Christopher John Rocco (born July 9, 1967),
[ simply known as John Rocco is an American illustrator of book covers and children's books.][ He is best known for illustrating the covers of books in the '']Percy Jackson & the Olympians
''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' is a series of five fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan, and the first book series in the '' Camp Half-Blood Chronicles''. The novels are set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st centu ...
'' series. He is the sole creator of some children's picture books
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 ...
.
Personal life
Rocco was raised in Barrington, Rhode Island
Barrington is a suburban, residential town in Bristol County, Rhode Island located approximately southeast of Providence. It was founded by Congregationalist separatists from Swansea, Massachusetts and incorporated in 1717.
Barrington was ced ...
.[ He studied illustration at the ]Rhode Island School of Design
The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...
and at the School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design.
History
This school was started by ...
in New York City[ and earned a degree from the latter.][
]
Career
Rocco did not take drawing seriously until he was 19 years old. Rocco has also been an international art director in the entertainment industry. Rocco was the pre-production art director at DreamWorks for the film Shrek
''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jen ...
. He designed attractions at Disney's Epcot and served as art director for DisneyQuest.[
Two companion books to the Percy Jackson series were published in 2014 and 2015, with lavish interior illustrations by Rocco, '']Percy Jackson's Greek Gods
''Percy Jackson's Greek Gods'' is a collection of short stories about Greek mythology as narrated by Percy Jackson. It was written by Rick Riordan and was released on August 19, 2014. It features Percy Jackson giving his own take on the Greek myth ...
'' and ''Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes''. Regarding the first '' Kirkus Reviews'' observed in a starred review, "Riordan has a sure touch when it comes to fitting much into a small space—as does Rocco’s artwork, which smokes and writhes on the page as if hit by lightning ...".[ John Rocco spent 18 months as animation director at ImagineAsia in ]Manila, Philippines
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...
. Rocco worked on and oversaw several projects while there involving CGI animation
Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images m ...
, motion capture, and story development.
Awards
Rocco was a runner-up for the American Library Association 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 Servic ...
, which annually recognizes the best in U.S. children's picture book illustration, when '' Blackout'' was named a Caldecott Honor Book in 2012.["Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938–Present"]
Association for Library Service to Children
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is a division of the American Library Association, and it is the world's largest organization dedicated to library service to children. Its members are concerned with creating a better future ...
(ALSC). American Library Association (ALA).
 
"The Randolph Caldecott Medal"
ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2015-11-05. Rocco's book ''How We Got to the Moon'' was one of the ten books selected on the longlist for the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
The National Book Award for Young People's Literature is one of five annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation (NBF) to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers".< ...
.
*Borders Original Voices Award for best picture book[
*Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators
*New York Times Best Book of the Year
*2015 Irma Black Award Honor for ''Blizzard;
]
Works
Children's books as writer
* ''Wolf! Wolf!'' (Hyperion Books for Children
Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW), formerly known as The Disney Publishing Group and Buena Vista Publishing Group, is the publishing subsidiary of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Its imprints inclu ...
, 2007), picture book – "The Boy Who Cried Wolf
The Boy Who Cried Wolf is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 210 in the Perry Index. From it is derived the English idiom "to cry wolf", defined as "to give a false alarm" in e''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'' and glossed by the ''Oxford ...
" told from the wolf's point of view and set in Asia, , Rocco's first book as writer[
* ''Moonpowder'' (Hyperion Books for Children, 2008)
* ''Fu Finds the Way'' (]Disney Hyperion
Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW), formerly known as The Disney Publishing Group and Buena Vista Publishing Group, is the publishing subsidiary of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Its imprints inclu ...
, 2009)
* '' Blackout'' (Disney Hyperion, 2011)["BLACKOUT, by John Rocco, illustrated by John Rocco"]
(starred review). '' Kirkus Reviews''. April 15, 2011. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
* ''Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom'' (Disney Hyperion, 2013)
* ''Blizzard'' (Disney Hyperion, October 2014), – companion to ''Blackout''; based on his Rhode Island childhood experience in the New England blizzard of 1978["BLIZZARD, by John Rocco, illustrated by John Rocco"]
(starred review). '' Kirkus Reviews''. September 1, 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
* '' Swim that Rock'', Rocco and Jay Primiano (Candlewick Press
Candlewick Press, established in 1992 and located in Somerville, Massachusetts, is part of the Walker Books group. The logo depicting a bear carrying a candle is based on Walker Books's original logo.
