![Teodor Rożankowski, fotografia portretowa w kapeluszu (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Teodor_Ro%C5%BCankowski%2C_fotografia_portretowa_w_kapeluszu_%28cropped%29.png)
Feodor Stepanovich "Rojan" Rojankovsky (russian: Фёдор Степанович Рожанковский) (December 24, 1891 – October 12, 1970), also known as Rojan, was a Russian émigré illustrator. He is well known both for
children's book
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
illustration and for
erotic art
Erotic art is a broad field of the visual arts that includes any Work of art, artistic work intended to evoke Sexual arousal, erotic arousal. It usually depicts human nudity or sexual activity, and has included works in various visual mediums, ...
. He won the 1956
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 U.S.
picture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...
illustration from the
American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
, recognizing ''
Frog Went A-Courtin''' by
John Langstaff
John Meredith "Jack" Langstaff (December 24, 1920 – December 13, 2005), a concert baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from th ...
.
[
]
Biography
Rojankovsky was born in Mitava, Courland Governorate of the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
(now in Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
) on December 24, 1891, to Lydia Kiprianova and Stepan Fedorovich Rojankovsky. After Stephan's death in 1897, the family moved to St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
to be closer to his older married sister. There, Rojan's interest in books grew, particularly natural history picture books and illustrated classics. He studied two years at the private but left in 1914 to serve in the Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...
during World War I where he served as Staff Captain of one of the first motorized units until 1917. His first work appeared in the May 1915 issue of the magazine ''Lukomor’e'' where he depicted war scenes during his bed rest after being wounded in battle.
After the war, Rojankovsky joined his siblings in Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and worked as an artist for the local district council where some of his projects were illustrating books for local schools. He was conscripted by the White Army in 1919, soon to be a prisoner of war in Poland. After the war, he stayed in Poland working with Polish bookseller and publisher Rudolf Wegner designing book covers and illustrating whole books. After the Rapallo Treaty of 1922 recognized the new Soviet Union, he was unable to return to Russia with his Tsarist papers and became a stateless person and moved to France in 1925 where he worked as an art director for Lecram Press. His work for Lecram caught Esther Averill
Esther Averill (July 24, 1902 – May 19, 1992) was an American writer and illustrator best known for the Cat Club picture books, a collection of 13 stories featuring Jenny Linsky, a small black cat who always wears a red scarf. She was also an e ...
's attention and he began collaborating with Averill and her business partner, Lila Stanley. With their insight, Rojankovsky created ''Daniel Boone'' in 1931 featuring fauvist
Fauvism /ˈfoʊvɪzm̩/ is the style of ''les Fauves'' (French language, French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early 20th-century modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the Representation (arts), repr ...
-inspired lithographs celebrating Boone and the American West
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
. The plates were prohibitive to print, so Averill and Stanley started their own Domino Press to print the book. ''Daniel Boone'' set a new direction in children's books, but was not a commercial success. In 1933, he began working with Paul Faucher on the ''Père Castor'' series. The series integrated bold coloring with games, stories or projects designed to stimulate a child's curiosity and imagination.
In 1941, he moved to the US and began a career of illustrating more than a hundred books, most featuring animals or nature with Little Golden Books
Little Golden Books is a series of children's books, published since 1942.
''The Poky Little Puppy'', the eighth release in the series, is the top-selling children's book of all time in the United States.. Many other Little Golden Books have b ...
. From 1943 to 1970, Rojan illustrated 35 children's books under the imprint. Rojankovsky also wrote books, such as ''The Great Big Animal Book'', published in 1952. In 1956, '' Frog Went A-Courtin''' by John Langstaff
John Meredith "Jack" Langstaff (December 24, 1920 – December 13, 2005), a concert baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from th ...
won 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 ...
for U.S. picture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...
illustration from the American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
. In the 1950s and 60s, he began working with a new female editor, Margaret McElderry of Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
, and produced ''Over in the Meadow'', ''The Little River'', ''So Small'', and ''A Crowd of Cows''.
Rojan died on October 12, 1970, in Bronxville
Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises one square mile (2.5 km2) of land in its entirety, ...
, New York.
Quote
"Two great events determined the course of my childhood. I was taken to the zoo and saw the most marvelous creatures on earth: bears, tigers, monkeys and reindeer, and, while my admiration was running high, I was given a set of color crayons. Naturally, I began immediately to depict the animals which captured my imagination. Also when my elder brothers, who were in schools in the capital, came home for vacation, I tried to copy their drawings and to imitate their paintings."
Books
As writer and illustrator
* ''Daniel Boone: les adventures d'un chasseur americain parmi les peaux-rouges'' (1931)
* ''The Tall Book of Mother Goose'' (Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
, 1942)
* ''Grandfather’s Farm Panorama: Ten Feet Long'' (Platt and Munk, 1943)
* ''Choo-choo Panorama'' (Platt and Munk, 1945)
* ''The Three Bears'' (Little Golden Books
Little Golden Books is a series of children's books, published since 1942.
