Art events in Honolulu

2009 KA PALAPALA PO’OKELA WARD entries sought by Hawai’i Book Publishers Association for 2008 copyright books published by Hawai’i publishers (and an “Aloha Award” for out-of-state books published about Hawai’i or with a Hawaiian theme); entry deadline 4:30 p.m. Feb. 6, awards ceremony May 8; entry fee, $35; information, 848-4189.

H.C. Westermann is not one of the cool kids of art. He has long been relegated to outsider status, left out of the canon of mid-century American art. Westermann’s art isn’t easily classified, though he does share thematic concerns (such as alienation and inhumanity) with his contemporaries.

Don Wood is one of America’s most talented children’s book artists. In 1986, Wood won a Caldecott Honor for his illustrations in “King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub,” which was written by his wife Audrey Wood. In addition to “King Bidgood,” Don and Audrey Wood have teamed up to create some of the country’s most endearing and enduring picture-book classics, including my favorite, “The Napping House.”