Adrienne Adams (February 10, 1906 – December 3, 2002) was an American children's book illustrator as well as an artist and writer of children's books. She won two

Caldecott Honors The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

(in 1960 and 1962) and in 1973 she was awarded the Rutgers Award for overall contributions to children’s literature. In 1977, she was awarded the

University of Southern Mississippi Medallion The Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival is an annual book festival that was founded in 1968 and is sponsored by The University of Southern Mississippi. History Early years In 1968, Dr. Warren Tracy, chairman of the Library Science Departmen ...

Life and career

Adams was born in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

, and grew up in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. She obtained a B.A. at

Stephens College Stephens College is a private women's college in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second-oldest women's educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833, as the Columbia Female Acade ...

(which awarded her the Alumnae Achievement Award in 1964) and then attended the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

. She also was awarded the University of Southern Mississippi's Medallion in 1977. She moved to New York in 1929 to study at the American School of Design and until 1949 she was a free-lance designer of displays, murals, textiles, greeting cards, etc. She married children's book writer John Lonzo Anderson on August 17, 1934, and in 1942 illustrated his first book, '' Bag of Smoke'', to begin her career as an illustrator. She became a full-time illustrator in 1952, and illustrated more than 30 books, ranging from contemporary authors including

Rumer Godden Margaret Rumer Godden (10 December 1907 – 8 November 1998) was an English author of more than 60 fiction and non-fiction books. Nine of her works have been made into films, most notably ''Black Narcissus'' in 1947 and '' The River'' in ...

, Irwin Shapiro and

Aileen Fisher Aileen Lucia Fisher (September 9, 1906 – December 2, 2002) was an American writer of more than a hundred children's books, including poetry, picture books in verse, prose about nature and America, biographies, Bible-themed books, plays, and ar ...

to the fairy tales of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

and the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

. She also wrote and illustrated six children books of her own. Adams and Anderson lived together in

Lebanon Township, New Jersey Lebanon Township is a township located at the northernmost point of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 6,588, reflecting an increase of 772 (+13.3%) from the 5,816 cou ...

.Stapleton, Chip
"Author, artist-wife make a happy team"
''

Courier News The ''Courier News'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Somerville, New Jersey, that serves Somerset County and other areas of Central Jersey. The paper has been owned by Gannett since 1927. Notable employees * John Curley, former pre ...

'', May 7, 1971. Accessed April 13, 2023, via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

. "Mr. Biddle, is ecstatic as he flies along with the help of Adso, Bodso, Crown and Charlie in the latest joint effort by Adrienne Adams and John Lonzo Anderson of Lebanon Township."

Selected works

;By other writers * 1954 – ''Impunity Jane: The Story of a Pocket Doll'' by

(

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

) * 1957 – ''Mouse House'' by Godden (Viking) *1957 – '' The Easter Bunny That Overslept'' by Priscilla and Otto Friedrich ( Lothrop, Lee & Shepard) * 1958 – ''

The Story of Holly and Ivy ''The Story of Holly and Ivy'' is a 1958 children's book written by Rumer Godden. On first publication it was illustrated by Adrienne Adams, but later editions were illustrated by Barbara Cooney; the British Puffin edition is illustrated by Sheila ...

'' by Godden (Viking) *1959 – ''Houses from the Sea'' by Alice E. Goudey (

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

) – one runner-up for the 1960

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

*1960 – '' The Shoemaker and the Elves'' by the

(Scribner's) –

ALA Notable Book American Library Association Notable lists are announced each year in January by various divisions within the American Library Association (ALA). There are six lists, part of the larger ALA awards structure. * ''ALA Notable Books for Adults'' (est ...

*1961 – ''The Day We Saw the Sun Come Up'' by Alice E. Goudey (Scribner's) – one runner-up for the 1962 Caldecott Medal *1961 – ''

Thumbelina Thumbelina (; da, Tommelise) is a literary fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen first published by C. A. Reitzel on 16 December 1835 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with "The Naughty Boy" and "The Travelling Companion" in t ...

'' by Hans Christian Andersen (Scribner's) – ALA Notable Book *1963 – ''Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella'' by W. Saboly (Scribner's) – ALA Notable Book *1964 – ''

Snow-White and Rose-Red "Snow-White and Rose-Red" (german: Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot) is a German fairy tale. The best-known version is the one collected by the Brothers Grimm (KHM 161). An older, somewhat shorter version, "The Ungrateful Dwarf", was written by Caroli ...

'' by Grimm (Scribner's) *1968 – '' Jorinde and Joringel'' by Grimm (Scribner's) – ALA Notable Book *1973 – ''Twice Upon a Time'' by Irwin Shapiro (Xerox Family Education) *1975 – ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel ...

'' by Grimm (Scribner's) *1977 – ''The River Bank from The Wind in the Willows'' by Kenneth Grahame (Scribner's) *1983 – ''The Easter Bunny That Overslept'' by Priscilla and Otto Friedrich (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard) – revised (see 1957) ;Self-illustrated

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

catalogs five children's picture books with text and illustrations by Adams. * 1971 – ''A Woggle of Witches'' (Charles Scribner's Sons) * 1976 – ''The Easter Egg Artists'' (Scribner's) * 1978 – ''The Christmas Party'' (The Scribner Book Company) * 1980 – ''The Great Valentine's Day Balloon Race'' (Scribner) * 1981 – ''A Halloween Happening'' (Scribner)

Sources

*''Something About the Author'', vol. 8, pp. 1–2. *''Illustrators of Children's Books: 1957–1966'', 1968, pp. 70–71. *''Contemporary Authors: New Revision Series'', vol. 1, pp. 9–10.

References

External links

*
Adrienne Adams Papers
at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

* (including 1 "from old catalog")
Adrienne Adams Papers
Special Collections at the University of Southern Mississippi (de Grummond Children's Literature Collection) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Adrienne 1906 births 2002 deaths American children's book illustrators People from Fort Smith, Arkansas People from Lebanon Township, New Jersey Artists from New Jersey Artists from Oklahoma Stephens College alumni University of Missouri alumni American women illustrators 20th-century American women artists 20th-century American illustrators