day. Be wonderful in everything you do. Make the world a brighter place. Have lots and lots of fun. Be happy.
We were very lucky to host not one, but two of Barbara’s special books at our story time program! The first was for Little Lovedog’s Long Walk Home (Potato Publishing, 2021), which Barbara read to our community in 2023. The second story time was for Hubie (Potato Publishing, 2021), which I read in honor of the exhibit’s opening.
Now we’d like to share the love with you! We’re giving away two copies of Little Lovedog and two copies of Hubie. Simply email danas@princeton.edu to enter the drawing. We will randomly select four winners on 05/01/25, contact you via email, and mail them to you!
Exhibit images courtesy of Brandon Johnson. Author image courtesy of the Valenza family.
In the story, Hubie the Horse uses a dented bucket for his sunflower, so we snagged these cute mini buckets on Amazon. But a box, paper cup, or flower pot works just as well. We also added green crinkle paper around the sunflower’s base to steady the stalk. Now for the message butterflies!
Color and cut the butterflies from the template, then add a tag with a positive message on it. You can attach the message butterflies directly to the sunflower, or you can do what we did and turn them into magnets! Our magnetic butterflies attached to the metal buckets, but we also slipped paperclips on the petals for the butterflies to rest on. Gift a message butterfly to friends and family, and they can proudly display them on their fridges!
As a nod to her marvelous sewing skills, we had a drawing for a GIANT stuffed horse at story time. Here’s our happy winner…she was quite enamored, and her Dad emailed me later and shared that she insisted it sleep next to her that night.
This story time was full of love, laughter, positivity, joy, and delight. This was very intentional, as it was also a celebration of Barbara herself, who passed in February 2024. Hubie has a special place in my heart, and I was extraordinarily honored to share her final book with our community.
One last magical thing. Barbara’s husband Mark came to the event and brought copies of Hubie for every family! It was incredibly generous, and I very much want to thank him for coming and celebrating with us. Kids weren’t even waiting until they left the library to enjoy the story of sweet Hubie the Horse.