M.D. Anderson Artists Paint a Fruit and Vegetable Garden – and Launch a Brand New Book

It’s a veritable palette of colors when talking about fruits and vegetables – and also when speaking of the Children’s Art Project at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Pediatric patients at M.D. Anderson have literally "grown" an alphabet garden. It started with apples and blossomed into an ABC board book for young readers and a new product line for the Children’s Art Project at M.D. Anderson.

The new "Alphabet Garden" board book includes the artwork of 18 young artists who are patients or former patients at M.D. Anderson. The seeds for these fruit and vegetable drawings were first planted as art done in a weekly art class at the cancer center and finally rooted into the gift line that the project began marketing this fall. The art classes were funded by the Children’s Art Project.

From apples, to kiwi to zucchini, this brightly colored nutritional bandwagon centers around the ABC board book that depicts fruits and vegetables teaching the alphabet, and includes coordinating products such as a recipe box and recipe cards, a grocery list pad with a refrigerator magnet and even an apron.

Katie Farmer, who contributed a drawing of a nectarine to the book, is a 14-year-old osteosarcoma patient who had limb salvage surgery and lives an active life with a titanium rod in her leg. This year, she’s back in school and will participate in the marching band. Farmer knows just what she wants to be when she grows up – either an actor, a director, a set designer, a costume designer, a stunt double, or a computer animator.

The "cover girl" for the 2001 holiday catalog, 7-year-old Megan Evans, is a bundle of energy who loves to sing, dance, swim, and talk, talk, talk. She has completed treatment for Ewing’s sarcoma and has just returned from her "Make-A-Wish" trip to DisneyWorld. A real farmer, Megan drew grapes, okra, strawberries, tomatoes, ugli fruit and zucchini for "Alphabet Garden."

Jamie Bernadac, 11, is from Durango, Mexico, and is also being treated for Ewing’s sarcoma. Jaime’s colorful watermelon featured in the book, is also the July artwork for the 2002 Children’s Art Project calendar. He also drew the bushel basket, which holds the ABC produce on the book’s cover.

"The children really got into this project," said Shannan Murray, director of the Children’s Art Project. "They harvested their creativity by thinking of different fruits and vegetables to match the letters of the alphabet and had to do a little research on some of them. You don’t find an ugli fruit or a quince in many shopping baskets!"

Products are available at retail outlets throughout the country, at the Children’s Art Boutique in Houston’s Uptown Shopping Center, online, or through direct mail. For a free catalog or to place an order, call 1-800-231-1580, or visit http://www.childrensart.com.

At M.D. Anderson, the Children’s Art Project works to make life better for children with cancer. The project uses proceeds from the sale of their products to fund patient-focused programs at M.D. Anderson and, since 1974, has given $14.2 million to the institution in funding.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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