Marc Simont (November 23, 1915 – July 13, 2013) was a

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

artist, political cartoonist, and illustrator of more than a hundred

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 ...

. Inspired by his father,

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painter Joseph Simont, he began drawing at an early age. Simont settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1935 after encouragement from his father, attended the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

with

Robert McCloskey John Robert McCloskey (September 15, 1914 – June 30, 2003) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He both wrote and illustrated eight picture books, and won two Caldecott Medals from the American Library Association for t ...

, and served three years in the military. Simont's first illustrated children's book was published in 1939. In 1952, ''Jareb'', a book he illustrated alongside author Miriam Powell, won the Child Study Association of America’s Children's Book Award (now Bank Street Children's Book Committee's

Josette Frank Award The Josette Frank Award is an American children's literary award for fiction given annually by the Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education. It "honors a book or books of outstanding literary merit in which children or young peo ...

). He won the 1957

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. children's book illustration, recognizing '' A Tree Is Nice'' by Janice May Udry, and he was a runner-up both in 1950 (''

The Happy Day ''The Happy Day'' is a musical comedy in two acts by Seymour Hicks, with music by Sidney Jones and Paul Rubens, and lyrics by Adrian Ross and Rubens. It was produced by George Edwardes's company (by the estate's executor, Robert Evett) and was ...

'' by

Ruth Krauss Ruth Ida Krauss (July 25, 1901 – July 10, 1993) was an American writer of children's books, including '' The Carrot Seed'', and of theatrical poems for adult readers. Many of her books are still in print. Early life and education Ruth Krauss ...

) and in 2002 ('' The Stray Dog'' retold by Simont). He also illustrated ''

The 13 Clocks ''The 13 Clocks'' is a fantasy tale written by James Thurber in 1950, while he was completing one of his other novels. It is written in a unique cadenced style, in which a mysterious prince must complete a seemingly impossible task to free a maid ...

'' (1950) and ''

The Wonderful O ''The Wonderful O'' is the last of James Thurber’s five short-book fairy tales for children. Published in 1957 by Hamish Hamilton / Simon Schuster, it followed ''Many Moons'' (1943), '' The Great Quillow'' (1944), ''The White Deer'' (1945) and ...

'' (1957) by the writer

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected in ...

; ''

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson ''In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson'' is a children's novel by Bette Bao Lord and illustrator Marc Simont about a young girl named Shirley Temple Wong who leaves a secure life within her clan in China following World War II ...

'' by

Bette Bao Lord Bette Bao Lord ( Chinese: 包柏漪, Pinyin: Bāo Bóyì; born November 3, 1938) is a Chinese-born American writer and civic activist for human rights and democracy. Early life Lord was born as Bette Bao in Shanghai, China. With her mother and fa ...

(1984); ''

Top Secret Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to know, ...

'' by John Reynolds Gardiner (1995); '' My Brother, Ant'' by

Betsy Byars Betsy Byars (née Cromer; August 7, 1928 – February 26, 2020) was an American author of children's books. Her novel '' Summer of the Swans'' won the 1971 Newbery Medal.Author's website She has also received a National Book Award for Young Pe ...

(1996); and '' The Beautiful Planet: Ours to Lose'', which he also wrote (2010), and illustrated “ The Trail Driving Rooster” by

Fred Gipson Frederick Benjamin "Fred" Gipson (February 7, 1908 – August 14, 1973) was an American writer and screenwriter. He is best known for writing the 1956 novel ''Old Yeller'', which became a popular 1957 Walt Disney film. Gipson was born on a farm ...

(1955). Simont and writer

Marjorie W. Sharmat Marjorie Weinman Sharmat (November 12, 1928 – March 12, 2019) was an American children's writer. She wrote more than 130 books for children and teens and her books have been translated into several languages. They have won awards including Book ...

created the boy detective

Nate the Great ''Nate the Great'' is a series of 30 children's detective stories written by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat featuring the eponymous boy detective, Nate the Great. Sharmat and illustrator Marc Simont inaugurated the series in 1972 with ''Nate the Gre ...

in 1972, and he illustrated the first twenty cases, through 1998. As cartoonist for the '' Lakeville Journal'' in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, he won the 2007 James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism from

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

. He died at his home in

West Cornwall, Connecticut West Cornwall is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Cornwall, Connecticut, Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is on the west side of the town, on the e ...

on 13 July 2013 at the age of 97. He was survived by his wife Sara "Bee" Dalton.