''The Poky Little Puppy'', the eighth release in the series, is the top-selling children's book of all time in the United States.. Many other Little Golden Books have b ...
, 1948)
* ''Favorite Fairy Tales'' (Simon & Schuster, 1949)
* ''Farm Animals'' (Merrigold Press, 1950)
*''The Great Big Animal Book'' (Simon & Schuster, 1950)
*''The Great Big Wild Animal Book'' (Simon & Schuster, 1951)
*''The Great Big Animal Book'' (1952)
*''Little Golden Mother Goose'' ( Golden Press, 1957)
*''The Outside Cat'' (Morrow, 1957)
*''Animals on the Farm'' (Knopf, 1962, 1967)
*''Animals in the Zoo'' (1962)
*''The Dog and Cat Book'' (Golden Pleasure Books, 1963)
*''An Alphabet of Many Things'' (Golden Press, 1970)
*''The Tall Book of Mother Goose'' (Harper and Brothers, 1942)
With other writers
*''Flash: The Story of a Horse, a Coach-Dog and the Gypsies'', written by Esther Averill
Esther Averill (July 24, 1902 – May 19, 1992) was an American writer and illustrator best known for the Cat Club picture books, a collection of 13 stories featuring Jenny Linsky, a small black cat who always wears a red scarf. She was also an e ...
(Domino Press, 1934)
*''Bourru, the Brown Bear'', Written by Rose Fyleman
Rose Amy Fyleman (6 March, 1877–1 August, 1957) was an English writer and poet, noted for her works on the fairy folk, for children. Her poem "There are fairies at the bottom of our garden" was set to music by English composer Liza Lehmann. ...
and Lida (George Allen & Unwin, 1936)
*''Fluff, the Little Wild Rabbit'', written by Lida, translated by Georges Duplaix (Harper & Brothers, 1937)
*''The Children’s Year'', written by Y. Lacôte (Harper & Brothers, 1937)
*''Adventures of Dudley and Gilderoy'', written by Algernon Blackwood
Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (14 March 1869 – 10 December 1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary cri ...
and Marion B. Cothren (EP Dutton & Co, 1941)
*''Cuckoo'', written by Lida (Harper & Brothers
Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City.
History
J. & J. Harper (1817–1833)
James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...
, 1942)
*''How the Camel Got His Hump'', written by Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
(Garden City Publishing Co., 1942)
*''How the Leopard Got His Spots'', written by Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
(Garden City Publishing Co., 1942)
*''How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin'', written by Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
(Garden City Publishing Co., 1942)
*''The Cat That Walked by Himself'', written by Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
(Garden City Publishing Co., 1942)
*''The Elephant’s Child'', written by Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
(Garden City Publishing Co., 1942), Junior Literary Guild Award
*''The Golden Book of Birds'', written by Hazel Lockwood (Simon & Schuster, 1943)
*''Animal Stories'', written by Georges Duplaix (Simon & Schuster, 1944)
*''Cortez the Conqueror'', written by Covelle Newcomb (Random House, 1947)
*''The Butterfly that Stamped'', written by Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
(Garden City Publishing Co., 1947)
*''Big Farmer Big and Little Farmer Little'', written by Byron and Kathryn Jackson (Simon & Schuster, 1948)
*''Gaston and Josephine'', written by Georges Duplaix (Simon and Schuster, 1948)
*''Our Puppy'', written by Elsa Ruth Nast
Jane Werner Watson, born Elsa Jane Werner (July 11, 1915 – 2004) was an American children's author. She also wrote under the names Elsa Jane Werner Watson, Jane Werner, Annie North Bedford, Monica Hill, Elsa Ruth Nast, W. K. Jasner, and A. N. B ...
(Simon & Schuster, 1948)
*''The Big Elephant'', written by Kathryn Jackson (Golden Book, 1949)
*''All Alone'', written by Claire Huchet Bishop
Claire Huchet Bishop (30 December 1898 – 13 March 1993) was a Swiss children's writer and librarian. She wrote two Newbery Medal runners-up, ''Pancakes-Paris'' (1947) and ''All Alone (Claire Huchet Bishop novel), All Alone'' (1953), and she w ...
(Viking Press, 1953), Newbery Honor Book
The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...
*''The Giant Golden Book of Cat Stories'', written by Elizabeth Coatsworth
Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth (May 31, 1893 – August 31, 1986) was an American writer of fiction and poetry for children and adults. She won the 1931 Newbery Medal from the American Library Association award recognizing '' The Cat Who Went to ...
(Simon & Schuster, 1953)
*''The Giant Golden Book of Dog Stories'', written by Elizabeth Coatsworth
Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth (May 31, 1893 – August 31, 1986) was an American writer of fiction and poetry for children and adults. She won the 1931 Newbery Medal from the American Library Association award recognizing '' The Cat Who Went to ...
