Erin E. Stead (born December 27, 1982) is an American illustrator of children's books. She won the 2011 Caldecott Medal 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. She worked at Books of Wonder bookstore and as an assistant to the creative director at HarperCollins Children's Books. After moving back to Ann Arbor they collaborated on ''
A Sick Day for Amos McGee
''A Sick Day for Amos McGee'' is a 2010 children's picture book written by Philip C. Stead and was illustrated by Erin E. Stead. The book, published by Roaring Brook Press, depicts a zookeeper who has bonded with the animals he cares for and who ...
'', about the day a zookeeper 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.. ''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
''A Sick Day for Amos McGee'' is a 2010 children's picture book written by Philip C. Stead and was illustrated by Erin E. Stead. The book, published by Roaring Brook Press, depicts a zookeeper who has bonded with the animals he cares for and who ...
'', 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; )