Bryan Collier (born 1967) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

writer and illustrator known best for illustrating

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

. He won both the

Coretta Scott King Award The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association (ALA). Named for Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., this award rec ...

, as illustrator, and the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award for ''Uptown'' (Holt, 2000), the first book he both wrote and illustrated. He has won six King Awards as illustrator and he is a four-time Caldecott honor recipient. For his lifetime contribution as a children's illustrator, Collier is U.S. nominee for the biennial, international

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

in 2014.

Biography

Bryan Collier was raised in Pocomoke City near the southern border of

Maryland Eastern Shore The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that ...

. As a child he had a great collection of quality children's books that his mom, a Head Start teacher, would bring home. Some of his favorites were, ''Whistle for Willie'' by

Ezra Jack Keats Ezra Jack Keats (né Jacob Ezra Katz; March 11, 1916 – May 6, 1983) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He won the 1963 Caldecott Medal for illustrating '' The Snowy Day'', which he also wrote. Keats wrote '' A Letter ...

, ''Snowy Day'' by Keats, ''Harold and the Purple Crayon'' by

Crockett Johnson Crockett Johnson (October 20, 1906 – July 11, 1975) was the pen name of the American cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk. He is best known for the comic strip ''Barnaby'' (1942–1952) and the ''Harold'' series of book ...

, and ''

Where the Wild Things Are ''Where the Wild Things Are'' is a 1963 children's picture book written and illustrated by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published in hardcover by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several tim ...

'' by

Maurice Sendak Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He became most widely known for his book ''Where the Wild Things Are'', first published in 1963.Turan, Kenneth (October 16, 200 ...

. He said that he wouldn't read the books at first; he would only look at the images to tell him the story. Collier started working with

watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

and photo

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

when he was 15 years old. He said it was something that sort of clicked in him overnight and the next day he starting painting. While in high school he won first place in a Congressional Competition and his painting was displayed in the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. for a year. Collier received a scholarship through a national talent competition through the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

in New York City, one of the leading art schools in the United States. He later graduated from Pratt with honors. While at Pratt, he was a volunteer at the Harlem Horizon Art Studio located within the

Harlem Hospital Center Harlem Hospital Center, branded as NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, is a 272-bed, public teaching hospital affiliated with Columbia University. It is located at 506 Lenox Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City and was founded in 1887. The hosp ...

. The center is open to the children of the hospital as well as the children of the community. He later became the Program Director, a position he held for twelve years. Collier said that one of the biggest reasons for wanting to become a part of children's books was because of an experience he had in 1995 at a book store where the books he saw did not look or feel or sound like him or his children. He thought that he could do better, so that's what he worked towards. Today Collier continues to be active at the Harlem Horizon Art Studio but now as a volunteer. He believes it's important to be a positive role model for kids. He says, "It gives the community, the schools, the kids, and the parents the opportunity to come together for a very positive uplifting cause—the building and re-building of self-esteem, teaching the appreciation of art, and keeping the kids connected and involved and away from negative influences." He also spends time visiting schools to talk with teachers, librarians, and students about books and art.

Illustration style

Collier uses a unique technique of combining watercolors with collage. The first thing he does before creating the illustrations is a photo shoot of either his family or friends acting out the story. Sometimes he uses up to ten rolls of film. He believes that by having people act out the story, it shows him the important gestures that illuminate the scenes. Next, he carefully selects some of the photographs that best fit the text and begins sketching. After the sketching is complete, he begins painting in watercolor and the collage follows. He gets pieces for his collage mostly from magazines like ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

''.

Awards

Collier is a four-time recipient of a Caldecott Honor: ''Martin's Big Words'', ''Rosa'', ''Dave the Potter'', and ''Trombone Shorty''. Those four books are among nine for which Collier has received

recognition as the winner or honor recipient. The annual King Awards, one for an illustrator and one for a writer, recognize the year's "most distinguished portrayal of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

experience in literature for children or teens". Coretta Scott King Award, Illustrator, winner or honor recipient (9): * 2001 ''Uptown'' by Bryan Collier * 2001 honor recipient, ''Freedom River'' by Doreen Rappaport * 2002 honor recipient, ''Martin's Big Words: The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.'' by Doreen Rappaport * 2003 honor recipient, ''Visiting Langston'' by

Willie Perdomo Willie Perdomo is a Puerto Rican poet and children's book author. He is the author of ''The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon'' (Penguin Poets, 2014), a National Book Critics Circle Awards finalist, ''Where a Nickel Costs a Dime'' ( W. W. Norto ...

* 2006 ''Rosa'' by

Nikki Giovanni Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. (born June 7, 1943) is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets,Jane M. Barstow, Yolanda Williams Page (eds)"Nikki Giovanni" ''E ...

* 2011 ''Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave'' by Laban Carrick Hill * 2013 ''I, Too, Am America'' by Langston Hughes * 2014 ''Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me'', written by Daniel Beaty * 2016 ''Trombone Shorty'', written by Troy Andrews and Bill Taylor For ''Uptown'' (Henry Holt, 2000), which he also wrote, Collier won the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award.

Books illustrated

*''My Country, 'Tis of Thee'', written by Claire Rudolf Murphy, 2014 *''Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me''written by Daniel Beaty, 2013 *''Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington'' (written by Jabari Asim), 2012 * ''I, Too, Am America'' by Langston Hughes, 2012 *''Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave'' by Laban Carrick Hill, 2011 *''Your Moon, My Moon: to a Faraway Child'' (written by Patricia MacLachlan), Simon & Schuster, 2011 *''Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave'' (written by Laban Carrick Hill), Little, Brown 2010 *''Doo-Wop Pop'' (written by Roni Schotter), Amistad, 2008 *''Lincoln and Douglass: An American Friendship'' (written by

), Henry Holt and Co., 2008 *''Barack Obama: Son of a Promise, Child of Hope'' (written by Nikki Grimes), Simon & Schuster, 2008 *''Lift Every Voice and Sing'' (written by James Weldon Johnson), Amistad, 2007 *''Cherish Today: A Celebration of Life's Moments'' (written by Kristina Evans), Jump at the Sun, 2007 *''12 Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali'' (written by Charles R. Jr Smith), Candlewick 2007 *''Welcome, Precious'' (written by Nikki Grimes), Orchard Books / a division of Scholastic Press, 2006 *''Rosa'' (written by

), Henry Holt and Company, 2005 *''John's Secret Dreams: The Life of John Lennon'' (written by Doreen Rappaport),Jump at the Sun / Hyperion Books for Children, 2004 *''Skull Talks Back and Other Haunting Tales'' (written by

Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on Hoodoo (spirituality), hoodoo. The most ...

),HarperCollins Publishers, 2004 *''What's the Hurry Fox?: And Other Animal Stories'' (collected by Zora Neale Hurston; adapted by Joyce Carol Thomas), HarperCollins Publishers, 2004 *''I'm Your Child, God: Prayers for Children and Teenagers'' (written by Marian Wright Edelman), Jump at the Sun / Hyperion Books for Children, 2002 *''Kiss it Up to God'' (selected poems by Nadine Mozon), Fly By Night Press, 2002 *''Visiting Langston''(written by Willie Perdomo), Henry Holt and Company, 2002 *''Jump at the Sun Treasury: An African American Picture Book Collection'' (an anthology compiled by Andrea Davis Pinkney), Jump at the Sun / Hyperion Books for Children, 2001 *''Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'' (written by Doreen Rappaport), Jump at the Sun / Hyperion Books for Children, 2001 *''A Freedom River'' (written by Doreen Rappaport), Jump at the Sun / Hyperion Books for Children, 2000 *''Uptown'' (written by Bryan Collier), Henry Holt and Company, 2000 *''These Hands'' (written by Hope Lynn Price), Hyperion Books for Children, 1999

References

External links