Jerry Pinkney

Jerry Pinkney Studio, Croton-on-Hudson, New York ~Artist and Illustrator. Children's book illustrator who emerged in the 1960s, when the Council on Interracial Books for Children was seeking to increase the number of black authors and illustrators of children's literature. With writer Julius Lester, produced The Tales of Uncle Remus (Lester's retelling of the Joel Chandler Harris stories), John Henry (retelling of the famous folktale), Sam and the Tigers (retelling of Scottish writer Helen Bannerman's Little Black Sambo), Black Cowboy, Wild Horses, and The Old African. Produced beautiful adaptations of such famous children's works as Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl, The Nightingale, and The Ugly Duckling, as well as The Little Red Hen and Aesop's Fables. Provided illustrations for the work of some of the most famous black children's book writers, including Virginia Hamilton, Mildred Taylor, and Patricia McKissack. Received the Caldecott Medal (2010), the Coretta Scott King Award (five times), and awards from The New York Times and The Boston Globe. ~~