Kathryn E. Shoemaker of Vancouver has illustrated more than 30 children's books including A Telling Time (Tradewind, 2004) by Irene Watts and Tiffany Stone's first book, Floyd the Flamingo and his Flock of Friends (Tradewind, 2004). A Telling Time was chosen by the Internationale Jugend Bibliotek in Munich for The White Ravens 2006, their annual selection of outstanding international books for children and young adults.

Worth $10,000 each, the national Vine Awards for Jewish Literature in Canada are presented by the Koffler Centre for the Arts in four categories. The 2017 winners for Children's/Young Adult were Berlin-born Irene W. Watts (text) and Kathryn E. Shoemaker (illustrations) for Seeking Refuge (Tradewind $18.95), a graphic novel arising from the Kindertransport that enabled ten thousand Jewish children to escape from Nazi Germany prior to the outbreak of World War II. The story depicts the protagonist's estrangement in England as a refugee, missing her family and needing to learn English. Previously Kathryn Shoemaker co-authored Good-Bye Marianne: The Graphic Novel (Tundra, 2008), the first fictional installment of the Kindertransport exodus. "I came to London, England, in December 1938," says Watts, "as a seven-year-old refugee. When War broke out, I was evacuated with three million British children to the safety of the countryside, to Lanelly, S. Wales, where I was educated. I did not come to Canada with my husband and four children until 1968. Seeking Refuge is not my personal story, however it is based on the kinds of experiences many of the refugee children went through." 2018 will be the eightieth anniversary of this rescue. 9781926890029

[BCBW 2016] "Illustration"