Robert John Byrd (born January 11, 1942) is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and illustrator from

Haddonfield, New Jersey :''Not the fictional Illinois town from the Halloween film series.'' Haddonfield is a borough located in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a total population of 11,593,

. Byrd was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Following high school, Byrd joined the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

in 1961, leaving in 1962 to attend Trenton Junior College. After a year at Trenton, he switched to study at the

Philadelphia College of Art 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. Since 1 ...

(now the University of the Arts). Byrd wrote and illustrated five

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 ...

including ''Leonardo, Beautiful Dreamer'', which chronicles thematically the life, and work of

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

. "I always drew as a child, but oddly enough never thought of it as a profession, or what you did when you grew up..Out of all my creative work, illustrating children's books gives me the greatest satisfaction. It is my 'fine art'. It keeps me going aesthetically. The books have a permanence and a quality of something meaningful." He has also illustrated at least sixteen books for other authors, including Jack Stokes, Robert Kraus, Bruce Kraus,

Laura Amy Schlitz Laura Amy Schlitz is an American author of children's literature. She is a librarian and storyteller at the Park School of Baltimore in Brooklandville, Maryland. She received the 2008 Newbery Medal for her children's book entitled '' Good Mast ...

Kathleen Krull Kathleen Krull (July 29, 1952 – January 15, 2021) was an author of children's books and a former book editor. Early life and education Krull was born in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, in 1952 and grew up in Wilmette, Illinois. She graduated fr ...

, Marilyn Jager Adams, and

Paula Fox Paula Fox (April 22, 1923 – March 1, 2017) was an American author of novels for adults and children and of two memoirs. For her contributions as a children's writer she won the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1978, the ...

. His work has been exhibited by the

Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition. History Founding The Society of Illustrators was founded on ...

, the

Philadelphia Art Alliance The Philadelphia Art Alliance at University of the Arts is a multidisciplinary arts center located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. It is the oldest multidisciplinary arts center in the United States for visua ...

, and The Rosenfeld Gallery, in Philadelphia. He has also been exhibited in various locations within Switzerland,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. His work is a part of permanent collections at the

Free Library of Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves Philadelphia. It is the 13th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the City of Philadelphia gover ...

and the

. He has won the

Golden Kite Award The Golden Kite Awards are given annually by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an international children's writing organization, to recognize excellence in children’s literature. The award is a golden medallion showing ...

, and received other accolades from the Children's Book Council and the

. Robert is a member of the Graphic Artists Guild, Philadelphia Children's Reading Round Table, and the

Alumni Association. And he teaches Children's Book Illustration at the University of the Arts, and Moore College of Art and Design, in Philadelphia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Robert 1942 births American children's book illustrators American children's writers Moore College of Art and Design faculty University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni University of the Arts (Philadelphia) faculty People from Haddonfield, New Jersey American male writers Living people