Notable works

* '' The Pirate of Chatham Square: A Story of Old New York'' (1939) * '' The First Story'' (1947) * ''

'' (1949,

Caldecott Honor 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 ...

Book) * ''

'' (1950) * '' The Backward Day'' (1950) * '' How to Get to First Base: A Picture Book of Baseball'' (1952) * ''Jareb'' (1952, written by Miriam Powell, Child Study Association of America's

Children's Book Award Children's Book Award is a generic term that has been applied to: * Caldecott Medal, Caldecott Medal, annual "most distinguished American picture book for children" * Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award from the Vermont Department of Lib ...

) * '' Lovely Summer'' (1952) * '' Mimi'' (1954) * '' The Trail Driving Rooster'' (1955) * '' A Tree Is Nice'' (1956,

winner in 1957) * ''

'' (1957) * The Contest at Paca (1959) * '' How Come Elephants?'' (1965) * '' Every Time I Climb a Tree'' (1967) * ''

'' (1972) * '' Nate the Great Goes Undercover'' (1974) * '' Nate the Great and the Lost List'' (1975) * '' The Beetle Bush'' (1976) * '' The Contests at Cowlick'' (1976) * '' Nate the Great and the Phony Clue'' (1977) * '' Nate the Great and the Sticky Case'' (1978) * '' How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World'' (1979) * '' Nate the Great and the Missing Key'' (1981) * '' No More Monsters for Me!'' (1981) * '' Nate the Great and the Snowy Trail'' (1982) * '' The Philharmonic Gets Dressed'' (1982) * ''

'' (1984) * '' Nate the Great and the Fishy Prize'' (1985) * '' The Dallas Titans Get Ready for Bed'' (1986) * '' Nate the Great Stalks Stupidweed'' (1986) * '' Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child's Book of Poems'' (1988) (Compiled by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers) * '' Nate the Great Goes Down in the Dumps'' (1989) * ''

Many Moons ''Many Moons'' is a children's picture book written by James Thurber and illustrated by Louis Slobodkin. It was published by Harcourt, Brace & Company in 1943 and won the Caldecott Medal in 1944.American Library AssociationCaldecott Medal Win ...

'' (1990) * '' Nate the Great and the Musical Note'' (1990) * '' The Big Book for Peace'' (1990) (Compiled by Ann Durell and

Marilyn Sachs Marilyn Sachs (December 18, 1927 – December 28, 2016) was an American author of award-winning children's books. Early life and education Sachs was born in New York City and grew up in the Bronx. She earned a bachelor's degree from Hunter Colleg ...

, Written by

) * '' Nate the Great and the Stolen Base'' (1992) * '' Nate the Great and the Pillowcase'' (1993) * ''

'' (1995) * '' My Brother, Ant'' (1996) * '' Ant Plays Bear'' (1997) * '' The Goose That Almost Got Cooked'' (1997) * '' Nate the Great Saves the King of Sweden'' (1997) * '' Nate the Great and Me: The Case of the Fleeing Fang'' (1998) * '' The Stray Dog'' (2000, author/illustrator;

Book) * '' Secret Lives of Walter Mitty and of James Thurber'' (2006) * '' The Beautiful Planet: Ours to Lose'' (2010)

References

External links

Marc Simont Papers
-

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

Archives and Special Collections *
Bio at HarperCollins

Review of Simont's "No More Monsters for Me!" with images.

LA Times obituary

The Horn Book obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simont, Marc 1915 births Caldecott Medal winners American children's book illustrators Artists from New York City 2013 deaths French emigrants to the United States