(Simon & Schuster, 1953)
*''Horse Stories'', written by Kate Barnes and Elizabeth Coatsworth
Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth (May 31, 1893 – August 31, 1986) was an American writer of fiction and poetry for children and adults. She won the 1931 Newbery Medal from the American Library Association award recognizing '' The Cat Who Went to ...
(Simon & Schuster, 1954)
*'' Frog Went A-Courtin''', written by John Langstaff
John Meredith "Jack" Langstaff (December 24, 1920 – December 13, 2005), a concert baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from th ...
(1955)
*''I Play at the Beach'','' '' written by Dorothy Koch (Holiday House, 1955)
*''Balboa, Swordsman an d Conquistador'', written by Felix Riesenberg, Jr. (Random House, 1956)
*''Cartier Sails the St. Lawrence'', written by Esther Averill
Esther Averill (July 24, 1902 – May 19, 1992) was an American writer and illustrator best known for the Cat Club picture books, a collection of 13 stories featuring Jenny Linsky, a small black cat who always wears a red scarf. She was also an e ...
(Harper & Row, 1956)
*''I Like the City'', wri'' ''tten by James L. Mursell (Silver Burdett Company, 1956)
*''I Like the Country'', '' ''written by James L. Mursell (Silver Burdett Company, 1956)'' ''
*''Over in the Meadow'', '' ''written by John Langstaff
John Meredith "Jack" Langstaff (December 24, 1920 – December 13, 2005), a concert baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from th ...
(Harcourt, Brace and Company
Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City an ...
, 1957)
*''The Giant Golden Book of Dogs, Cats and Horses'', written by Kate Barnes and Elizabeth Coatsworth
Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth (May 31, 1893 – August 31, 1986) was an American writer of fiction and poetry for children and adults. She won the 1931 Newbery Medal from the American Library Association award recognizing '' The Cat Who Went to ...
(Simon & Schuster, 1957)'' ''
*''The White Bunny and His Magic Nose'', written by Lily Duplaix (Golden Press, 1957)
*''Baby Wild Animals'', w'' ''ritten by John Wallace Purcell (Simon & Schuster, 1958)
*''The Cabin Faced West'', written by Jean Fritz
Jean Guttery Fritz (November 16, 1915 – May 14, 2017) was an American children's writer best known for American biography and history. She won the Children's Legacy Literature Award for her career contribution to American children's literature ...
(Puffin Books, 1958)
*''The Little River'', wr'' ''itten by Ann Rand (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1959)
*''Animal Dictionary'', written by Jane Werner Watson (Golden Press, 1960)
*''The Defender'', written by Nicholas Kalashnikoff (Oxford University Press, 1961), Newbery Honor Book
The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...
*''The Whilry Bird'', written by Dimitry Varley (Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
, 1961)
*''Cricket in a Thicket'', written by Aileen Fisher
Aileen Lucia Fisher (September 9, 1906 – December 2, 2002) was an American writer of more than a hundred children's books, including poetry, picture books in verse, prose about nature and America, biographies, Bible-themed books, plays, and ar ...
( Scribner, 1963)
*''I Can Count'', written by Carl Memling (Merrigold Press, 1963)
*''The Cow Went Over the Mountain'', written by Jeanette Krinsley (Golden Press, 1963)
*''Hop, Little Kangaroo'', written by Patricia Scarry (Golden Press, 1965)
*''Christmas Bear'', written by Marie Colmont, translated by Constance Hirsch (Golden Press, 1966)
*''I Am a Fox'', written by Ole Risom (Golden Press, 1967)
*''A Crowd of Cows'', written by John Graham (Harcourt, Brace and World, 1968)
*''The Falcon Under the Hat: Russian Merry Tales and Fairy Tales'', selected and translated by Guy Daniels (Funk & Wagnalls, 1969)
*''To Make a Duck Happy'', written by Carol E. Lester (Harper & Row, 1969)
*''The Giant Golden Bible,'' written by Elsa Jane Werner (Simon & Schuster, 1946)
*''Firkin & The Grey Gangsters,'' written by Ann Scott-Moncrieff
Ann Scott-Moncrieff () (1914–1943) was an author who was the daughter of Major J. D. M. Shearer. She was born in Kirkwall, Scotland, in 1914. She attended the University of Edinburgh and married George Scott-Moncrieff in 1934, a Scottish n ...
(re-issued by Scotland Street Press, 2021)
See also
* Korney Chukovsky
Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky ( rus, Корне́й Ива́нович Чуко́вский, p=kɐrˈnʲej ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ tɕʊˈkofskʲɪj, a=Kornyey Ivanovich Chukovskiy.ru.vorb.oga; 31 March NS 1882 – 28 October 1969) was one of the most p ...
References
External links
Feodor Rojankovsky
at Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
Authorities — with 71 catalog records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rojankovsky, Feodor Stepanovich
1891 births
1970 deaths
People from Jelgava
People from Courland Governorate
Animal artists
Caldecott Medal winners
American children's book illustrators
Illustrators from the Russian Empire
Painters from the Russian Empire
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni