Paul O. Zelinsky (born 1953) is an American illustrator and writer who illustrated

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

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 ...

. He won the 1998

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. picture book illustration, for ''

Rapunzel "Rapunzel" ( , ) is a German fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 as part of ''Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Brothers Grimm's story developed from the French literary fairy tale of ''Persinette ...

''. His most popular work is ''Wheels On the Bus'', a best-selling

movable book The term pop-up book is often applied to any book with three-dimensional pages, although it is properly the umbrella term for movable book, pop-ups, tunnel books, transformations, volvelles, flaps, pull-tabs, pop-outs, pull-downs, and more, each ...

. Zelinsky had been runner-up for the Caldecott Medal in 1985, 1987, and 1995, the latter for '' Swamp Angel'' by Anne Isaacs ( Dutton, 1994). Twenty years later, they were joint runners-up for the

Phoenix Picture Book Award The Phoenix Award annually recognizes one English-language children's book published twenty years earlier that did not then win a major literary award. It is named for the mythical bird phoenix that is reborn from its own ashes, signifying the bo ...

from the

Children's Literature Association The Children's Literature Association (ChLA) is a non-profit association, based in the United States, of scholars, critics, professors, students, librarians, teachers, and institutions dedicated to studying children's literature.Margaret W. Denman- ...

, which annually recognizes the best picture book that did not win a major award 20 years earlier. "Books are considered not only for the quality of their illustrations, but for the way pictures and text work together.""Phoenix Picture Book Award"
. Children's Literature Association. Retrieved 2014-07-11.

Biography

Early life

Paul O. Zelinsky was born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

, and grew up in

Wilmette Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a population of 27,087 at the 2010 census. The ...

. As a child, he spent much of his time drawing. With his friends, he would make up imaginary worlds, and draw them. When he was only four, he submitted work to '' Highlights'' magazine, and this is when his artwork was first showcased. Influential early childhood books included '' The Color Kittens'', and '' The Tawny Scrawny Lion''. About his memories of childhood reading, Zelinsky has said: "Feelings come to me as a sort of flavor. I know that when I call up my earliest memories, what I remember seeing and hearing is accompanied by a flavor-like sense of what it felt like to be ''there'' and see ''that''." (This phenomenon is known as

synesthesia Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who re ...

.) In later childhood, his favorite authors were

William Pène du Bois William Sherman Pène du Bois (May 9, 1916 – February 5, 1993) was an American writer and illustrator of books for young readers. He is best known for ''The Twenty-One Balloons'', published in April 1947 by Viking Press, for which he won the 194 ...

, and Robert Lawson. He especially loved the books ''

The Twenty-One Balloons ''The Twenty-One Balloons'' is a novel by William Pène du Bois, published in 1947 by the Viking Press and awarded the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1948. The story is about a retired schoolteacher whose ill-fa ...

'', by du Bois, and ''The Fabulous Flight'' by Lawson.

Career

New Trier High School New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school, with its main campus for sophomores through seniors located in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, and a campus in Northfield, Illinoi ...

, Zelinsky was interested in natural history as well as architecture and saw himself following one of those paths for a career. However, he went to study at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

. He took a class taught by

Maurice Sendak Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He became most widely known for his book ''Where the Wild Things Are'', first published in 1963.Turan, Kenneth (October 16, 200 ...

on the history and art of children's books, and it inspired him to a career in the area. Zelinsky went to graduate school at the

Tyler School of Art The Tyler School of Art and Architecture is based at Temple University, a large, urban, public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tyler currently enrolls about 1,350 undergraduate students and about 200 graduate students in a wid ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The Renaissance and Italian art always fascinated him, and this time in his life influenced this love as well. His career in children's books began in 1978 with the illustrations for

Avi Avi is a given name, usually masculine, often a diminutive of Avram, Avraham, etc. It is sometimes feminine and a diminutive of the Hebrew spelling of Abigail. People with the given name include: * Avi (born 1937), Newbery award-winning Americ ...

's ''Emily Upham's Revenge''. Since then, he has continued to illustrate others' work, as well as creating his own books. He won the 1998

for his illustrated retelling of ''

'', and three

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 ...

s (for ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel ...

'' (1985), ''

Rumpelstiltskin "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; german: Rumpelstilzchen) is a German fairy tale. It was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of ''Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about a little imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a g ...

'' (1987), and '' Swamp Angel'' (1995)). His most popular book is '' Wheels On the Bus'', which has sold millions.

