Photo courtesy of Boxer Books
By Clara Hammett
Bernette Ford, author, editor, publisher, and champion of books by people of color died of cancer on June 20. She was 70.
Obituary: Bernette Ford, Who Made Children’s Books More Diverse, Dies at 70 by Neil Genzlinger from the New York Times.
Photo credit: Velma Cooper
Celebrated illustrator Floyd Cooper died on Friday, July 16, 2021, in Easton, Pennsylvania after a battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Velma and sons Dayton and Kai and his grandchildren. He was 65.
By Bree Rae
Award-winning children’s book author Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton (Inuvialuit) died on April 21, 2021. She was 85 years old.
Remembering Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton, children’s book author and residential school survivor from Quill and Quire. Peek: “Born on Baillie Island in the Arctic Ocean, the author of Fatty Legs: A True Story,
Continue Reading In Memory: Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton »
Photo credit: Jim Gipe, used with permission
Eric Carle, celebrated and beloved author and illustrator died peacefully of kidney failure, surrounded by family, on May 23 at his summer studio in Northampton, Massachusetts. He was 91.
Eric Carle, Author of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar,’ Dies at 91 from the New York Times by Julia Carmel.
By Bree Rae
Award-winning author and illustrator Lois Ehlert has died at the age of 86.
‘Chicka Chicka Boom Boom’ Illustrator Lois Ehlert Dead at 86 by Hannah Frishberg from the New York Post. Peek: “Before her career in children’s books,
Arnold Adoff—noted anthologist, poet, and author—died on May 7 at home in Yellow Springs, Ohio surrounded by family after a brief illness. He was 85.
Obituary: Arnold Adoff from Publishers Weekly by Shannon Maughan. Peek: “Children’s poet, author, and anthologist Arnold Adoff, widely noted for his inventive poetry style and for depicting African American experiences in his work,
By Bree Rae
Award-winning artist and children’s book illustrator Irving James Toddy died Nov. 25, 2020. He was 69 years old.
Obituary: Irving James Toddy from The Navajo Times. Peek: “Irving was born Feb. 4, 1951, in Ganado, Arizona, into the Bit’ahnii (Folded Arms People Clan), born for Red Streak Across Forehead (Zuni).
By Bree Rae
Cricket Media editor-in-chief and founder, Marianne Carus died March 3 at age 92.
Obituary: Marianne Carus by Shannon Maughan from Publishers Weekly. Peek: “The Caruses began to field requests from teachers for additional high-caliber literature, but in an even shorter format. Marianne’s research for such content sparked the idea for launching a children’s literary magazine to publish the work of contemporary writers,
Beverly Cleary, beloved, iconic, award-winning author died on March 25 in Carmel, California. She was 104.
Obituary: Beverly Cleary from Publishers Weekly by Shannon Maughan. Peek: “Cleary’s desire to read funny stories about kids like herself is something that drove her as she eventually became an avid reader,
Norton Juster, beloved author, died on March 8 at his home in Northampton, Massachusetts after complications from a stroke. He was 91.
Obituary: Norton Juster from Publishers Weekly by Shannon Maughan. Peek: “Children’s author Norton Juster, widely praised for the wordplay in his clever and whimsical books for young readers,