December 30: Today in the History of Children’s Books

🎂 December 30, 1865 – Birth: Rudyard Kipling

British writer and poetRud­yard KiplingRud­yard Kipling (1865–1936) was born. He was born in He was award­ed the Nobel Prize in Lit­er­a­ture in 1907.He was the youngest win­ner at the time.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
• The Jun­gle Book（The Jun­gle Book(1894): It tells the sto­ry of Mowgli, a “wolf boy” raised by wolves. It is an immor­tal clas­sic of world chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture and has been adapt­ed into film and tele­vi­sion works count­less times.
• So that’s how it is.（Just So Sto­ries(1902): This is a col­lec­tion of imag­i­na­tive ori­gin sto­ries (such as “Why do leop­ards have spots”), orig­i­nal­ly writ­ten for his deceased daugh­ter Josephine.
• Influ­ence: His works, with their vivid depic­tions of the ani­mal world and unique nar­ra­tive rhythm, have pro­found­ly influ­enced chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture in lat­er gen­er­a­tions and have been includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books”.

| born Rud­yard Kipling | Rud­yard Kipling (Wikipedia) |

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⚰️ December 30, 1969 – Died: Jiri Tenka

Czech illus­tra­tor, ani­ma­tion direc­tor, and pup­pet mas­terJiri Ten­kaJiří Trn­ka (1912–1969) died. He was hailed as the “Walt Dis­ney of the East”.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
• Hans Chris­t­ian Ander­sen Award (HCAA): He 1968 Award­edHans Chris­t­ian Ander­sen Award for Illus­tra­tionThis is one of the high­est hon­ors in the field of chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture.
• style: His illus­tra­tions (such as those for Grim­m’s Fairy Tales and Ander­sen’s Fairy Tales) and pup­pet ani­ma­tions, with their rich Czech nation­al style, poet­ic qual­i­ty, and unique visu­al aes­thet­ics, have had a pro­found influ­ence on the world of ani­ma­tion and illus­tra­tion art.

| Death | Jiří Trn­ka | Jiří Trn­ka (Wikipedia) |

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⚰️ December 30, 1980 – Died: Dorothy P. Lathrop

Amer­i­can illus­tra­tor and authorDorothy P. Lath­ropDorothy P. Lath­rop (1891–1980) passed away. She holds a land­mark posi­tion in the his­to­ry of pic­ture books.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
• The first Calde­cott Medal win­ner in his­to­ry: She relied on “Ani­mals in the Bible-Ani­mals of the Bible(Pub­lished in 1937) won awards The inau­gur­al Calde­cott Medal was award­ed in 1938..
• New­bery Sil­ver Medal: Her workFairy Cir­cus-The Fairy Cir­cus) won New­bery Sil­ver Medal, 1932.
• style: She is known for her exquis­ite black and white prints and her del­i­cate depic­tions of ani­mals and elves.

| Death | Dorothy P. Lath­rop | Dorothy P. Lath­rop (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 Born: December 30, 1943 Mercer Meir

Amer­i­can writer and illus­tra­torMer­cer Meir(Mer­cer May­er) was born.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
• He is the author of the famous pic­ture book series **“Lit­tle Mon­ster”** (Lit­tle Crit­ter) cre­ator.
• Influ­ence: Since its launch in 1975, this series has become a glob­al phe­nom­e­non with its humor­ous, heart­warm­ing sto­ries that res­onate with the dai­ly lives of young chil­dren (such as “I’m too small” and “I can’t sleep”), mak­ing it a must-read clas­sic for count­less Amer­i­can fam­i­lies.

| born Mer­cer May­er Mer­cer May­er (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 December 30, 1898 – Birth: Claire Hugh Bishop

French-Amer­i­can writerClaire Hugh Bish­opClaire Huchet Bish­op (1898–1993) was born.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
• New­bery Hon­or:
• 1948: Clas­sic pic­ture bookFive Chi­nese broth­ers-The Five Chi­nese Broth­ersIllus­tra­tions by Kurt Wiese. Although con­tro­ver­sial in mod­ern times due to its stereo­types, it was once one of the best-sell­ing pic­ture books of folk tales in the Unit­ed States.
• 1954: 《Alone-All Alone).

| born Claire Huchet Bish­op | Claire Huchet Bish­op (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 December 30, 1913 – Birth: Elaine Mitchell

Aus­tralian writerElaine Mitchell(Elyne Mitchell, 1913–2002) was born.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
• Her rep­re­sen­ta­tive work is **Sil­ver Horse**.The Sil­ver Brum­by)series.
• Influ­ence: This series of sto­ries about Brum­by hors­es in the Aus­tralian Alps, espe­cial­ly the leg­endary stal­lion Thowra, is a gem of Aus­tralian chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture and is includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books”.

| born | Elyne Mitchell | Elyne Mitchell (Wikipedia) |

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⚰️ December 30, 2011 — Passed away Ronald Sell

British satir­i­cal car­toon­ist and illus­tra­torRonald Sell(Ronald Sear­le, 1920–2011) died.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
• He cre­at­ed the famous **Saint Trin­ian Girls’ School** (St. Trini­an’sThe series depicts a board­ing school filled with anar­chism and unruly girls.
• His col­lab­o­ra­tion with Geof­frey Willans on [the film/film/movie]Defeat Skul-Down with Skool!He cre­at­ed the famous stu­dent char­ac­ter Nigel Molesworth. Both works are includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books”.

| Death | Ronald Sear­le | Ronald Sear­le (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 Born December 30, 1922: Jane Langton

Amer­i­can writ­ersJane Lang­tonJane Lang­ton (1922–2018) was born. (Note: Her death was record­ed in the brief­ing on Decem­ber 22; this is a con­fir­ma­tion of her birth date.)

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
• New­bery Sil­ver Medal: 《George Who Wants to Fly-The Fledg­lingAward­ed in 1980 1982 New­bery Sil­ver Medal.

| born Jane Lang­ton | Jane Lang­ton (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 Born December 30, 1957: Suan Lopez Domigutz

Span­ish Gali­cian illus­tra­torSuan Lopez Domigutz(Xan López Domínguez) is born.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
• He 1991 With the work “Voces na lagoa do espan­tallo》 wonPlaque Award at the Bratisla­va Inter­na­tion­al Bien­ni­al of Illus­tra­tion (BIB).

| born | Xan López Domínguez | Xan López Domínguez (Gali­cian Wikipedia) |