Leo and Diane Dillon
Encyclopedia
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
s. Among their awards are two consecutive 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...
s for the children's books Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People's Ears
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale is a picture book told in the form of a cumulative tale written for young children, which tells an African legend. In this origin story, the mosquito lies to a lizard, who puts sticks in his ears and ends up frightening another animal, which...
and Ashanti To Zulu: African Traditions
Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions
Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions is a 1976 children's book written by Margaret Musgrove and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. It was Musgrove's first book, but the Dillons were experienced artists and this book won them the second of their two consecutive Caldecott Medals...
.
Leo was raised in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, and Diane (née Sorber) in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area. They met at the Parsons School of Design in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1953, some time after Diane moved from California to New York. They graduated from Parsons in 1956, and eventually married in March 1957. They describe their work as incorporating motifs derived from their respective heritages. They have worked on both on children's literature
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
and adult paperbacks. An association with writer Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
led to jobs doing book covers for his short story collections and both cover and interior woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
illustration for his anthology Dangerous Visions
Dangerous Visions
Dangerous Visions is a science fiction short story anthology edited by Harlan Ellison, published in 1967.A path-breaking collection, Dangerous Visions helped define the New Wave science fiction movement, particularly in its depiction of sex in science fiction...
. They illustrated a large number of book covers for the original Ace
Ace Books
Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
Science Fiction Specials.
A detailed biography and introduction to their work and styles was written by Byron Preiss
Byron Preiss
Byron Preiss was an American writer, editor, and publisher. He founded and served as president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications, and later of iBooks.-Early life and career:...
in a book he edited in 1981, The Art of Leo & Diane Dillon.
Education
- Graduated: Parsons School of Design (1956)
- Typography: The American Institute of Graphic Arts
- Woodcut: School of Visual Arts — Byrne Hogarth
- Printmaking: Bob Blackburn
- Pochoir: Mitzi Barrien
- Doctorates of Fine Arts: Parsons School of Design (1991)
Freelance Work (Began in 1958)
Clients: Ladies Home Journal • Saturday Evening Post • Bantam Books • Time/Life BooksThe Washington Post • Ballentine Books • Franklin Library • Caedmon Records • Lodestar
RCA Victor • Revlon • New York Telephone • Viking • Dutton • Dial • John F. Kennedy Center Harcourt Brace Jovanovich • Scholastic and Others
Picture books illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon
- 1970 The Ring in the Prairie - Author: John Bierhorst / Dial PressDial PressThe Dial Press was a publishing house founded in 1923 by Lincoln MacVeagh.Dial Press shared a building with The Dial and Scofield Thayer worked with both. The first imprint was issued in 1924. Authors included Elizabeth Bowen, W.R...
- 1972 Honey, I Love - Author: Eloise GreenfieldEloise GreenfieldEloise Greenfield is an African-American children's book author and poet famous for her descriptive, rhythmic style and positive portrayal of the black experience.-Biography:...
/ Viking - 1974 Whirlwind Is a Ghost Dancing - Compiled by: Natalia Maree Belting / Dutton
- 1974 Songs and Stories from Uganda - Authors: W. Moses Serwadda, Hewitt PantaleoniHewitt PantaleoniHewitt Pantaleoni was a twentieth-century ethnomusicologist, best known for his work on African music. Trained in musicology at Harvard University , he completed his doctoral research on West African drumming in Ghana and received his Ph.D. from Wesleyan University...
/ World Music Press - 1974 The Third Gift - Author: Jan R. Carew / Little Brown
- 1975 The Hundred Penny Box - Author: Sharon Bell Mathis / Viking
- 1975 Song of the Boat - Author: Lorenz B. Graham / Crowell
- 1976 Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's EarsWhy Mosquitoes Buzz in People's EarsWhy Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale is a picture book told in the form of a cumulative tale written for young children, which tells an African legend. In this origin story, the mosquito lies to a lizard, who puts sticks in his ears and ends up frightening another animal, which...
- Author: Verna AardemaVerna AardemaVerna Norberg Aardema Vugteveen , best known by the name Verna Aardema, was an American author of children's books.Born in New Era, Michigan she graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. of Journalism in 1934...
