The Children’s Books Of Celebrated Designer Seymour Chwast
In 1954, Seymour Chwast, along with a handful of friends he’d made while studying art and design at Cooper Union, founded the New York design shop Push Pin Studios. Along…Continue Reading →
Christian Robinson’s Books Share The Message Art Gave Him: You Matter
“It’s important for me to tell stories that reflect the diverse world that we live in,” picture book illustrator and author Christian Robinson said in a 2016 video for PBS…Continue Reading →
Ed Emberley: Drawing Made (To Look) Easy
“This is the whole secret—this is an alphabet,” children’s book creator Ed Emberley has told Cambridge artist and writer Caleb Neelon about the philosophy behind his celebrated how-to-draw books. Take…Continue Reading →
Beatrix Potter And The Letter That Birthed Peter Rabbit
“My dear Noel, I don’t know what to write to you, so I shall tell you a story about four little rabbits whose names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter,”…Continue Reading →
Going Back To School With Jef Czekaj’s ‘Little Ghoul’
Jef Czekaj”s latest humorous picture book for kids, “Little Ghoul Goes to School” (Balzer + Bray), conjures a school anxiety dream. “It’s a little monster, a Little Ghoul, that is…Continue Reading →
An Interview With ‘Strega Nona’ Artist Tomie dePaola, Who Died Monday At Age 85
Tomie dePaola—the New Hampshire artist and children’s book creator who won the Caldecott Honor for his 1975 book “Strega Nona” about a kindly witch—died today at age 85. The Associated…Continue Reading →
Maira Kalman: ‘If You Don’t Digress And Go Off The Point, I Think You Miss The Point’
“There’s absolutely nothing you can’t talk to children about. They want to know the truth,” author and illustrator Maira Kalman says during a tour of her new exhibition “The Pursuit…Continue Reading →
Illustrator And Disney Artist Kay Nielsen’s Glittering Fantasies And Difficult Life
The most famous creation of Kay Nielsen (1886-1957), one of the outstanding illustrators at the dawn of the 20th century, is the demon that steals the show at the end…Continue Reading →
‘Becoming Dr. Seuss’ Is A Drafting-Table-Side-Seat At The Creation Of Children’s Classics
I binge read Brian Jay Jones’s biography “Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination” (Dutton). I couldn’t put it down. Jones tells Geisel’s bumpy journey…Continue Reading →
With ‘Stuff Of Stars,’ Ekua Holmes Wins Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, Again
This week the American Library Association announced that Boston artist Ekua Holmes had again won its Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, honoring African American authors and illustrators of outstanding books…Continue Reading →