C elebrating 50 Years

of Bringing Booksto Life

C elebrating 50 Years

of Bringing Booksto Life

weston woods®

1953 - 2003

n a little log cabin in the back woods of Weston, Connecticut,

Morton Schindel became fascinatedwith picture books while reading to hischildren. He wanted to do more thanread these books though; he wanted tobring them to life.

At that time, the idea of animatingchildren’s books was unknown. But hisinterest became a dream that became acompany and Weston Woods Studioswas born.

I

ince 1953, Weston Woods Studioshas produced more than 500 films

and filmstrips and given many thousandsof children a new and exciting view ofthe picture books they love. For 50years, we have demonstrated that faithfulpicture book adaptations succeed inwhetting children’s appetites for turningand returning to the books on which theyare based, helping children to develop alifelong love of reading and literature.

Thanks to all of you for helping makeWeston Woods synonymous with quality,caring, and the best for children!

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First publicscreening ofWeston Woodsfilms at theMuseum ofModern Art inNew York� NY

Contract for the first production�

ANDY AND THE LIONbased on the CaldecottHonor Bookby James Daugherty� is signed

1953

1954

1956

Morton Schindel� founderof Weston Woods� sets upshop in the wilderness ofWeston� CT

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Weston Woodsproduces documentary forthe AmericanLibrary Association– THE LIVELY ARTOF PICTUREBOOKS

Weston Woods produces the country’s first live�action filmbased on a children’s book– THE DOUGH-NUTS (fromHomer Price) by RobertMcCloskey

TV BroadcastPremiere ofWeston Woodsproductions onCBS’s CaptainKangaroo

Weston Woodsreleases its firstanimated pro�duction – THESNOWY DAY,based on theCaldecottMedal Book by Ezra Jack Keats

1963

19641956

1964

Robert McCloskey

Ezra Jack Keats

Weston Woods beginscollaboration with prin�cipal animator GeneDeitch� who directedDRUMMER HOFF� based on the CaldecottMedal Book by Barbara & Ed Emberley� in his studio inCzechoslovakia withwife Zdenka Deitchova�

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Weston Woodsopens Canadianoffice� ManagerBetty Janes wasfrequently assistedby husband� Allen Janes

1953 - 2003

1968

1972

1975

Weston Woods opensits first internationaloffice � Henley�on�Thames� UK

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First Weston Woodstitles released to thehome video marketunder the nameChildren’s Circle©

Morton Schindeland WestonWoods inductedinto the Action for Children’sTelevision Hall ofFame for "usingTV and homevideo to lead children to themagic world of books"

DOCTOR DE SOTO�based on theNewbery HonorBook by WilliamSteig� nominated for an AcademyAward

Weston WoodsopensAustralian office

1977

1985

1986

1988

William Steig

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Paul Gagne� Production

Manager� is awarded

the Carnegie Medal forExcellence in Children’sVideo by the American

Library Services

for Children

Division of

the American

Library Association

for OWEN� based on

the Caldecott Honorbook by Kevin Henkes

Weston Woodspurchased byScholastic Inc�

Left: Richard Robinson�CEO of Scholastic Inc�Right: Morton Schindel�founder of Weston Woods

Paul Gagne�Director ofProduction� wins secondCarnegie Medal for MISS NELSONHAS A FIELDDAY, based onthe book by James Marshall

Paul Gagne wins thirdCarnegieMedal forANTARCTICANTICS� basedon the bookby Judy Sierra�illustrated byJose Aruego &Ariane Dewey

1996

2000

1999

1996

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Weston Woodsmoves into newheadquarters inNorwalk� CT

2001

2002

2003

Paul Gagne winshis fourth CarnegieMedal along withMelissa Reilly�Producer� for SOYOU WANT TO BEPRESIDENT?� basedon the CaldecottMedal Book byJudith St� George�illustrated byDavid Small

The Scholastic Video Collection™ produced by Weston Woods isreleased to the home market

“...wonderful storytelling with excellent integration of music, storyand video.” – Children's Video Report

“...This beautiful animated versionof three Sendak classics is one of thefinest made-for-video children'stitles ever produced.”– Child Magazine