/ Dial Press - 1977 Ashanti to Zulu: African TraditionsAshanti to Zulu: African TraditionsAshanti to Zulu: African Traditions is a 1976 children's book written by Margaret Musgrove and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. It was Musgrove's first book, but the Dillons were experienced artists and this book won them the second of their two consecutive Caldecott Medals...
- Author: Margaret Musgrove / Dial Press - 1977 Who’s in Rabbit’s House: A Masai Tai - Author: Verna AardemaVerna AardemaVerna Norberg Aardema Vugteveen , best known by the name Verna Aardema, was an American author of children's books.Born in New Era, Michigan she graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. of Journalism in 1934...
/ Dial Press - 1980 Two Pair of Shoes - Author: P.L. Travers / Viking Press
- 1980 Children of the Sun - Author: Jan R. Carew / Little Brown
- 1985 Brother to the Wind - Author: Mildred Pitts Walter / Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
- 1986 All in a Day Authors: Mitsumasa Anno, Raymond Briggs / Hamish Hamilton (London) (Translation of: Marui chiky¯u no maru ichinichi.) - illustrations by 10 artists, including the Dillons
- 1987 The Porcelain Cat - Author: Hearn, Michael Patrick Little Brown
- 1989 The Color Wizard - Author: Barbara Brenner / Bantam Little Rooster
- 1990 The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks - Author: Katherine Paterson / Lodestar
- 1990 Aïda - Author: Leontyne PriceLeontyne PriceMary Violet Leontyne Price is an American soprano. Born and raised in the Deep South, she rose to international acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s, and was one of the first African Americans to become a leading artist at the Metropolitan Opera.One critic characterized Price's voice as "vibrant",...
/ Harcourt Brace Jovanovich - 1991 The Race of the Golden Apples - Author: Claire Martin / Dial Books for Young Readers
- 1991 Pish, Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch - Author: Nancy Willard / Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
- 1992 Northern Lullaby - Author: Nancy White Carlstrom / Putnam
- 1992 Switch on the Night - Author: Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
/ Knopf - 1993 The Sorcerer’s Apprentice - Author: Nancy Willard / Scholastic/Blue Sky Press
- 1994 What Am I ? - Author: N.N. Charles Scholastic/Blue Sky Press
- 1997 To Everything There is a Season Authors: L&D Dillon / Scholastic/Blue Sky Press
- 1999 Wind Child - Author: Shirley Rousseau Murphy / HarperCollins
- 2000 Switch on the Night reissued - Author: Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
/ Knopf - 2000 The Girl Who Spun Gold - Author: Virginia HamiltonVirginia HamiltonVirginia 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....
/ Scholastic/Blue Sky Press - 2001 Two Little Trains - Author: Margaret Wise BrownMargaret Wise BrownMargaret Wise Brown was a prolific American author of children's literature, including the books Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, both illustrated by Clement Hurd.-Biography:...
/ HarperCollins - 2002 Rap a Tap Tap: Here’s Bojangles—Think of That - Authors and Illustrators: Leo and Diane Dillon / Scholastic/Blue Sky
- 2003 One Winter’s Night - Author: John Herman / Philomel
- 2004 Where Have You Been? - Author: Margaret Wise BrownMargaret Wise BrownMargaret Wise Brown was a prolific American author of children's literature, including the books Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, both illustrated by Clement Hurd.-Biography:...
/ HarperCollins - 2005 The People Could Fly - The Picture Book
- 2005 Earth Mother - Author: Ellen B. Jackson / Walker & Company
- 2006 Whirlwind is a Spirit Dancing - Author: Natalia Maree Belting; Bruchac, Joseph / Milk & Cookies Press (NOTE: illustrations reprinted from 1974 title, Whirlwind is a Ghost Dancing)
- 2007 Mother Goose numbers on the loose / Harcourt
- 2007 Jazz on a Saturday Night / Blue Sky Press
- Forthcoming:
- 2009 Mama Says / Blue Sky Press
- 2009 The Night Goblin / Harcourt
Chapter books illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon
- 1964 Hakon of Rogen’s Saga - Author: Erik Christian HaugaardErik Christian HaugaardErik Christian Haugaard was a Danish born author principally of children's books.-Biography:Erik Christian Haugaard was born in Frederiksberg, Denmark. He came to the United States in 1940 after fleeing the Nazi invasion of Denmark, and later served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World...
