Ted and his wife Betsy Lewin, also an illustrator, took much of their inspiration from their travels to exotic locations. Ted Lewin: Both an author and an illustrator, Lewin paid for his art studies at the Pratt Institute with a side gig as a professional wrestler. Her books cover people from a wide span of history and popular culture. I liked to select books for the library by Krull, because I always knew they would be accurate and highly readable. Kathleen Krull: Krull was the queen of the juvenile biography. Juster’s picture book The Hello, Goodbye Window earned a Caldecott Medal for illustrator Chris Raschka.

Filled with puns and other wordplay, it’s been compared to a modern Alice in Wonderland. Norton Juster: Please don’t ask “Who is Norton Juster?” His book The Phantom Tollbooth has been a favorite of elementary students and teachers for many years. She also won critical acclaim with her historical fiction for older children. Patricia Giff: Giff was a long-time favorite with children making the leap to chapter books. Her book Rrralphis not her most beautiful, but it always makes me laugh! Some of Ehlert’s artwork reminds me of the work of Cincinnati graphic artist Charley Harper. She related how her parents encouraged her to be creative in her autobiographical picture book The S craps Book. Her artwork featured brightly colored snips of paper as well as “found” objects such as buttons or feathers. Lois Ehlert: Author and illustrator, Ehlert was inspired by the beauty of the natural world.His distinctive painting style created luminous illustrations in earthy tones as he helped to bridge the racial gap in children’s literature. Cleary drew the inspiration for her chapters books from the kids in her neighborhood and the kids she served during her years as a librarian.įloyd Cooper: Cooper illustrated for some of the best-known children’s authors including Nikki Grimes, Walter Myers, and Carole Boston Weatherford, mostly in books that portrayed the African-American experience. He also founded the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art to ensure that picture-book illustrations, as an art form, would be celebrated around the world.īeverly Cleary: Millions of kids have romped through the pages of Cleary’s books with Henry, Beezus, and Ramona. His illustrations were primarily collage, featuring hand-painted papers.

Here’s a short statement about each of these imaginative people and some book covers to illustrate their work.Įric Carle: Both an author and an illustrator, his book The Very Hungry Caterpillar has sold more than 50 million copies in 66 languages. Through the stories they wrote and the illustrations they created, our lives have been enriched beyond measure. Already in 2021, the world of children’s book publishing has lost some iconic authors and illustrators.

The Redheaded Princess by Ann Rinaldi