The Author

Jerry Pinkney

                                           

Photo credit: Thomas Kristich http://www.jerrypinkneystudio.com/frameset.html

"Books give me a great feeling of personal and artistic satisfaction. When I’m working on a book I wish the phone would never ring. I love doing it. My satisfaction comes from the actual marks on the paper, and when it sings, its magic".  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Pinkney)

Biographical Information

Born on December 22, 1939, Jerry Pinkney originates from the Germantown area of Philadelphia. According to the Jerry Pinkney website, at the young age of four Jerry discovered his love of drawing. Upon entering elementary school in the mid 1940's, he had difficulty with reading-based activities. As a child Jerry preferred to do simple drawings, sketch, and add color.  At that time, the diagnosis of Dyslexia was not defined and Jerry could not understand why he failed to succeed at reading despite his best efforts. Instead, Jerry learned to boost his self confidence and focus his attention while masking his struggles with reading by simply doing what he liked best, which was drawing.

Wikipedia discusses how as a teenager Jerry Pinkney developed his love of illustrating by sketching people passing near his newspaper stand job. There, he was fortunate to have met John Liney, a successful cartoonist who bolstered his creative efforts.

In 1957, Jerry graduated from high school and went on to attend the Philadelphia Museum College of Art. Amazon notes that he received an Alumni award from there, newly named The University of the Arts. He worked at a greeting card company situated in Boston, as well as helping found Kaleidoscope Studio. Eventually, Jerry was able to branch out independently and launched the Jerry Pinkney Studio located in New York.

Mr. Pinkney has illustrated over 100 children's books, and has been doing so since 1964. Amazon describes him as living with his wife (Gloria Jean, an author) in Westchester County, New York.

Photo Credit: http://www.jerrypinkneystudio.com/

"I wanted to show that an African-American artist could make it in this country on a national level in the graphic arts. I want to be a strong role model for my family and for other African Americans". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Pinkney)