Patricia Marie Cummings (born November 9, 1950 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

) is an American writer and illustrator of children's books.

Early life

Her father was in the Army, and her family lived in different locations from Europe to Asia when she was growing up. She remembered "My brother and sisters and I were always the 'new kids', but I found that art helped me to get to know my classmates." Growing up, her parents would read them stories about fairytales, which fueled her imagination as she explored castles on the Rhine River and villages on Okinawa. She attended

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

in New York City. After graduation Ms. Cummings initially freelanced for editorial and advertising clients before focusing exclusively on children's books.

Career

Cummings is the creator of over 30 books for children, including titles that have won the Horn Book-Boston Globe Award and the

Orbis Pictus Award The Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children recognizes books which demonstrate excellence in the "writing of nonfiction for children." It is awarded annually by the National Council of Teachers of English to one American book p ...

for nonfiction. She won the

Coretta Scott King Award The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association (ALA). Named for Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., this award rec ...

in 1984 for the illustrations in '' My Mama Needs Me (''written by Mildred Pitts Walter), and was a finalist for '' Just Us Women'' (written by Jeannette Caines) and '' C.L.O.U.D.S.'', which she wrote and illustrated. As one of the illustrators for '' Our Children Can Soar'' (

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

, 2009) she received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work: Children. She worked as a producer and writer for ''

Gullah Gullah Island ''Gullah Gullah Island'' is an American musical children's television series that was produced by and aired on the Nick Jr. programming block on the Nickelodeon network from October 24, 1994, to April 7, 1998. The show was hosted by Ron Daise - n ...

'', a Nickelodeon children's show and cohosted '' Cover to Cover'', a cable TV talk show about children's books and the people who create them. Pat serves as National Secretary of

The Authors Guild The Authors Guild is America's oldest and largest professional organization for writers and provides advocacy on issues of free expression and copyright protection. Since its founding in 1912 as the Authors League of America, it has counted among ...

and sits on the Boards of The Authors Guild Foundation, The Authors League Fund, The

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization that acts as a network for the exchange of knowledge between writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers ...

(SCBWI) and The

Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is a museum devoted to the art of the picture book and especially the children's book. It is a member of Museums10 and is adjacent to the campus of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Carle was ...

. She is also a member of The Writer's Guild and teaches children's book illustration at Pratt and Parsons, the New School for Design. Pat's goal is to prepare students for a career in children's books. Her well-published former students include

Julian Hector Julian Hector (born 1958) is a British television and radio producer and executive who was Head of the BBC Natural History Unit. During his career, he has been producer of '' David Attenborough's Life Stories'' on BBC Radio 4, producer of the '' ...

, Hiroe Nakata and David Ezra Stein, recipient of the 2011 Caldecott Honor Award. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband.

Works

Written and illustrated

* ''Jimmy Lee Did It'', Lothrop (

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, NY), 1985. * ''C.L.O.U.D.S.'', Lothrop (

, NY), 1986. (

Illustrator Honor 1987) * ''Clean Your Room, Harvey Moon'', Bradbury (

, NY), 1991. * ''Petey Moroni's Camp Runamok Diary'', Bradbury (

, NY), 1992. * ''Purr'',

HarperFestival HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...

(

, NY), 1999. * ''Angel Baby'',

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut *Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County * Harper, Il ...

(

, NY), 2000. * ''Ananse and the Lizard'', Henry Holt (

, NY), 2002. * ''Harvey Moon, Museum Boy'',

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

(

, NY), 2008.

Illustrated

Eloise Greenfield Eloise Greenfield (May 17, 1929 – August 5, 2021) was an American children's book and biography author and poet famous for her descriptive, rhythmic style and positive portrayal of the African-American experience. After college, Greenfield bega ...

, ''Good News'',

Coward-McCann G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and J ...

(

, NY), 1977. * Jeanette Caines, ''Just Us Women'',

(

, NY), 1982. ''(''Coretta Scott King Award Illustrator Honor 1983) * Mildred Pitts Walter, ''My Mama Needs Me'', Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Books, 1984. (Coretta Scott King Award Illustrator Winner 1984) * Jeanette Caines, ''Chilly Stomach'',

(

, NY), 1986. * Jeanette Caines, ''I Need a Lunch Box'',

(

, NY), 1988. *

Mary Stolz Mary Stolz (born Mary Slattery, March 24, 1920 – December 15, 2006) was an American writer of fiction for children and young adults. She received the 1953 Child Study Association of America's Children's Book Award for ''In a Mirror,'' Newbe ...

, ''Storm in the Night'',

(

, NY), 1988. * Mildred Pitts Walter, ''Mariah Loves Rock'', Bradbury (

, NY), 1988. * Joyce Durham Barrett, ''Willie's Not the Hugging Kind'',

(

, NY), 1989. * Mildred Pitts Walter, ''Two and Too Much'', Bradbury (

, NY), 1990. *

, ''

Go Fish Go Fish or Fish is a card game usually played by two to five players,
although it can be played wi ...

'',

(

, NY), 1991. * Margaret Read MacDonald, ''Pickin' Peas'',

(

, NY), 1998. * Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard, ''Lulu's Birthday'',

Greenwillow ''Greenwillow'' is a musical with a book by Lesser Samuels and Frank Loesser and music and lyrics by Loesser. The musical is set in the magical town of Greenwillow. It ran on Broadway in 1960. Overview Based on the novel by B. J. Chute, the musi ...

(

, NY), 2001. *

Elizabeth Winthrop Elizabeth Winthrop ( Alsop; born September 14, 1948) is an American writer, the author of more than sixty published books, primarily children's fiction. She is best known for the classic middle-grade novel, '' The Castle in the Attic'' and its s ...

, ''Squashed in the Middle'', Henry Holt (

, NY), 2005. * Michelle Cook, ''Our Children Can Soar'',

(

, NY), 201

References

External links

Pat Cummings (Illustrator)'s webpage

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cummings, Pat 1950 births Living people American women illustrators American illustrators People from Chicago African-American women writers American women writers African-American writers 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women