Jerry Pinkney is an American illustrator of children’s books, and winner of the 2010 Caldecott Medal

Caldecott Medal

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children , a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. The award was named in honor of nineteenth-century English...

. He has received a Caldecott Honor citation five times, the Coretta Scott King Award

Coretta Scott King Award

The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association...

 five times, four New York Times Best Illustrated Awards (most recently in 2006 for Little Red Hen), four Gold and four Silver medals from the Society of Illustrators

Society of Illustrators

The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the mission of the Society is to promote the art and appreciation of illustration, as well as its history...

, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award

The Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards were first presented by The Boston Globe and Horn Book Magazine in 1967. They are among the most prestigious honors in the United States in the field of children’s and young adult literature...

 (John Henry, 1994). In 2000 he was given the Virginia Hamilton

Virginia Hamilton

Virginia Esther Hamilton was an award-winning author of children's books. She wrote 41 books, including M. C. Higgins, the Great, for which she won the National Book Award in 1974 and the 1975 Newbery Medal....

 Literary award from Kent State University

Kent State University

Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...

 and in 2004 the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion for outstanding contributions in the field of children’s literature.

Biography

Pinkney was born in the Germantown section of Philadelphia in 1939, and began drawing at the age of four. As a child, he had great difficulty with dyslexia in elementary school. However, his love of and talent for drawing was useful in elevating his self-esteem and gaining the attention of his teachers and fellow classmates. In junior high school his work was noticed by cartoonist John Liney

John Liney

John J. Liney was an American cartoonist, who drew the daily Henry comic strip for 44 years.Growing up in Philadelphia, Liney attended the George C. Thomas Middle School and South Philadelphia High School. He was working as a cartoonist at the Philadelphia Evening Ledger when he began selling gags...

, who encouraged him to pursue the career of an artist.

Pinkney concentrated on commercial art at the Dobbins Vocational School as a teen, and was granted a full scholarship to the Philadelphia Museum College of Art, where he met his wife Gloria. Upon graduation, he held a variety of positions in the field of design and illustration, including as a greeting card designer. Eventually he founded Kaleidoscope Studios with fellow artists, and two years later he opened his own Jerry Pinkney Studio and focused on illustrating children’s books.

Pinkney’s illustrative work often incorporates African American motifs. His works include Patricia C. McKissack’s Goin’ Someplace Special, a story of segregation in mid-century South.

Literary works

At a very young age Pinkney became interested in drawing. He had two older brothers who enjoyed drawing comics books and photo magazines and he began to follow in their footsteps. Soon he began to realize that he would rather sit and draw instead of doing other things. While in junior high school Pinkney worked at a newsstand and sketched people as they passed by. This is where Pinkney met cartoonist John Liney who encouraged him to draw and exposed him to making a living from drawing. Pinkney went on and graduated from Dobbins Vocational School and attended Philadelphia Museum College of Art. He later moved to Boston where he worked at a greeting card company and went on to open Kaleidoscope Studio with two other artists. He eventually opened his own studio, Jerry Pinkney Studio, and later moved to New York. Mr. Pinkney has always had an interest in diversity and many of his children’s books celebrate multicultural and African-American themes. Mr. Pinkney still lives in New York and has been an art professor at the University of Delaware, Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and State University of New York at Buffalo. Over the years he has given workshops and been a guest speaker at universities and art schools across the country.

Books Illustrated

• Garshin, V.M. The Traveling Frog. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966.
• Powell, Fern. The Porcupine and the Tiger. New York: Lothrop Lee & Sheppard, 1969.
• Trofimuk, Ann. Babushka and the Pig. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1969.
• Hamilton, Virginia. The Planet of Junior Brown. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1971.
• Martel, Cruz. Yagua Days. New York: Dial, 1975.
• Tayler, Mildred. The Song of the Trees. New York: Dial, 1975.
• Tayler, Mildred. Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. New York: Dial, 1977.
• Hamilton, Virginia. Jahdu. New York: Greenwillow, 1980.
• Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels. New York: Franklin Library, 1977.
• Flournoy, Valerie. The Patchwork Quilt. New York: Dial, 1985.
• Greenfield, Eloise. Mary McLeod Bethune. New York: Crowell, 1985.
• Lester, Julius. The Tales of Uncle Remus. New York: Dial, 1987.
• Buxton, Jane. Strange Animals of the Sea. New York: National Geographic Society, 1987.
• McKissick, Patricia C. Mirandy and Brother Wind. New York: Knopf, 1988.
• Aardema, Verna. Rabbit Makes a Monkey of Lion. New York: Dial, 1989.
• Singer, Marilyn. Turtle in July. New York: Macmillan, 1989.
• San Souci, Robert D.
  Robert D. San Souci
  Robert D. San Souci is a multiple award winning children's book author, residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. He often works with his brother, Daniel San Souci, who is a children's book illustrator. He was a consultant to Disney Studios and was instrumental in the production of the film Mulan,...
  
   The Talking Eggs. New York: Dial, 1989.
• Marzollo, Jean. Pretend You're a Cat. New York: Dial, 1990.
• Levitin, Sonia. The Man Who Kept His Heart in a Bucket. New York: Dial, 1991.
• Eisler, Colin. David's Songs. New York: Dial, 1992.
• Hamilton, Virginia. Drylongso. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1992.
• Pinkney, Gloria. Back Home. New York: Dial, 1992.
• Willard, Nancy. A Starlit Somersault Downhill. New York: Little Brown, 1993.
• Lester, Julius. John Henry. New York: Dial, 1994.
• Pinkney, Gloria. Sunday Outing. New York: Dial, 1994.
• Kipling, Rudyard. The Jungle Book. New York: Morrow, 1995.
• Lester, Julius. Sam and the Tigers. New York: Dial, 1996.
• Lester, Julius. Black Cowboy, Wild Horses. New York: Dial, 1998.
• Goldin, Barbara Diamond. Journeys With Elijah: Eight Tales of the Prophet. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999.
• Andersen, Hans Christian. The Little Match Girl. Adapted by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial, 1999.
• Andersen, Hans Christian. The Ugly Duckling. Adapted by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Morrow, 1999.
• Pinkney, Jerry. Aesops Fables. New York: SeaStar, 2000.
• Andersen, Hans Christian. The Nightingale. Adapted by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial, 2002.
• Pinkney, Jerry. Noah's Ark. New York: SeaStar, 2002.
• Lester, Julius. Little Red Hen. New York: Dial, 2006.
• Lester, Julius. The Old African. New York: Dial, 2005.
• Pinkney, Jerry. The Lion and the Mouse. New York: Little Brown, 2009.
• Nelson, Marilyn. Sweet Hearts of Rhythm. New York: Dial, 2009.

Quotes

“Books give me a great feeling of personal and artistic satisfaction. When I’m working on a book I wish the phone would never ring. I love doing it. My satisfaction comes from the actual marks on the paper, and when it sings, it’s magic.”

“I wanted to show that an African-American artist could make it in this country on a national level in the graphic arts. I want to be a strong role model for my family and for other African Americans.”

External links

• http://www.childrenslit.com/f_pinkney.html
• video of Anita Silvey surveying the work of Jerry Pinkney
• Jerry Pinkney Studio