Sebastian Walker launched Walker Books fro ...
, 2014), 293 pp. unillus., - a "middle grade/YA novel" by Rocco and an old friend, the "captain of the shellfishing boat I worked on as a child".[
]
As illustrator only
;Interior illustrations
* ''Alice'', picture book written by Whoopi Goldberg
Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...
( Bantam Books, 1992)
* ''Boy, Were We Wrong about the Solar System'', Kathleen V. Kudlinski (Dutton Children's Books
Dutton Children's Books is a US publisher of children's books and a division of the Penguin Group. It is associated with the Dutton adult division. It was previously an imprint of E.P. Dutton, prior to 1986. They have been publishing books sinc ...
, 2008)
* ''The Flint Heart: a fairy story'', Katherine and John Paterson (Candlewick, 2011) – "freely abridged from Eden Phillpotts's 1910 fantasy",
* The Hunter Chronicles by E. J. Patten (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 pu ...
Books for Children)
** ''Return to Exile'' (2011), snare 1,
** ''The Legend Thief'' (2013), snare 2
* ''How to Train a Train'', Jason Carter Eaton (Candlewick, 2013)
* ''Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!'', Todd Tarpley (Little, Brown, 2015)
* ''How to Track a Truck'', Jason Carter Eaton (Candlewick, 2016)
* ''Percy Jackson's Greek Gods
''Percy Jackson's Greek Gods'' is a collection of short stories about Greek mythology as narrated by Percy Jackson. It was written by Rick Riordan and was released on August 19, 2014. It features Percy Jackson giving his own take on the Greek myth ...
'', Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion, 2014) – illustrated with more than 60 paintings["Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan, illustrated by John Rocco"]
'' Kirkus Reviews''. July 15, 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-24.[
* '']Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes
''Camp Half-Blood Chronicles'' is a media franchise created by author Rick Riordan, encompassing three five-part novel series, two short-story collections, two myth anthology books, a stand-alone short story, three crossover short stories, an es ...
'', Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion, 2015)[Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan, illustrated by John Rocco"]
''Kirkus Review''. Posted online July 22, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
;Cover and dustjacket art
* Camp Half-Blood chronicles by Rick Riordan (2005 to present)[
* '']The Kane Chronicles
''The Kane Chronicles'' is a trilogy of adventure and Egyptian mythological fiction books written by American author Rick Riordan. The series is set in the same universe as Riordan's other franchises, '' Camp Half-Blood Chronicles'' and '' Mag ...
'' trilogy by Riordan (2010–2012)["Rick Riordan Books"]
. ROCCOART. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
* ''Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
''Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan with the subject of Norse mythology and published by Disney- Hyperion. It is based on Norse mythology and is set in the same unive ...
'' trilogy by Riordan (2015–present)
* Ring of Fire (novel) by Pierdomenico Baccalario (2009-2012)
Another artist illustrated the first edition dustjacket for at least the first Camp Half-Blood novel by Rick Riordan
Richard Russell Riordan Junior (; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million co ...
, namely ''The Lightning Thief
''The Lightning Thief'' is a 2005 American fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology, the first young adult novel written by Rick Riordan in the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. It won the Adult Library Services Association Be ...
''. Before the end of the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians
''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' is a series of five fantasy novels written by American author Rick Riordan, and the first book series in the '' Camp Half-Blood Chronicles''. The novels are set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st centu ...
'' subseries (2005 to 2009), all volumes were in print with stylistically matching dustjackets illustrated by Rocco. New cover illustrations from a single Rocco painting that spans all five books were introduced early in 2014.["Percy Jackson gets new covers!"]
. ebruary 2014 ROCCO Art. Retrieved 2015-11-14. .
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocco, John
1967 births
American children's book illustrators
School of Visual Arts alumni
Living people