Artistic style

Zelinsky does not have a recognizable style, suiting his artwork and techniques to the particular nature of the book to be illustrated. According to Linnea Lannon in a ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

'' profile of the artist, "what has raised Zelinsky into the first rank of children's book illustrators is not just the pictures but the way they integrate with text." Zelinsky says, "I want the pictures to speak in the same voice as the words. This desire has led me to try various kinds of drawings in different books. I have used quite a wide stretch of styles, and I'm fortunate to have been asked to illustrate such a range of stories." '' Wheels On the Bus'' and ''Knick-Knack Paddywhack!'' are engineered books with moving parts. Zelinsky is not a paper engineer himself, Rodger Smith engineered ''Wheels On the Bus'' and Andrew Baron ''Knick-Knack Paddywhack!''.

Books

;As writer and illustrator * '' The Maid and the Mouse and the Odd-Shaped House: A Story in Rhyme'' (1981) – adapted from a school exercise * '' The Lion and the Stoat'' (

Greenwillow Books 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 Corp ...

, 1984) – based in part on natural history by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

* ''

'', retold (1986) – Brothers Grimm * '' Wheels On the Bus'', paper engineer

Rodger Smith Denis Rodger Smith (July 26, 1896 – January 31, 1935) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played six seasons in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Quakers between 1925 and 1931. He was bor ...

( Dutton, 1990) – adapted from the children's folk song ; "A Book with Parts that Move" — Cover * ''

'', retold (1997) – from the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

(1812) * '' Knick-Knack Paddywhack!'', paper engineer

Andrew Baron Andrew Michael Baron (born 1970) is the creator of Rocketboom, Know Your Meme, the video aggregator site, Magma and Humanwire. Baron has taught undergraduate and graduate classes at Parsons and was teaching IDTech at M.I.T. when he came up with ...

( Dutton, 2002) – adapted from the nursery rhyme "

This Old Man "This Old Man" is an English language children's song, counting exercise and nursery rhyme with a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3550. Origins and history The origins of this song are obscure. The earliest extant record is a version noted ...

"; "A Moving Parts Book Adapted from the Counting Song" — Cover ;As illustrator * '' Emily Upham's Revenge, or How Deadwood Dick Saved the Banker's Niece: A Massachusetts Adventure'', written by

(

Pantheon Books Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint with editorial independence. It is part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.Random House, Inc. Datamonitor Company Profiles Authority: Retrieved 6/20/2007, from EBSCO Host Business Source ...

, 1978) * ''

How I Hunted the Little Fellows How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seid ...

'',

Boris Zhitkov Boris Stepanovich Zhitkov (russian: Бори́с Степа́нович Житко́в) ( — 19 October 1938) was a writer from the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union, mainly known as the author of children's books and the novel ''Viktor V ...

, transl. from

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

by Djemma Bider (

Dodd, Mead Dodd, Mead and Company was one of the pioneer publishing houses of the United States, based in New York City. Under several names, the firm operated from 1839 until 1990. History Origins In 1839, Moses Woodruff Dodd (1813–1899) and John S. Ta ...

, 1979) * '' The History of Helpless Harry, to Which is Added a Variety of Amusing and Entertaining Adventures'',

(1980) * '' What Amanda Saw'', Naomi Lazard (1981) * '' Three Romances: Love Stories from Camelot Retold'', Winifred Rosen (1981) * ''

Ralph S. Mouse ''Ralph S. Mouse'' is the third in a children's novel trilogy that was written by Beverly Cleary. It features Ralph, a mouse with the ability to speak, but only with certain people, who tend to be loners. It was first published in 1982, illustrat ...

'',

Beverly Cleary Beverly Atlee Cleary (née Bunn; April 12, 1916March 25, 2021) was an American writer of chapter books, children's and young adult fiction. One of America's most successful authors, 91 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide sin ...

(1982) * '' The Sun's Asleep Behind the Hill'',

Mirra Ginsburg Mirra Ginsburg (June 10, 1909 - December 26, 2000) was a 20th-century Jewish Russian-American translator of Russian literature, collector of folk tales and children's writer. Born in Bobruysk then in the Russian Empire she moved with her family to ...

(1982) – adapted from an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

song * '' The Song in the Walnut Grove'',

David Kherdian David Kherdian (born 1931) is an Armenian-American writer, poet, and editor. He is known best for ''The Road from Home'' (Greenwillow Books, 1979), based on his mother's childhood—cataloged as biography by some libraries, as fiction by others. ...

(1982) * '' Dear Mr. Henshaw'',

(1983) * '' Zoo Doings: Animal Poems'',

Jack Prelutsky Jack Prelutsky (born September 8, 1940) is an American writer of children's poetry who has published over 50 poetry collections. He served as the first U.S. Children's Poet Laureate (now called the Young People's Poet Laureate) from 2006–08 ...

