John Wellington Kent, better known by his signature Jack Kent (March 10, 1920 – October 18, 1985), was an American cartoonist and prolific author-illustrator of 40
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 is perhaps best known as the creator of ''
King Aroo
''King Aroo'' is an American comic strip written and drawn by Jack Kent, which made its debut on November 13, 1950 and ran until June 19, 1965. The strip was distributed through the McClure Syndicate.
Characters and story
The strip's central ch ...
'', a
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
often compared to
Walt Kelly
Walter Crawford Kelly Jr. (August 25, 1913 – October 18, 1973), commonly known as Walt Kelly, was an American animator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip ''Pogo (comic strip), Pogo''. He began his animation career in 1936 at The Walt ...
's ''
Pogo''. In addition to his own books, he also illustrated 22 books by other authors.
Born in
Burlington, Iowa
Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area, which includes ...
, Kent dropped out of high school at the age of 15 and began a career as a freelance commercial artist, working in that field until he joined the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
in 1941.
''King Aroo'' arrives
His first nationally recognized work was ''King Aroo'', which was syndicated and distributed internationally from November 1950 to June 1965. The strip did not become a great commercial success, but was reportedly adored by its loyal fanbase, and praised for its imaginative puns and dialogue.
The early strips were collected in a 192-page book, ''King Aroo'', published as a trade paperback by Doubleday in 1953. The collection had an introduction by
Gilbert Seldes
Gilbert Vivian Seldes (; January 3, 1893 – September 29, 1970) was an American writer and cultural critic. Seldes served as the editor and drama critic of the seminal modernist magazine ''The Dial'' and hosted the NBC television program '' The ...
. In 2010 IDW began a complete reprint of ''King Aroo'', with the first volume covering dailies and Sundays from 1950 thru 1952.
He also wrote and drew the seasonal 1968
syndicated Christmas comic strip, ''Why Christmas Almost Wasn't'' which was also offered to
Newspaper Enterprise Association
The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news ...
(NEA) clients.
Also in 1968, and continuing into 1969, he wrote several articles (and illustrated one of them) for
''Mad''. He made a final contribution to
''Mad'' in 1977.
He began writing and illustrating children's books in 1968, which he continued doing until his death.
Personal life
According to Bruce Canwell's biographical essay published in IDW's second volume of King Aroo-reprints, Kent married Juliet Bridgman in September 1952; however, the couple divorced only eight months later. In March 1954, Kent married again, this time to June Kilstofte, a reporter who had interviewed him for a magazine article. They remained married until Kent's death. In July, 1955 their only child John Wellington "Jack" Kent Jr. was born.
Living on the banks of the San Antonio River, Kent and his wife June named their home ''King Aroo's Castle''. He died in 1985 from leukemia.
Awards
Jack Kent's book ''Just Only John'' received awards from the Chicago Graphics Associates and the Children's Book Clinic. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' named his ''Mr. Meebles'' outstanding picture book of the year 1970.
Archives
At the University of Minnesota, the collection Jack Kent Papers spans the years 1953 to 1985 and includes 50 pencil sketches, nine photocopies, 182 blue line illustrations, 251 ink illustrations (some with holograph, paste-ups, separations), two paste-ups for table of contents, eight pencil illustrations with holograph, three ink illustrations with color indications and three watercolor illustrations.
Selected works
* 1987 ''
Jack Kent's Valentine Sticker Book
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
''
* 1985 ''
The Caterpillar and the Polliwog''
* 1985 ''
Joey Runs Away''
* 1984 ''
Joey
Joey may refer to:
People
*Joey (name)
Animals
* Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial
* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets
Film and television
* ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...
''
* 1984 ''
Jim Jimmy James''
* 1984 ''
Round Robin
Round-robin may refer to:
Computing
* Round-robin DNS, a technique for dealing with redundant Internet Protocol service hosts
* Round-robin networks, communications networks made up of radio nodes organized in a mesh topology
* Round-robin schedu ...
''
* 1983 ''
Silly Goose''
* 1982 ''
The Once-Upon-a-Time Dragon''
* 1981 ''
Jack Kent's Sticker-Fun Drawing Book''
* 1981 ''
Little Peep''
* 1981 ''
The Biggest Shadow in the Zoo''
* 1981 ''
The Scribble Monster''
* 1980 ''
Knee High Nina''
* 1979 ''
Floyd, the Tinniest Elephant''
* 1979 ''
Hoddy Doddy'' (collecting three stories: "
The Lobsters", "
The Clock", and "
The Patriot")
* 1979 ''
Jack Kent's Hokus Pokus Bedtime Book''
* 1978 ''
Socks For Supper''
* 1978 ''
Jack Kent's Cindy Lou and the Witch's Dog''
* 1978 ''
Piggy Bank Gonzales''
* 1978 ''
Supermarket Magic: A Sniffy Book'' (a
scratch and sniff
Scratch and sniff technology generally refers to stickers or paperboard items that have been treated with a fragrant coating. When scratched, the coating releases an odor that is normally related to the image displayed under the coating. The tec ...
