Bridge of Ajia

October 20: This Day in Children’s Book History

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🎂 October 20, 1906 — Born: Kroger Johnson

Amer­i­can writer and illus­tra­torKroger John­son(Crock­ett John­son, 1906–1975) was born. He was not onlyfamous car­toon­ist, is also a cre­ator who has made mile­stone con­tri­bu­tions in the field of pic­ture books.

  • Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: John­son’s most famous con­tri­bu­tion isA Luo has a col­ored pen­cil-Harold and the Pur­ple Cray­on, pub­lished in 1955) series.
    • The book tells the sto­ry of four-year-old boy Harold, who uses a pur­ple cray­on to draw his own world, solve prob­lems, and ulti­mate­ly draw his way home.
  • Influ­ence: This work is famous for itsChil­dren’s imag­i­na­tion, cre­ative think­ing and self-empow­er­mentThe ulti­mate con­cise expres­sion has become a rec­og­nized clas­sic in the Amer­i­can pic­ture book indus­try.The act of cre­ation itselfJohn­son is also the author of the pop­u­lar com­ic stripBarn­a­by》cre­ator.

| born Crock­ett John­son Harold and the Pur­ple Cray­on (Wikipedia) |

⚰️ October 20, 2021 — Death: Jerry Pinckney

Amer­i­can illus­tra­tor and authorJer­ry Pinck­neyJer­ry Pinkney (1939–2021) has died. He was rec­og­nized as one of the most respect­ed pic­ture book illus­tra­tors in the Unit­ed States, known for hisExquis­ite water­col­ors, African Amer­i­can his­to­ry and cul­tureCon­tri­bu­tion toClas­sic FableInter­na­tion­al­ly renowned for its rein­ter­pre­ta­tion of

  • Impor­tant works and achieve­ments: Pinck­ney has had a fruit­ful career, hav­ing wonFive-time Calde­cott Hon­or, and won the Gold Medal in 2010, mak­ing him one of the most award­ed artists in the his­to­ry of the award.
    • He wrote the word­less bookThe Lion and the Mouse-The Lion & the Mouse, 2009) won 2010 Calde­cott Medal.
    • He has won many awardsCoret­ta Scott King Award.
    • He was award­ed the 2016 Award­edCoret­ta Scott King – Vir­ginia Hamil­ton Life­time Achieve­ment Award (CLLA), and in 2014 Award­edEric Car­le Hon­orary Artist Award.
  • con­tribute: Pinkney’s art­work, blend­ing African-Amer­i­can sto­ries with uni­ver­sal moral themes, exem­pli­fies mul­ti­cul­tur­al pic­ture books.

| Death Jer­ry Pinkney Jer­ry Pinkney (Wikipedia) |

🎂 October 20, 1920 — Born: Oddfried Preussler

Ger­man writerOdd­fried Preus­slerOtfried Preußler (1923–2013) was born. He was one of the most beloved chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture writ­ers in post­war Ger­many, whose works com­binedFolk­lore, mag­ic, and humor.

  • Impor­tant works and achieve­ments: Many of Prus­sian’s works have become clas­sics of world chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture.
  • Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works and hon­ors: include“The Thief Holchen­bruntz-Der Räu­ber Hotzen­plotz, also trans­lat­ed as “The Great Thief”), “Lit­tle Ghost-Das kleine Gespenst)and“Young Crab­bard-Kra­batAmong them, “Young Crab­bard” is a dark, com­plex young adult nov­el. 1972 ObtainedGer­man Youth Lit­er­a­ture AwardHe has received numer­ous inter­na­tion­al awards and is con­sid­ered the pin­na­cle of his lit­er­ary career. 1972 Inter­na­tion­al Hans Chris­t­ian Ander­sen AwardNom­i­nat­ed for the HCAA Hon­or List.

| born | Otfried Preußler | Otfried Preußler (Ger­man Wikipedia) |

🎂 October 20, 1957 — Born: Jennifer Joeldenko

Amer­i­can chil­dren’s writerJen­nifer JoeldenkoGen­nifer Chold­enko was born in Cal­i­for­nia. She spe­cial­izes in writ­ing for mid­dle and upper ele­men­tary chil­dren.Real­is­tic nov­els.

  • Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: Joeldenko’s nov­el is known for itsUnique back­ground set­ting and com­plex fam­i­ly rela­tion­shipsFamous for its depic­tion.
  • Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works and achieve­ments: Her workBoss Capone wash­es my shirts.-Al Capone Does My Shirts, pub­lished in 2004) won 2005 New­bery Hon­orSet on Alca­traz in the 1930s, the nov­el tells the sto­ry of a boy who adjusts to life on the prison island while car­ing for his autis­tic sis­ter.

| born Gen­nifer Chold­enko Gen­nifer Chold­enko (Fan­tas­tic Fic­tion) |

⚰️ October 20, 2010 — Death: Eva Ibbotson

Aus­tri­an-British nov­el­istEva Ibbot­sonEva Ibbot­son (1925–2010) died. She was good at writ­ingHumor­ous, heart­warm­ing, full of mag­ic and fan­ta­syChil­dren’s nov­els.

  • Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: Ibbot­son’s works oftenExot­ic cus­toms, his­tor­i­cal back­ground and fan­tas­tic crea­turesCom­bined, it pro­vides read­ers with the plea­sure of escap­ing real­i­ty and reflec­tion on human nature.
  • Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works: include“But­ter­fly Par­adise Adven­tures-Jour­ney to the Riv­er Sea, 2001), which is set in the Ama­zon rain­for­est before and after World War II, won Smar­ties PrizeOth­er famous works includeWitch Bride-Which Witch?)and“The Secret of Plat­form 13-The Secret of Plat­form 13).
  • Influ­ence: Her works are known forStrong visu­al sense and warm human­is­tic care, which is loved by chil­dren read­ers all over the world.

| Death Eva Ibbot­son Eva Ibbot­son (Wikipedia) |

🎂 October 20, 1950 — Born: Nikki Grimes

Amer­i­can writer and poetNik­ki GrimesNik­ki Grimes was born in New York City and is one of the fore­most prac­ti­tion­ers of con­tem­po­rary African Amer­i­can poet­ry in chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture.

  • Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: Grimes’s work often usesFree Verse, Haiku, and Tan­kaVar­i­ous poet­ry forms,African Amer­i­can iden­ti­ty, fam­i­ly, friend­ship, and com­mu­ni­tySuch uni­ver­sal themes are emo­tion­al­ly del­i­cate and pow­er­ful.
  • Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works and achieve­ments: Her workBronx Mas­quer­ade-Bronx Mas­quer­ade, 2003)Coret­ta Scott King Author Award.
  • High­est Hon­or: She 2017 Award­edLau­ra Ingalls Wilder Award (CLLA)The award is giv­en to rec­og­nize the con­tri­bu­tion to chil­dren’s lit­er­a­tureSub­stan­tial and last­ing con­tri­bu­tions.

| born Nik­ki Grimes Nik­ki Grimes (ALA – Amer­i­can Library Asso­ci­a­tion) |

🎂 October 20, 1822 — Born: Thomas Hughes

British writer, lawyer and politi­cianThomas Hugh­esThomas Hugh­es is born.

  • Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: Hugh­es’ most famous work is the nov­elTom Brown’s School Life-Tom Brown’s School Days, pub­lished in 1857).
  • Influ­ence: This semi-auto­bi­o­graph­i­cal nov­el is set in the famous Rug­by School in the Vic­to­ri­an era and tells the sto­ry of the young Tom Brown’s growth in school as he faces bul­ly­ing, learns friend­ship, moral­i­ty and sports­man­ship.Cre­at­ed the lit­er­ary genre of “school sto­ries”, and pro­found­ly influ­enced Vic­to­ri­an BritainThe edu­ca­tion­al phi­los­o­phy and eth­i­cal stan­dards of pub­lic schools, is one of the most social­ly influ­en­tial works in the his­to­ry of chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture.

| born Thomas Hugh­es Tom Brown’s School Days by Thomas Hugh­es (EBSCO Research Starters) |

🎂 October 20, 1945 — Born: Ulysse Vincel

Span­ish illus­tra­torUlysse Vin­celUlis­es Wensell was born in Madrid. He is con­sid­ered one of Spain’s most impor­tant illus­tra­tors of chil­dren’s books.

  • Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: Wensel has been illus­trat­ing chil­dren’s books since 1968 and has cre­at­ed over 80 books for chil­dren, many of which have been trans­lat­ed into more than 20 lan­guages. He believes that illus­tra­tors are “guides to future read­ers,” help­ing chil­dren enter the world of writ­ten words through images.
  • style: His works are usu­al­lyWarm, del­i­cate and emo­tion­alIt is known for its style and is pop­u­lar in Europe and Latin Amer­i­ca.

| born Ulis­es Wensell Ulis­es Wensell (Archiv-Veg­e­lahn, Ger­man) |

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