Peter Sís (born Petr Sís; May 11, 1949) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

-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, p ...

illustrator and writer of

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

. As a cartoonist his editorial illustrations have appeared in ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', and ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

''. In 2012 he received the

Hans Christian Andersen Medal The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

for his "lasting contribution" as an illustrator of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

Background

Peter Sís was born in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in 1949. His father was a filmmaker and his mother was an artist. He is the oldest of three siblings, has a younger sister Hana and younger brother David, who became a film director after his father. As a teenager, Sís developed an interest in Western culture, Allen Ginsberg's beat poetry, long hair for men, blue jeans and rock and roll, particularly the music of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

and

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. Sís was educated at The High School of Applied Arts, the Academy of Applied Arts in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

and the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

in London, where he studied with

Quentin Blake Sir Quentin Saxby Blake (born 16 December 1932) is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works. For his l ...

. When he graduated, he began a career as a filmmaker, later winning a

Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...

Award for an animated short, ''Hlavy'', at the 1980 West

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

. Sís travelled to the United States in 1982 "to create an animated film based on Czechoslovakia's participation in the Olympics" that were upcoming in Los Angeles. The Soviet Union initiated a boycott that included Czechoslovakia but Sís did not return home. He remained in America and was granted asylum. In the U.S. he began illustrating and writing books. He has occasionally returned to filmmaking, producing commercials for

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

PBS Kids PBS Kids (stylized as PBS KIDS) is the branding used for nationally distributed children's programming carried by the U.S. public television network PBS. The brand encompasses a daytime block of children's programming carried daily by most PBS ...

, plus shorts for ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' based on his book ''Madlenka''. Sís became a U.S. citizen in 1988.

Awards

Peter Sís has won ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' Best Illustrated Book of the Year award seven times. He has also been awarded with the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

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 ...

for the illustrations of his 1996 book, ''Starry Messenger'', the 1998 book ''Tibet Through The Red Box'', and his 2007 work, '' The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain''. The latter book also received the ALA's 2008 Robert Silbert Medal for the most distinguished informational book for young readers. He has received a

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award The ''Boston Globe''–''Horn'' Book Awards are a set of American literary awards conferred by ''The Boston Globe'' and ''The Horn Book Magazine'' annually from 1967. One book is recognized in each of four categories: Fiction and Poetry, Nonficti ...

four times: for ''Komodo'' (1993), ''A Small Tall Tale From the Far Far North'' (1994), ''Tibet Through The Red Box'' (1999), and ''The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain'' (2008). He won the

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis The (German Youth Literature Award) is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. It is Germany's only ...

for ''Tibet Through the Red Box''. He also won the MacArthur Fellowship Award in 2003. Sís has won the

Golden Bear Award Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

at the 1980

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

for an

animated short Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

. He has also won the Grand Prix Toronto and the Cine Golden Eagle Award. The biennial

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

conferred by the

International Board on Books for Young People International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

is the highest recognition available to a writer or illustrator of children's books. Sís received the illustration award in 2012. On July 15, 2014, Sís was announced as a finalist for the prestigiou
2015 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature

Works

*''

Rainbow Rhino A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ar ...

'' (1987) *''

Waving Waving is a nonverbal communication gesture that consists of the movement of the hand and/or entire arm that people commonly use to greet each other, but it can also be used to say goodbye, acknowledge another's presence, call for silence, or d ...

'' (1988) *'' Going Up!'' (1989) *''

Beach Ball A beach ball is an inflatable ball for beach and water games. Their large size and light weight require little effort to propel them. Beach balls became popular in the beach-themed films of the 1960s starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Ava ...

'' (1990) * '' Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus'' (1991) *'' An Ocean World'' (1992) * '' Komodo!'' (1993) *''

A Small Tall Tale from the Far Far North A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''English alphabet#Letter names, a'' (pronounced ), plural ...

