Alvin Tresselt (September 30, 1916,

Passaic, New Jersey Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,78 ...

– July 24, 2000) was a

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...

and American children's

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

author. His picture book ''

White Snow, Bright Snow ''White Snow, Bright Snow'' is a 1947 book written by Alvin Tresselt and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin. Released by Lothrop Publishers, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to ...

'' (illustrated by

Roger Duvoisin Roger Antoine Duvoisin (August 28, 1900 – June 30, 1980) was a Swiss-born American writer and illustrator best known for children's picture books. He won the 1948 Caldecott Medal for picture books and in 1968 he was a highly commended runner-u ...

) received the

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 ...

. One of his most popular books was his retelling of the

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

folktale ''The Mitten'', illustrated by Yaroslava Mills. Tresselt grew up in Passaic and graduated from

Passaic High School Passaic High School is a four-year community public high school, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the ...

in 1934. He was an editor for Humpty Dumpty Magazine and an executive editor for Parents Magazine Press before becoming an instructor and the Dean of Faculty for the Institute of Children's Literature in Connecticut. He wrote over thirty children's books, selling over a million copies. He died on July 24, 2000, at his home in Burlington, Vermont at the age of 83. The many collaborations between Tresselt and the illustrator Roger Duvoisin were given the genre title "mood books" when a retrospective of Duvoisin's original art for Tresselt's texts was held at the Zimmerli Art Museum at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

in 2020. “Mood books were a new type of genre in children’s literature, unlike the typical fantasy and adventure tales,” said Nicole Simpson, the Zimmerli's assistant curator of Prints and Drawings, who organized the exhibition. “These books did not focus on the actions or personalities of iconic characters, but marveled in the natural wonders of our everyday environments. They encourage children to slow down, to observe and appreciate our constantly changing world.”

Works

*''Rain Drop Splash'' (1946) – illustrated by

Leonard Weisgard Leonard Joseph Weisgard (December 13, 1916 – January 14, 2000) was an American writer and illustrator of more than 200 children's books. He is known best for his collaborations with writer Margaret Wise Brown. Biography Weisgard was bo ...

Caldecott Award 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 ...

, Honor *''Sun Up'' (1949) *''Hi, Mister Robin'' (1950) *''Bonnie Bess, the Weathervane Horse'' (1949), illus. by Erik Blegvad *''The Rabbit Story'' (1957), illus. by Carolyn Ewing *''The Smallest Elephant In the World'' (1959), illus. by Milton Glaser *''How Far is Far?'' (1964), illus. by Ward Brackett *''The Mitten'' (1964), illus. by Yaroslava *''The Old Man and the Tiger'' (1965), illus. by Albert Aquino *''A Thousand Lights and Fireflies'' (1965), illus. by John Moodie *''The World in the Candy Egg'' (1967) *''Under the Trees and Through the Grass'' (1967) *''The Legend of the Willow Plate'' (1968) *''The Fox Who Traveled'' (1968), illus. by Nancy Sears *''The Little Mouse Who Tarried'' (1971) by Hirosuke Hamada, English version by Alvin Tresselt, illus. by Kozo Kakimoto *''The Dead Tree'' (1972), illus. by Charles Robinson *''Sun Up'' (1991, retitled reprint of ''Wake up, Farm!''

955 Year 955 (Roman numerals, CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld (955), Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I, H ...

with new illus. by Henri Sorensen) *''The Gift of the Tree'' (1992, retitled reprint of ''The Dead Tree''

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recent ...

with new illus. by Henri Sorensen)

Works illustrated by Roger Duvoisin

*''

'' (1947) – Caldecott Award *''Johnny Maple-Leaf'' (1948) *''Follow the Wind'' (1950) *''Autumn Harvest'' (1951) *''Follow the Road'' (1953) *''Wake up, Farm!'' (1955) *''Wake up, City!'' (1957) *''The Frog in the Well'' (1958) *''Under the Trees and Through the Grass'' (1962) *''Hi, Mister Robin!'' (1963, new edition from 1950 version) *''Hide and Seek Fog'' (1965) – Caldecott Award, Honor *''Timothy Robbins Climbs the Mountain'' (1967) *''It’s Time Now'' (1969) *''The Beaver Pond'' (1971) *''What Did You Leave Behind?'' (1978)

References

External links

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World Cat Identities
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tresselt, Alvin 1916 births 2000 deaths Passaic High School alumni Writers from Passaic, New Jersey American children's writers