Jane Wick Savage

About the authors: Joan Wick Pelletier and Jane Wick Savage

This is the first collaboration of the “Wick sisters”, as they were called in their hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts. Both graduated from Amherst Regional High School and attended colleges not far from home. Joan graduated from Smith College, majoring in mathematics and music, and Jane graduated from The Elms with a dual major in English and Art.

Joan became a University professor and administrator at York University in Toronto and at the State University of New York in Albany, where she was Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. After retiring, she lived in the town of Eastham on Cape Cod before returning in 2024 to Toronto. She maintained an active interest in making music and writing poetry, some of which of has been read on NPR radio.

Jane, after teaching in Atlanta, Georgia, moved to the Washington, DC area. She enrolled in a course at the University of Maryland in jewelry making that defined her career path. She was a member of an artists’ coop in Georgetown for several years before moving back to Massachusetts. Settling in Northampton, she owned a series of stores where her jewelry was featured.

Both Joan and Jane have embraced the role of grandmother. When Joan’s son read the story in verse that she had written about the imaginary creatures Squich, Squod, and Squidgem that she had dreamt up as a child herself, he encouraged her to make it into a book. The obvious choice for illustrator was Jane, who rose to the challenge with great success. Together they created a book with winsome pictures and amusing rhyme for all children to enjoy.

And the story need not end there…. Already questions from little ones are suggesting a possible sequel.