'' (1993) * '' The Three Golden Keys'' (1994) * '' Starry Messenger: ... Galileo Galilei'' (1996) * ''

Fire Truck A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water t ...

'' (1998) * '' Tibet: Through the Red Box'' (1998) * '' Trucks, Trucks, Trucks'' (1999) *''Ship Ahoy!'' (1999) * '' Madlenka'' (2000) *''Dinosaur!'' (2000) *''Ballerina'' (2001) *'' Madlenka's Dog'' (2002) * '' The Tree of Life: ... Charles Darwin ...'' (2003) * ''

The Train of States ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (2004) *'' Play, Mozart, Play'' (2006) * '' The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain'' (2007) *'' Madlenka Soccer Star'' (2010) *''

The Conference of the Birds ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (2011) *'' The Pilot and the Little Prince'' (2014) *'' Ice Cream Summer'' (2015) *'' Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued'' (2021)

As illustrator only

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech Americans, Czech-American film film director, director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the Uni ...

and

Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is best known for the plays '' Equus'' and '' Amadeus'', the latter of which was adapted for the screen by Miloš Forman, with an ...

, ''Amadeus'',

film poster A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. The ...

(1984) * George Shannon'', Stories to Solve: folktales from around the world'' (1985) *

Sid Fleischman Albert Sidney Fleischman (born Avron Zalmon Fleischman; March 16, 1920 – March 17, 2010) was an American people, American author of children's books, screenplays, novels for adults, and nonfiction books about stage magic (illusion), magic. His ...

'',

The Whipping Boy ''The Whipping Boy'' is a Newbery Medal-winning children's book by Sid Fleischman, first published in 1986. Plot summary Prince Horace, also known as Prince Brat, frequently misbehaves. Since he is a prince, no one can raise a finger again ...

'' (1986) * Sid Fleischman'', The Scarebird'' (1987) * Sid Fleischman'',

The Midnight Horse Monica Edwards (née Monica le Doux Newton; 8 November 1912 – 18 January 1998) was an English children's writer of the mid-twentieth century best known for her Romney Marsh and Punchbowl Farm series of children's novels. Early life She was ...

'' (1990) * George Shannon'', More Stories to Solve: fifteen folktales from around the world'' (1990) *

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 to 200 ...

'', The Dragons Are Singing Tonight'' (1993) * George Shannon'', Still More Stories to Solve: fourteen folktales from around the world'' (1994) * Sid Fleischman'', The 13th Floor: a ghost story'' (1995) *

Jacques Taravant Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related t ...

'', Le marchand d'ailes'' (1997) * Jack Prelutsky'', The Gargoyle on the Roof'' (1999) * Jack Prelutsky'', Monday's Troll'' (1996) * Jack Prelutsky'', Scranimals'' (2002) *

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

'', The Book of Imaginary Beings'' (2006) * Sid Fleischman'',

The Dream Stealer ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (2009) *

Pam Muñoz Ryan Pam Muñoz Ryan (born December 25, 1951) is an American writer for children and young adults, particularly in the multicultural genre. Biography Muñoz Ryan was born in Bakersfield, California. She is half Mexican with Basque, Italian, and Okla ...

'',

The Dreamer The Dreamer may refer to: Comics * ''The Dreamer'' (comics), a 1985 semi-autobiographical graphic novel by Will Eisner * ''The Dreamer'' (webcomic), a 2007–2017 comic book series and webcomic by Lora Innes Film and television * ''The Dreamer' ...

'' (2010) *

Ada Limón Ada Limón (born March 28, 1976) is an American poet. On July 12, 2022, she was named the 24th United States Poet Laureate, Poet Laureate of the United States by the Librarian of Congress. This made her the first Latinas, Latina to be Poet Laurea ...

'', In Praise of Mystery'' (2024)

References

External links

*
Peter Sís's public artwork at the 86th Street station, commissioned by MTA Arts for Transit.CBS Interview with Peter Sís
by Leonard S. Marcus, ''The New York Times''
Peter Sís
at publisher

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...