From the time he was a child, David Macaulay evidenced a fascination with how machines operated. He soon began to make models of machines and began drawing illustrations of these machines. Soon he was constructing elevators out of shoe boxes, tape, and string and devising intricate systems of moving cable cars made with empty thread spools.
Jan Brett decided she would be an illustrator when she was quite young. As a child, she felt that she could enter the pages of her beautiful picture books. Her goal as an illustrator is to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary places really exist. Her beautiful pictures allow children and the adults who love them to experience this magic in the 41 million copies of her books in print. She is both an author and illustrator, but it’s her illustrations that truly set her books apart from other players in the world of children’s literature.
Astrid Lindgren was born on November 14th, 1907. At the age of 14 in 1921 Astrid published På vår gård (On Our Property) in the Vimmerby Tidning. In 1933, her first children’s stories were published. During WWII, she wrote “War Diary.” After her daughter Karin named Pippi Longstocking, Lindgren wrote her story down and sent it to the publishing firm Bonniers, who rejected it. She edited her work and submitted it to Rabén & Sjögren for consideration in a compassion for books for girls. Pippi Longstocking was published in 1945. Over the rest of her career, Lindgren published many children’s stories, but Pippi Longstocking remains her most loved character.
Something about children's books—whether it be the simple stories and lessons or the vibrant artwork—inspires a love that lasts beyond childhood. Numerous adults collect children's books for themselves while others seek out the best examples to add to their own children's bookshelves. It's a genre that inspires happiness and paves the way for a lifetime love of reading. Each year, the Caldecott Medal recognizes the best newly published children's books, those whose illustrations represent the finest children's literature has to offer. Today we continue our Caldecott Winning Illustrators Series by taking a closer look at 1957's winner, Marc Simont.
There’s been plenty of speculation about what Eloise would be like as a grown up. Sarah Ferrell at the New York Times wrote that, “today, she’d probably be on Ritalin.” Carolyn Parkhurst at the New Yorker put together a short piece in 2014 imaging Eloise as a 46-year-old (still) living at the Plaza Hotel, which includes the line, “Some mornings, I wake up with a rawther awful hangover.” Surely somewhere there is a more optimistic take on the life trajectory of the maximally whimsical and mischievous among us—but the consensus seems a little bit dark.
When thinking of illustrator and author Hilary Knight, most first turn to Eloise, his best known work. What few realize is the shear magnitude of Knight’s body of work outside of his work on Eloise. Over the course of his career, Knight illustrated and wrote over 50 books, becoming one of the most recognizable illustrators of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
While hundreds of children's books are published every year in the United States, only a select few are ever granted the highly esteemed Caldecott Medal, which is awarded annually for the best example of quality in children's book illustration. While the addition of Caldecott Honor book seals allows more than one exceptional book to be recognized, per year only one book is given the prestigious Caldecott Medal. These books often become classics, beloved for their amazing illustrations and captivating stories, in addition to becoming highly sought after items for collectors interested in children's literature. Today we continue our Caldecott Winning Illustrators Series by taking a closer look at the winner of the 1956 winner, Feodor Rojankovsky.
Author Philip Pullman is a master of modern children's literature. His trilogy, His Dark Materials, is one of the most beloved fantasy series of the last twenty five years, although Pullman himself considers the books "stark realism" not fantasy. Writing for children, Pullman believes, enables him to engage his readers in ways he would otherwise be prohibited - he revels in intricate plots and characters. He has won the Carnegie Medal (1995), Guardian Prize (1996), and Astrid Lindgren Award (2005). And recently, HBO announced the air date for its upcoming series based on His Dark Materials. Fans of Pullman's stories don't have to wait long. The series will premiere on November 4 in the U.S. and November 3 in the UK.
English artist Arthur Rackham is widely considered to be one of the most important and influential illustrators from the Golden Age of British Illustration. What really cemented his position as one of the preeminent illustrators of his day were his color illustrations for Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle and J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. Some of his notable works include illustrations for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market, and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, which was published after Rackham's death. On the anniversary of his birthday, let's take a look at the enduring legacy of one of England's most beloved illustrators.
Every year the Caldecott Medal is awarded to a committee-selected children's book that showcases the best work being produced in the field of children's book illustration. One of the biggest awards in American children's literature, to even be named a Caldecott Honor book is a massive accolade. In 1955 Marcia Brown received this honor for her book Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper. And then she won again in 1962 for Once a Mouse. She won a third time for Shadow in 1983, making her one of only two illustrators in the history of the Caldecott Medal to be awarded three times. Brown continued to make history by being named a Caldecott Honor recipient six times as well. She is the most Caldecott-decorated illustrator of all time. Let's take a closer look at this icon of the industry as we continue with our Caldecott Winning Illustrator Series.
