Erin E. Stead (born December 27, 1982) is an American illustrator of
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 ...
. She won the 2011
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 ...
for the year's best-illustrated U.S. picture book, recognizing her first publication, ''A Sick Day for Amos McGee''.
Biography
Stead was born in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and met her husband, Philip Christian Stead in art class at
Divine Child High School
Divine Child High School, commonly known as Divine Child (DC), is a private, Roman Catholic, college-preparatory, parish high school in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. Divine Child is ranked among the top 15 percent of private high schools i ...
in
Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States pe ...
. They married in September 2005 and moved to New York City, where he worked at the
Brooklyn Children's Museum
The Brooklyn Children's Museum is a children's museum in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. Founded in 1899, it is the first children's museum in the United States – and according to some, the first one worldwide. It ...
. She worked at
Books of Wonder
Books of Wonder is an independent bookstore and publisher based in Manhattan. It was established in 1980 by Peter Glassman and James Carey and is focused on selling antique, classic and new children's books. It has been called "New York City's ol ...
bookstore and as an assistant to the creative director at
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
Children's Books. After moving back to Ann Arbor they collaborated on '' A Sick Day for Amos McGee'', about the day a
zookeeper
A zookeeper, sometimes referred as animal keeper, is a person who manages zoo animals that are kept in captivity for conservation or to be displayed to the public.Hurwitz, Jane. Choosing a Career in Animal Care (World of Work). New York: Rosen Gr ...
stays home because he is sick. It was his second book and her first. Philip wrote characters he felt would be perfect for Erin to illustrate. She used wood blocks for color work and pencil lines for detailing. ''Amos McGee'' was edited by
Neal Porter
Neal Porter is an American children's book editor.
He is the founder of Neal Porter Books, an imprint of Holiday House.
After a brief stint in the college textbook department of St. Martin’s Press he moved into trade publishing, in 1977, whe ...
at Roaring Brooks Press and named one of the "10 Best Illustrated Children's Books" for 2010 by ''The New York Times''.
Stead's second book, ''And Then It's Spring'', written by Julie Fogliano (Neal Porter, 2012), was a runner-up for the 2012
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award
The Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards are a set of American literary awards conferred by
''The Boston Globe'' and ''The Horn Book Magazine'' annually from 1967. One book is recognized in each of four categories: Fiction and Poetry, Nonfiction, and P ...
.. ''Lenny & Lucy'' arrived in 2015.
The Steads currently live in
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
, where he teaches at
Washtenaw Community College
Washtenaw Community College (WCC) is a public community college in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan.Neal Porter Books. Porter had previously handled Philip Stead's debut book.
* '' A Sick Day for Amos McGee'', by Philip C. Stead (Roaring Brook, 2010)
* ''And Then It's Spring'', Julie Fogliano (2012)
* ''Bear Has a Story to Tell'', Philip Stead (2012)
* ''If You Want to See a Whale'', Julie Fogliano (2013; )
* ''Lenny & Lucy'', by Philip C. Stead (2015; )
* ''The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine'', by
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
and Philip Stead (Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2017)
* ''Music for Mr. Moon'' by Philip Stead (Holiday House, 2019; )
* ''Amos McGee Misses the Bus'' (2021; )