Peter Kommer Parnall (born May 23, 1936) is an American artist and writer, best known for his work on books for younger readers. His work has earned him high praise and a number of awards. Some of his books have become collector items.

Biography

Peter Parnall was born in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

on May 23, 1936. He was raised in a little town called Willow Springs in the Mojave Desert. He went to

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1954 because he wanted to become a veterinarian, but got pneumonia and failed his freshman mid-terms. After leaving Cornell he went west to train horses. When his father's birthday came around he drew him a picture of a horse. His father hung it on the wall and told him he should go back to school for art. He attended the

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 ...

for two years, until he got bored and left. He had a freelance advertising business (with clients including

Mr. Potato Head Mr. Potato Head is an American toy brand consisting of a plastic model of a potato "head" to which a variety of plastic parts can attach — typically ears, eyes, shoes, hat, nose, pants and mouth. Mr. Potato Head was invented and manufact ...

and

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...

), which he enjoyed but eventually "got tired of convincing people they should buy stuff they don’t need." (An interview)

Works

He has illustrated over eighty books written by others and has authored and self-illustrated several books of his own, often studies of habitat

His favorite Media (arts), medium is pen and ink of subjects from the natural world. Many of his works have been separately published in

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

s as signed and numbered

prints In molecular biology, the PRINTS database is a collection of so-called "fingerprints": it provides both a detailed annotation resource for protein families, and a diagnostic tool for newly determined sequences. A fingerprint is a group of conserve ...

. As Author and Illustrator * 1973: ''The Great Fish'' ( Doubleday) * 1975: ''Alfalfa Hill'' (Doubleday) * 1977: ''A Dog's Book of Birds'' (

Scribner Scribner may refer to: Media * Charles Scribner's Sons, also known as Scribner or Scribner's, New York City publisher * ''Scribner's Magazine'', pictorial published from 1887–1939 by Charles Scribner's Sons, then merged with the ''Commentator ...

) * 1984: ''Daywatchers'' (

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

) * 1986: ''Winter Barn'' (Macmillan) * 1988: ''Apple Tree'' (Macmillan) * 1988: ''Feet!'' (Macmillan) * 1989: ''Quiet'' (

Morrow wikt:morrow, Morrow is a word meaning "the next day" in literary English. It also means "morning" in archaic English Morrow may also refer to: Places in the United States and Canada United States *Morrow, Arkansas *Morrow, Georgia *Morrow, Louis ...

) * 1989: ''Cats from Away'' (Macmillan) * 1990: ''Woodpile'' (Macmillan) * 1991: ''The Rock'' (Macmillan) * 1991: ''Marsh Cat'' (Macmillan) * 1991: ''Mountain'' (Doubleday) * 1992: ''Stuffer'' (Macmillan) * 1993: ''Spaces'' ( Millbrook) * 1993: ''Waterpup'' (Macmillan) As illustrator * 1960: ''A Picture Book of Interesting Words'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text: Judith Klugman (Hart) * 1962: ''Beyond Your Doorstep'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text Hal Borland (

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

) * 1965: ''Of House and Cats'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text Eunice De Chazeau (

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 ...

) * 1966: ''A Tale of Middle Length'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text:

Mary Francis Shura Mary Francis Shura Craig, née Young (23 February 1923 in Pratt, Kansas – 12 January 1991 in Maywood, Illinois) was an American writer of over 50 novels from 1960 to 1990. She wrote children's literature, children's adventures and Young Adu ...

( Atheneum) * 1967: ''A Dog's Book of Bugs'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text: Elizabeth Griffen (Atheneum) * 1967: ''Knee-Deep in Thunder'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text: Sheila Moon (Atheneum) * 1968: '' Desert Solitaire'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text: Edward Abbey (

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes referenc ...

) (subsequent editions illus. by Lawrence Ormsby) * 1968: ''Tall Tales of the Catskills'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text: Frank L. DuMond ( Atheneum) * 1969: ''A Beastly Circus'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text:

Peggy Parish Margaret Cecile "Peggy" Parish (July 14, 1927 – November 19, 1988) was an American writer known best for the children's book series and fictional character Amelia Bedelia. Parish was born in Manning, South Carolina attended the University of ...

(

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 publ ...

) * 1969: ''Apricot ABC'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text: Miska Miles ( Little, Brown) * 1970: ''But Ostriches'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text:

Aileen Fisher Aileen Lucia Fisher (September 9, 1906 – December 2, 2002) was an American writer of more than a hundred children's books, including poetry, picture books in verse, prose about nature and America, biographies, Bible-themed books, plays, and ar ...

( Crowell) * 1970: ''Doctor Rabbit'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text:

Jan Wahl Jan Boyer Wahl (April 1, 1931 - January 29, 2019) was an American children's author. He was a prolific author of over 120 works, and was known primarily for his award-winning children's books, including ''Pleasant Fieldmouse'', ''The Furious Fl ...

( Delacorte) * 1971: ''A Squirrel of One's Own'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text: Douglas Fairbairn (

McCall McCall is a Gaelic surname, of Irish and Scottish origin. Notable people with this surname include: * Andy McCall (footballer, born 1911) (1911–1979), Scottish footballer and manager *Andy McCall (footballer, born 1925) (1925–2014), Scottish f ...

) * 1971: ''Big Frog, Little Pond'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; George Mendoza (McCall) * 1971: ''Annie and The Old One'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text: Miska Miles (Little, Brown) * 1971: ''The Nightwatchers'', illustrated by Peter Parnall ; text Anugus Cameron (Four Winds Press) * 1973: ''A Little Book of Beasts'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text: Mary Ann Hoberman (Simon & Schuster) * 1974: ''Everybody Needs A Rock'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text:

Byrd Baylor Byrd Baylor (March 28, 1924 – June 16, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, and author of picture books for children. Four of her books have achieved Caldecott Honor status. Background Byrd Baylor was born in March 1924 in San Antonio, Te ...

(Scribner) (Note: This was included as a promotional book in Cheerios boxes in 2007.) * 1976: ''The Desert is Theirs'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text:

(Scribner) ( Caldecott Honor) * 1976: ''A Natural History of Marine Mammals'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text:

Victor Blanchard Scheffer Victor Blanchard Scheffer (November 27, 1906 – September 20, 2011) was an American biologist and the author of eleven books relating to natural history. He was born in Manhattan, Kansas and moved to Washington state at a young age. His father, ...

(

) * 1977: ''Hawk, I'm Your Brother'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text:

(

) ( Caldecott Honor) * 1978: ''The Other Way to Listen '', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text:

(

) * 1979: ''The Way to Start a Day'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text:

(

) ( Caldecott Honor) * 1980: ''If You Are a Hunter of Fossils'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text:

(

) * 1981: ''Desert Voices'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text: Byrd Baylor (

) * 1985: ''Between Cattails'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text:

Terry Tempest Williams Terry Tempest Williams (born 8 September 1955), is an American writer, educator, conservationist, and activist. Williams' writing is rooted in the American West and has been significantly influenced by the arid landscape of Utah. Her work foc ...

(Atheneum) * 1986: ''I'm In Charge of Celebrations'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text:

(

) * 1986: ''Cat Will Rhyme With Hat'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text: Jean Chapman (

) * 1992: ''Become A Bird And Fly'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text: Michael E. Ross (Millbrook) * 1994: ''The Table Where Rich People Sit'', illustrated by Peter Parnall; text:

(

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References

;Citations * *

External links

*
Peter Parnall Biography
a
The Greenwich Workshop
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parnall, Peter 1936 births American children's book illustrators American children's writers Living people