book)
* 1977 ''
Jack Kent's Merry Mother Goose''
* 1976 ''
The Animobile Book''
* 1976 ''
There's No Such Thing as a Dragon''
* 1976 ''
Jack Kent's Happy-Ever-After Book''
* 1975 ''
The Christmas Piñata''
* 1975 ''
The Egg Book''
* 1974 ''
Bremen Town Musicians''
* 1974 ''
More Fables of Aesop''
* 1974 ''
Jack Kent's Hop, Skip, and Jump Book: An Action Word Book''
* 1973 ''
Mrs. Mooley''
* 1973 ''
Jack Kent's 12 Days of Christmas''
* 1972 ''
Jack Kent's Fables of Aesop'' (aka ''
The Fox and the Crow: And 10 Other Tales'')
* 1972 ''
Dooley and the Snortsnoot''
* 1971 ''
The Fat Cat: A Danish Folktale''
* 1971 ''
The Wizard of Wallaby Wallow'' (aka ''
The Wizard and His Magic Spells'')
* 1970 ''
The Blah''
* 1970 ''
Mr. Meebles
''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...
''
* 1970 ''
Jack Kent's Book of Nursery Tales''
* 1969 ''
Mrs. Mooley''
* 1969 ''
Mr. Elephant's Birthday Party''
* 1969 ''Clotilda'' (aka ''
Clotilda's Magic'')
* 1969 ''
Fly Away Home
''Fly Away Home'' ( ''Flying Wild'' and ''Father Goose'') is a 1996 family drama film directed by Carroll Ballard. The film stars Anna Paquin, Jeff Daniels, and Dana Delany. ''Fly Away Home'' was released on September 13, 1996, by Columbia Pic ...
''
* 1969 ''
The Grown-Up Day''
* 1968 ''
Just Only John''
* 1953 ''
King Aroo
''King Aroo'' is an American comic strip written and drawn by Jack Kent, which made its debut on November 13, 1950 and ran until June 19, 1965. The strip was distributed through the McClure Syndicate.
Characters and story
The strip's central ch ...
'' (
Doubleday)
Other authors
Jack Kent illustrations for other authors
* 1985 ''
The Twiddle Twins' Haunted House'' by
Howard Goldsmith
* 1985 ''
Q Is for Duck: An Alphabet Guessing Game'' by
Marcia McClintock Folsom and
Mary Elting
* 1985 ''
Easy As Pie: A Guessing Game of Sayings'' by
Marcia Folsom and
Michael Folsom
* 1984 ''
Grime Doesn't Pay: Law & Order Jokes'' compiled by
Charles Keller
Charles Ernest Keller (September 12, 1916 – May 23, 1990) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a left fielder in Major League Baseball from 1939 through 1952 for the New York Yankees (1939–43, 1945–49, 1952) and Detro ...
* 1980 ''
Big Bear, Spare That Tree'' by
Richard J. Margolis
* 1979 ''
Laura's Story'' by
Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
Beatrice Schenk de Regniers (August 16, 1914—March 1, 2000) was an American people, American writer of children's literature, children's picture books.
Beatrice Schenk de Regniers was born in Lafayette, Indiana, and studied social work administ ...
* 1978 ''
Janie and the Giant'' by
Sarah Barchas
* 1978 ''
The Simple Prince'' by
Jane Yolen
Jane Hyatt Yolen (born February 11, 1939) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 350 books, of which the best known is '' The Devil's Arithmetic'', a Holocaust novella. H ...
* 1977 ''
More Spaghetti, I Say!'' by
Rita Golden Gelman (later printings after 1987 are illustrated by
Mort Gerberg
Mort Gerberg is a multi-genre American cartoonist and author whose work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, books, online, home video, film and television. He is best known for his magazine cartoons, which have appeared in numerous and diver ...
instead of Jack Kent)
* 1976 ''
The Magic Carrot Seeds'' by
Carla Stevens
* 1976 ''
Seven at One Blow'' by
Freya Littledale
* 1976 ''
Why Can't I Fly'' by
Rita Golden Gelman
* 1975 ''
I Was Walking Down the Road'' by
Sarah E. Barchas
* 1975 ''
'' by
Carla Stevens
''Ralph'' series
The ''Ralph'' series about a parrot named Ralph. Written by Bonnie Bishop:
* 1979 ''
No One Noticed Ralph''
* 1979 ''
Ralph Rides Away''
Ruth Belov Gross
Jack Kent illustrated books by
Ruth Belov Gross
* 1983 ''
The Girl Who Wouldn't Get Married''
* 1982 ''
If You Grew Up with George Washington'' (later printings are illustrated by
Emily Arnold McCully
Emily Arnold McCully (born July 1, 1939) is an American writer and illustrator who is best known for children's books. She won the annual Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration in 1993 recognizing ''Mirette on the High Wire'' which she ...
instead of Jack Kent)
* 1977 ''
The Emperor's New Clothes
"The Emperor's New Clothes" ( da, Kejserens nye klæder ) is a literary folktale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, about a vain emperor who gets exposed before his subjects. The tale has been translated into over 100 languages.A ...
'' retold by
Ruth Belov Gross
* 1974 ''
The Bremen-town Musicians'' retold by
Ruth Belov Gross
References
External links
University of Minnesota Library Special Collections: Jack Kent Papers: 1953-1985
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Jack
1920 births
1985 deaths
American children's writers
American children's book illustrators