Crosby Newell Bonsall (January 2, 1921 – January 10, 1995) was an American artist and children's book author and illustrator. She wrote and illustrated more than 40 children's books. Born January 2, 1921, in

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the ...

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, Bonsall studied at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

School of Architecture and the American School of Design. She had a passion for designing even as a young child. Her children's literature career started as a doodle of an orange-haired, freckle-faced rag doll on her drawing board at the advertising agency she was working for at the time.Karen Ritz, Children's Literature Network
A doll manufacturer bought the rights to that doll caricature, from which Bonsall later created a family of dolls that became characters in her first book, ''Tell Me Some More.'' Illustrated by

Fritz Siebel Frederick "Fritz" Siebel (December 19, 1913 – December 1991) was an Austrian American illustrator, well known for his award winning World War II poster "Someone Talked" and his illustrations for the children's book Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish ...

, the book was published in 1961 as part of

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's "I Can Read" children's series. As a writer, Bonsall supplied the text to six of photographer

Ylla Camilla "Ylla" Koffler ( hu, Koffler Kamilla; 16 August 1911 – 30 March 1955) was a Hungarian photographer who specialized in animal photography. At the time of her death she "was generally considered the most proficient animal photographer in ...

's children's books, including award-winning 1964 ''I'll Show You Cats.'' Bonsall's books also include ''The Case of the Hungry Stranger,'' ''The Case of the Cat's Meow,'' ''The Case of the Dumb Bells,'' ''The Case of the Scaredy Cats'', ''The Day I Had to Play With My Sister'', ''And I Mean It Stanley'', ''Piggle'', ''What Spot?'' and the illustrations for Joan Nodset's ''Go Away, Dog''.LibraryThing: Crosby Bonsall (1921-1995)
/ref> A spokesperson for

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described her as follows: "Ms. Bonsall's deceptively simple style conceals a wealth of artistry, skillful characterization, suspense and humor rarely found in children's books—the drawings, as delightful as the text, are an extra dividend." Bonsall died January 10, 1995, of a stroke at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, where she was living at the time, according to her niece, Barbara Phillips.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonsall, Crosby 1995 deaths 1921 births American children's writers American illustrators New York University alumni 20th-century American women artists People from Kew Gardens, Queens