December 16: Today in the History of Children’s Books

🎂 Born: December 16, 1932 Quentin Black (or Quentin Blake)

British illus­tra­tor and writerQuentin BlakeQuentin Blake was born. He is wide­ly rec­og­nized as…One of the most beloved illus­tra­tors of our timeWith its icon­ic, vibrant pen lines and…Roald DahlHe is world-renowned for his per­fect col­lab­o­ra­tion with Roald Dahl.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
  • Hans Chris­t­ian Ander­sen Award: He 2002 Award­edHans Chris­t­ian Ander­sen Award (HCAA) for Illus­tra­tionGold Award.
  • Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works: Besides illus­trat­ing Dahl’s *Char­lie and the Choco­late Fac­to­ry* and *The Witch­es*, his self-writ­ten and self-illus­trat­ed works were also high­ly influ­en­tial, such as…Mr. Hap­py Bare­foot-Mis­ter Mag­no­lia(Win­ner of the Kate Green­away Medal)Lit­tle Mon­ster-Zaga­zoo) and the film he co-authored with Michael RosenHeart­break Book-Michael Rosen’s Sad Book).

| born Quentin Blake | Quentin Blake (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 December 16, 1895 – Birth: Mary Ho Ace

Amer­i­can writer and illus­tra­torMary Ho AceMarie Hall Ets (1895–1984) was born. Her works are known for…Black and white char­coal draw­ingHe is known for his del­i­cate depic­tions of ani­mals, nature, and chil­dren’s psy­chol­o­gy.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
  • Calde­cott Medal and Sil­ver Medal: Her workChrist­mas nine days lat­er-Nine Days to Christ­masIt won the gold medal (1960).
  • Mul­ti­ple Calde­cott Hon­ors: Includ­ing the clas­sic “In the for­est-In the For­est, 1944),Mr. Antho­ny Wood-Mr. TW Antho­ny Woo), 《Play with me-Play with Me(1955) and TheThe wind likes to play with me-Just Me).

| born | Marie Hall Ets | Marie Hall Ets (Wikipedia) |

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🕯️ 1927–2015 (same month and day) — Peter Dickson

British writerPeter Dixon(Peter Dick­in­son, 1927–2015) inBorn on Decem­ber 16Also inHe passed away on Decem­ber 16.He passed away at the age of 88. He was an accom­plished writer in the fields of sci­ence fic­tion, fan­ta­sy, and mys­tery.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
  • Two Carnegie Medals:
    • 1979: 《Turku-Tulku).
    • 1980: 《The City of Gold and oth­er sto­ries in the Old Tes­ta­ment-City of Gold and Oth­er Sto­ries from the Old Tes­ta­ment).
  • Inter­na­tion­al recog­ni­tion: He was short­list­ed 2000 Hans Chris­t­ian Ander­sen Award (HCAA) for Best WriterFinal­ists list.

| Birth/Death | Peter Dick­in­son | Peter Dick­in­son (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 Born: December 16, 1970 Yu Rong

British Chi­nese illus­tra­torYu Rong(Rong Yu) was born. She was unique.Com­bi­na­tion of paper cut­ting and pen­cil sketch­ingIt is known for its tech­niques.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
  • BIB Gold­en Apple Award: She relied on “Mynah bird as big as a cloud-Yun duo yi yang de ba ge) won Gold­en Apple Award at the 2013 Bratisla­va Inter­na­tion­al Bien­ni­al of Illus­tra­tion (BIB).
  • Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works: Also includes “Did you see the mag­pie?”(Dai Yun­wen),“Ten­nis Dream: The Sto­ry of Cham­pi­on Li Na(Ajawen) and “烟(Cao Wenx­u­an’s arti­cle), etc.

| born | Rong Yu | Rong Yu (Walk­er Books) |

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🎂 December 16, 1924 – Birth: Nicholas Sijakov

Lat­vian-Amer­i­can illus­tra­torNicholas Sijakov(Nico­las Sid­jakov, 1924–1993) was born.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
  • Calde­cott Medal: He relied on his work for “Babush­ka and the Three Kings-Baboush­ka and the Three KingsIllus­tra­tions cre­at­ed (pub­lished in 1960) won awards. 1961 Calde­cott MedalThis pic­ture book is based on Russ­ian folk­lore and has a unique style.

| born | Nico­las Sid­jakov | Nico­las Sid­jakov (Wikipedia) |

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🕯️ 1930–2011 (same month and day) — Bill Brittan

Amer­i­can writ­ersBill Brit­tan(Bill Brit­tain, 1930–2011) inBorn on Decem­ber 16Also inHe passed away on Decem­ber 16.(He died at the age of 81). He was known for cre­at­ing fan­ta­sy and mys­tery sto­ries with folk­lore ele­ments.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
  • New­bery Hon­or: His rep­re­sen­ta­tive work isWish­ing Tree-The Wish Giv­er: Three Tales of Coven Tree(Pub­lished in 1983) won awards 1984 New­bery Sil­ver MedalThis nov­el tells the strange sto­ry of three chil­dren who make wish­es at a mar­ket.

| Birth/Death | Bill Brit­tain | Bill Brit­tain (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 Born: December 16, 1956 EB Lewis

Amer­i­can illus­tra­torEB Lewis(EB Lewis) was born. He was born withReal­is­tic and emo­tion­al­ly expres­sive water­col­or paint­ingsKnown for its style, it often depicts the life expe­ri­ences of African Amer­i­cans.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
  • Calde­cott Hon­or: He gained fame for his work for Jacque­line Wood­son.I’m going home soon-Com­ing On Home SoonThe illus­tra­tions cre­at­ed by [author’s name] (pub­lished in 2004) won [award/title]. 2005 Calde­cott Hon­or.

| born | EB Lewis | EB Lewis (illus­tra­tor) (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 December 16, 1896 – Birth: Ruth Klissmann Garnett

Amer­i­can illus­tra­torRuth Kliss­mann Gar­nett(Ruth Chris­man Gan­nett, 1896–1979) was born.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
  • Calde­cott Hon­or: She relied on “My moth­er is the most beau­ti­ful woman in the world.-My Moth­er Is the Most Beau­ti­ful Woman in the WorldAward­ed in 1945 1946 Calde­cott Hon­or.

| born Ruth Chris­man Gan­nett | Ruth Chris­man Gan­nett (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 Born: December 16, 1936 Karin Bradford

Cana­di­an writerKarin Brad­fordKar­leen Brad­ford was born. She focused on cre­ative work.His­tor­i­cal and fan­ta­sy nov­els for young adults.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • Her his­tor­i­cal nov­elThe wolves will come-There Will Be Wolves(Pub­lished in 1992) Set against the back­drop of the Cru­sades, it tells the sto­ry of a young female heal­er and was spe­cial­ly rec­om­mend­ed by “1001 Chil­dren’s Books”.

| born Kar­leen Brad­ford | Kar­leen Brad­ford (Wikipedia) |

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⚰️ December 16, 1918 – Died: Edward William Cole

Aus­tralian pub­lish­ers and book­sellersEdward William ColeEdward William Cole (1832–1918) died.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • His cre­ation and pub­li­ca­tion of “Cole’s Fun­ny Pic­ture Book-Cole’s Fun­ny Pic­ture Book(First pub­lished in 1879) is one of the best-sell­ing chil­dren’s books in Aus­tralian his­to­ry. This book not only con­tains puz­zles, sto­ries, and illus­tra­tions, but is also full of its unique Vic­to­ri­an humor and has been fea­tured in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books”.

| Death | Edward William Cole | Edward William Cole (Wikipedia) |