Patricia C. McKissack, honored children’s author from Chesterfield, dies at 72 by Jane Henderson
from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Peek: “…’I think my mother died of a broken heart.’ Fredrick McKissack Jr. said his mother and father were ‘best friends and partners.’”
Before becoming an author, Patricia earned a master’s degree from Webster’s University and taught English at a junior high school in Kirkwood,
Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Children’s Author and Filmmaker, Dies at 51 by Sam Roberts from the New York Times. In addition to 28 children’s books and two memoirs, she also wrote many essays, including the recent You May Want to Marry My Husband, published just 10 days before her death. When her obituary was published March 13, 2017, the Times reported it had been read online 4.5 million times.
Compiled by Gayleen Rabakukk
Josanne La Valley obituary from The New York Times.
Peek: “Josanne received degrees from St. Lawrence University, Smith College and Vermont College of Fine Arts. She worked in arts management and as a professional musician before she turned to writing.”
A few members of the children’s literature community shared their thoughts about Josanne.
Anna Dewdney Dies; Author of ‘Llama Llama’ Books Was 50 from the New York Times.
Anna illustrated a number of books in the 1990s, then became an author/illustrator with the publication of Llama, Lama Red Pajama (Viking, 2005). Since then, Llama Llama and his Mama have appeared in 18 additional titles and sold more than 10 million copies. Continue Reading In Memory: Anna Dewdney »
Austin architect contributed modernist buildings to city’s landscape by Michael Barnes from The Austin American Statesman. Peek:
“Thomas ‘Tom’ Shefelman, who helped design several of Austin’s outstanding modernist buildings…. Seattle-born Shefelman, a graduate of the University of Texas School of Architecture and the Harvard Graduate School of Design, also illustrated children’s books and painted watercolor scenes from his travels,
Compiled by Gayleen Rabakukk
Award-winning
Author Paul Goble, Dead at 83 (Rapid City Journal, Jan. 5, 2017).
Paul Goble’s work – writing, illustrating, or both – were included in more than 40 books.
In 1979, he won the Caldecott Medal for The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses (Simon & Schuster, 1978).
Peek: “’The
world of children’s literature is poorer for his loss, and the world in
general,
Obituary: Yumi Heo by Shannon Maughan from Publishers Weekly. Peek: “[Henry] Holt’s Laura Godwin shared this remembrance:
‘Yumi was extremely gracious, enthusiastic, and inquisitive,’ she said. ‘I loved the way she incorporated ‘mistakes’ into her art rather than erasing or deleting them.
“If she drew a squiggle where she hadn’t intended, it would show up in the final art as a tree or a rabbit or whatever struck her fancy.
“Don’t be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. You don’t have to live forever, you just have to live.”
‘Tuck Everlasting’ Author Natalie Babbitt, Of Hamden, Dies At Age 84 by the Associated Press from The Hartford Courant. Peek: “Babbitt’s literary career started in 1966, when she illustrated a children’s book written by her husband and was encouraged by its editor to continue writing and illustrating children’s books herself.”
In the early part of last year, Rick Walton, one of my best friends and a prolific picture book writer, was diagnosed with a terminal and aggressive brain tumor.
For many years before this diagnosis, Rick battled early-onset Parkinson’s disease.
Recently, the tumors returned (after a surgery that left Rick partially paralyzed) and as I write this, my friend, my hilarious,
Continue Reading Guest Post: Carol Lynch Williams in Memory of Rick Walton »
From Barbara Seuling’s Author Website: “…children’s book editor, author, illustrator and teacher. For several years Barbara worked as an editor for Delacorte Press and Yearling Books at Dell Publishing Company. Later, she moved to J. B. Lippincott & Co.
“As author and/or illustrator of her own books, Barbara became a featured speaker at many educational and writers’ conferences and served for many years on the Society of Children’s Book Writers &