/ Houghton Mifflin - 1965 A Slave’s Tale Haugaard - Author: Erik Christian Haugaard / Houghton Mifflin
- 1967 Claymore and Kilt - Author: Sorche Nic Leodhas Holt, Rinehart, Winston
- 1968 Shamrock and Spear Pilkington Holt, Rinehart, Winston
- 1968 The Rider and His Horse - Author: Erik Christian Haugaard / Houghton Mifflin
- 1971 The Untold Tale - Author: Erik Christian Haugaard / Houghton Mifflin
- 1971 The Search Murray/Thomas Scholastic
- 1974 Burning Star - Author: Eth Clifford / Houghton Mifflin
- 1979 A Wrinkle In Time-Madeleine L'Engle
- 1985 The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales - Author: Virginia HamiltonVirginia HamiltonVirginia 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....
/ Knopf - 1988 Sing A Song of Popcorn de Regniers Scholastic
- 1989 Moses’ Ark Bach/Exum Delacourte
- 1991 Miriam’s Well - Authors: Alice Bach, J Cheryl Exum / Delacourte Press
- 1992 Many Thousand Gone - Author: Virginia Hamilton / Knopf
- 1993 It's Kwaanza Time Goss Putnam
- 1995 Her Stories - Author: Virginia Hamilton / Scholastic/Blue Sky Press
- 1997 The Girl Who Dreamed Only Geese - Author: Howard A. Norman / Harcourt Brace & Co
- 2000 20,000 League Under the sea - Author: Jules VerneJules VerneJules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
/ HarperCollins - 2001 Mansa Musa - Author: Khephra Burns / Harcourt Brace & Co
- 2004 Between Heaven and Earth: Bird Tales From Around The World - Author: Howard A. Norman / Harcourt Brace & Co
Awards
- 1971 Hugo AwardHugo AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
– Best Professional Artist, International Science Fiction Association - 1976 Caldecott MedalCaldecott MedalThe 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...
- American Library Association – Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People’s Ears - 1977 Caldecott MedalCaldecott MedalThe 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...
- American Library Association – Ashanti To Zulu: African TraditionsAshanti to Zulu: African TraditionsAshanti to Zulu: African Traditions is a 1976 children's book written by Margaret Musgrove and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. It was Musgrove's first book, but the Dillons were experienced artists and this book won them the second of their two consecutive Caldecott Medals... - 1977 Hamilton King Award – Society Of Illustrators
- 1978 Most Highly Commended For The International Hans Christian Anderson Award
- 1982 Balrog Award For Lifetime Contribution To Science Fiction/Fantasy
- 1982 Art Ninth Annual Lensman Award
- 1988 Third Annual Keene State College Children’s Literature Festival Award
- 1991 Doctorate Of Fine Art Degree – Parsons School Of DesignParsons The New School for DesignParsons The New School For Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is the art and design college of The New School university. It is located in New York City's Greenwich Village, and has produced artists and designers such as Marc Jacobs, Dean and Dan Caten, Norman Rockwell, Donna Karan, Jane...
- 1992 Empire State Award For Children’s And Adult Literature For Body Of Work
- 1992 Society Of Illustrators Gold Medal For Northern Lullaby From The Original Art Show Of Children’s Picture Books
- 1996 United States Nominees For The International Hans Christian Anderson Award - For Body Of Work (Picture Books)
- 1997 Chesley Award For Best Science Fiction Hardcover Jacket Titled Sabriel
- 1997 The Grand Masters Award - For Body Of Work - From Spectrum - The Best In Contemporary Fantastic Art
- 1997 Society of IllustratorsSociety of IllustratorsThe 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...
Hall Of Fame - Inducted By A Juryof Peers - 2002 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award - For Body Of Work
- 2003 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor- For Rap A Tap Tap Here’s Bolangles-Think Of That
- 2005 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award - For The People Could Fly-The Picture Book
- 2006 Knickerbocker Award - For Body Of Work - New York Library Association
- 2006 Doctorate Of Fine Arts - Montserrat School Of Art
- 2008 World Fantasy Convention Life Achievement Award
- - Have Received Five New York Times Best Illustrated Book