Trina Schart Hyman Dies at 65

By Staff -- School Library Journal, 1/1/2005

Trina Schart Hyman, an award-winning author and illustrator of children's books who was known for her rich and detailed work with fairy tales and folklore, died in New Hampshire on November 17 of complications resulting from breast cancer. She was 65.

Hyman was born in Philadelphia and attended the Philadelphia Museum School and the Boston Museum School. She got her first illustrating job in Sweden in 1963, where she was living with her then-husband, Harris, on a Swedish book that took her almost five months to read. When she returned to New York later that year, she illustrated Children of the Salmon (Little, Brown, 1965) by Eileen O'Faolain, which was the first of more than 150 titles she worked on, including a Caldecott Medal winner, St. George and the Dragon (Little, Brown, 1984) by Margaret Hodges, and three Caldecott Honor books: Little Red Riding Hood (1983), which Hyman retold; Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins (1989) by Eric A. Kimmel; and A Child's Calendar (1999, all Holiday House) by John Updike. From 1972 to 1979, Hyman was Cricket magazine's first art director.

"Trina was as spirited, generous, and as fun to be with as she was talented," says John Briggs, president of Holiday House, who worked with her for almost 30 years. "It sounds hackneyed, but there was no one like her."

Hyman's last book was Merlin and the Making of the King (Holiday House, 2004) retold by Margaret Hodges. Merlin was among School Library Journal's Best Books of 2004.