In Memoriam: Children's Authors and Illustrators Who Died in 2008
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By Rocco Staino -- School Library Journal, 1/5/2009 2:00:00 PM
Many wonderful authors and illustrators whose works have enriched our collections and brought joy to countless children passed away in 2008. School Library Journal regrets any omissions.
January 8 Graham Percy (69): Noted New Zealand illustrator with more than 100 books to his credit, including board, pop-up, and tab books. His illustrations graced the 1997 edition of The Wind in the Willows (HarperCollins).
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Tasha Tudor |
March 3 William H. Hooks (86): Director of the Bank Street College Publications Group and educational consultant to CBS for the Captain Kangaroo show. Hooks wrote more than 50 children’s books. His best known book, Pioneer Cat (Random, 1988), was named an American Library Association Notable book.
June 18 Tasha Tudor (92): An illustrator who has been compared with Beatrice Potter and created a cottage industry with her artwork. The New York Times in 1941 said Tudor’s pictures “have the same fragile beauty of early spring evenings.” Two of her books were named Caldecott Honor books, Mother Goose in 1944 and 1 Is One in 1956.
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Coleen Salley |
July 4 Thomas M. Disch (68): Science fiction writer whose story The Brave Little Toaster: A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances was made into an animated film by Disney in 1987.
July 19 Richard Kidd (56): An illustrator whose book Almost Famous Daisy (S & S, 1996) “could persuade youngsters to create their own art,” according to the New York Times. His most popular series was about lobster chef Monsieur Thermidor.
August 1 Pauline Baynes (85): Illustrator of both "The Chronicles of Narnia" and The Hobbit in addition to more than 100 other books, including The Borrowers Avenged (Harcourt, 1982). She was the recipient of the 1968 Kate Greenaway Medal.
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Jeannette Eyerly |
September 16 Coleen Salley (79): New Orleans storyteller and author and star of Epossumondas, based on the Southern “noodlehead” stories.
September 26 Dirk Zimmer (64): Known for his detailed etched paintings and drawings, he illustrated over 40 books including In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories (HarperCollins, 1984).
October 31 Marilyn Haffner (82): National Jewish Book Award winner and illustrator of Polly Horvath’s The Pepins and Their Problems (Farrar, 2004).
Margery Gill (83): British illustrator whose artwork is represented in a number of children’s classics such as the 1961 Puffin edition of Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess and Susan Cooper’s Dawn of Fear (Harcourt, 1988).
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Dirk Zimmer |
November 15 Ivan Southall (87): Australian author and winner of the 1971 Carnegie Medal for Josh (S & S, 1988). He wrote more than 60 books during his long career.
December 1 Dorothy Sterling (95): One of the first nonfiction authors to write about black history. Her books include Forever Free: The Story of the Emancipation Proclamation (1963), It Started in Montgomery (1972), Tear Down the Walls!: A History of the American Civil Rights Movement (1968), and Black Foremothers: Three Lives (1979).