(1983) * ''

'', retold by

Rika Lesser Rika Lesser (born 1953 Brooklyn, New York) is a U.S. poet, and is a translator of Swedish and German literary works. Life Lesser earned her bachelor's degree at Yale University in 1974. She studied at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden from 1 ...

(1984) * '' The Story of Mrs. Lovewright and Her Purrless Cat'',

Lore Segal Lore Segal (born March 9, 1928), née Lore Groszmann, is an American novelist, translator, teacher, short story writer, and author of children's books. Her novel ''Shakespeare's Kitchen'' was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2008. Early lif ...

(1985) * '' The Random House Book of Humor for Children'', selected by Pamela Pollack (1988) * ''

The Big Book for Peace ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'',

Myra Cohn Livingston Myra Cohn Livingston (August 17, 1926 – August 23, 1996) was an American poet, writer, and educator who is primarily known for her books of free verse children's poetry. Biography Early life and education Myra Cohn was born in Omaha, Nebras ...

(1990) * '' Strider'',

(1991) * ''

The Enchanted Castle ''The Enchanted Castle'' is a children's fantasy novel by Edith Nesbit first published in 1907. Plot summary The enchanted castle of the title is a country estate in the West Country seen through the eyes of three children, Jerry, Jimmy, and ...

'',

E. Nesbit Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English writer and poet, who published her books for children as E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 such books. She was also a political activist an ...

(1992; orig. 1907) * ''

More Rootabagas More or Mores may refer to: Computing * MORE (application), outline software for Mac OS * more (command), a shell command * MORE protocol, a routing protocol * Missouri Research and Education Network Music Albums * ''More!'' (album), by Booka ...

'', posthumous collection by

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

, ed.

George Hendrick George Andrew Hendrick Jr. (born October 18, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder between and , most prominently as an integral member of the St. Louis Cardinals t ...

(1993) * ''Swamp Angel'', Anne Isaacs (

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 ...

, 1994) * ''

Five Children and It ''Five Children and It'' is a children's novel by English author E. Nesbit. It was originally published in 1902 in the '' Strand Magazine'' under the general title ''The Psammead, or the Gifts'', with a segment appearing each month from April ...

'',

(1999; orig. 1902) * '' Awful Ogre's Awful Day'',

(2000) – poems * '' Doodler Doodling'', Rita Golden Gelman (2004) * '' Toys Go Out'' series, children's novels by

Emily Jenkins Emily Jenkins (born September 13, 1967), who sometimes uses the pen name E. Lockhart, is an American writer of children's picture books, young-adult novels, and adult fiction. She is known best for the Ruby Oliver quartet (which begins with ...

, published by

Schwartz & Wade Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

** '' Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone called Plastic'' (2006) ** '' Toy Dance Party: Being the Further Adventures of a Bossyboots Stingray, a Courageous Buffalo, and a Hopeful Round Someone called Plastic'' (2008) ** '' Toys Come Home: Being the Early Experiences of an Intelligent Stingray, a Brave Buffalo, and a Brand-New Someone called Plastic'' (2011) ** '' Toys Meet Snow: Being the Wintertime Adventures of a Curious Stuffed Buffalo, a Sensitive Plush Stingray, and a Book-Loving Rubber Ball'' (forthcoming 2015) * '' The Shivers in the Fridge'',

Fran Manushkin Fran Manushkin (born November 2, 1942) is an American children's book author. She originally began as a children's book editor before transferring to an author. She attended the University of Illinois and Roosevelt University. Manushkin has auth ...

(2006) * '' Awful Ogre Running Wild'',

(2008) – poems * ''Dust Devil'', Anne Isaacs (

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, 2010) – sequel to '' Swamp Angel''"Paul O. Zelinsky's Bookmaking Saga"
Sally Lodge. July 29, 2010. ''Publishers Weekly''. Retrieved 2014-07-16. *'' Z is for Moose'', Kelly Bingham (2012) * ''

Earwig and the Witch is a 2020 Japanese computer-animated fantasy film directed by Gorō Miyazaki and with a screenplay by Keiko Niwa and Emi Gunji. It is based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. The original voice cast includes Shinobu Terajima, ...

'',

Diana Wynne Jones Diana Wynne Jones (16 August 1934 – 26 March 2011) was a British novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, and short story writer. She principally wrote fantasy and speculative fiction novels for children and young adults. Although usually de ...

(2012) *'' Circle, Square, Moose'', Kelly Bingham (2014) – sequel to '' Z is for Moose''

References

External links

* *
Biographical sketch from ''The Scoop''

Essay on Zelinsky and his work

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zelinsky, Paul 1953 births American children's book illustrators American children's writers Caldecott Medal winners 20th-century illustrators of fairy tales 21st-century illustrators of fairy tales Living people