Jack Kent (illustrator)

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. He is perhaps best known as the creator of ''King Aroo'', a comic strip often compared to Walt Kelly's '' Pogo''. In addition to his own books, he also illustrated 22 books by other authors.

Born in Burlington, Iowa, 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 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. 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 (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'' 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''
* 1985 '' The Caterpillar and the Polliwog''
* 1985 '' Joey Runs Away''
* 1984 ''Joey''
* 1984 '' Jim Jimmy James''
* 1984 ''Round Robin''
* 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 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''
* 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''
* 1969 '' The Grown-Up Day''
* 1968 '' Just Only John''
* 1953 ''King Aroo'' ( 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
* 1980 '' Big Bear, Spare That Tree'' by Richard J. Margolis
* 1979 '' Laura's Story'' by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
* 1978 '' Janie and the Giant'' by Sarah Barchas
* 1978 '' The Simple Prince'' by Jane Yolen
* 1977 '' More Spaghetti, I Say!'' by Rita Golden Gelman (later printings after 1987 are illustrated by Mort Gerberg 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 ''How to Make Possum's Honey Bread, Skunk's Chocolate Sprinkle Bread, and Racoon's Raisin Bread, Too'' 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 instead of Jack Kent)
* 1977 ''The Emperor's New Clothes'' 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