Stephen Gammell (born February 10, 1943) is an American illustrator of

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

. He won the 1989

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, recognizing ''

Song and Dance Man ''Song and Dance Man'' is a children's picture book written by Karen Ackerman and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. Published in 1988 by Knopf Books, the book is about a grandfather who tells his grandchildren about his adventures on the stage. G ...

'' by Karen Ackerman. His illustrations in ''Where the Buffaloes Begin'' by Olaf Baker (1982) and ''The Relatives Came'' by

Cynthia Rylant Cynthia Rylant (born June 6, 1954) is an American author and librarian. She has written more than 100 children's books, including works of fiction (picture books, short stories and novels), nonfiction, and poetry. Several of her books have won ...

(1986) earned those titles the designation of Caldecott Honor books. Although he is most widely known for his evocative, nightmarish illustrations for Alvin Schwartz's ''

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark ''Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark'' is a series of three collections of short horror stories for children, written by Alvin Schwartz and originally illustrated by Stephen Gammell. In 2011, HarperCollins published editions featuring new art b ...

'' trilogy, he has illustrated nearly seventy books between 1973 and 2013, including nine which he authored himself.

Biography

Gammell grew up in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. His father, an art editor for a major magazine, brought home periodicals that gave Stephen early

artistic inspiration Inspiration (from the Latin ''inspirare'', meaning "to breathe into") is an unconscious burst of creativity in a literary, musical, or visual art and other artistic endeavours. The concept has origins in both Hellenism and Hebraism. The Greeks ...

. His parents also supplied him with plenty of pencils, paper, and encouragement. He is self-taught. He started his career with

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

commercial work, but became interested in children's book illustration. His first

picture book 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 ...

was published by

G. P. Putnam's Sons 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 ...

in 1973: ''A Nutty Business'' by Ida Chittum, featuring a "war" between squirrels and a farmer. That same year he illustrated ''The Search'' (

Harper & Row Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City. History J. & J. Harper (1817–1833) James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...

, 1973), a juvenile biography of

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

by Sara Newton Carroll. Gammell is particularly known for the

surreal Surreal may refer to: *Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art * "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki * ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze *Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor ...

, unsettling illustrations he provided for ''

'', a series of horror short stories by Alvin Schwartz that is still an adolescent favorite. He and his wife, photographer Linda Gammell, live in

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. He works daily in his studio, located over a restaurant.

Works

* 1973 ''A Nutty Business'' (by Ida Chittum) * 1973 ''The Search: A Biography of Leo Tolstoy'' (by Sara Newton Carroll) * 1974 ''Let Me Hear You Whisper: A Play'' (by

Paul Zindel Paul Zindel Jr. (May 15, 1936 – March 27, 2003) was an American playwright, young adult novelist, and educator. Early life Zindel was born in Tottenville, Staten Island, New York, to Paul Zindel Sr., a policeman, and Betty Zindel, a nurse; h ...

) * 1974 ''The Wyndcliffe'' (by Louise Lawrence) (cover illustration only) * 1975 ''Thunder at Gettysburg'' (by

Patricia Lee Gauch Patricia Lee Gauch (born January 3, 1934) is an author who has written over 30 works of children's literature. In 1993, Gauch was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. She has been a resident of the Basking Ridge section of Bernards ...

) * 1975 ''Nabby Adams' Diary'' (by Miriam Anne Bourne) * 1976 ''Meet the Werewolf'' (by

Georgess McHargue Georgess McHargue (June 7, 1941 – July 18, 2011) was an American writer and poet. Biography McHargue was born in New York City. After working at Golden Press, she became an editor at Doubleday. She had a long career working as an author; she ...

) * 1976 ''The Kelpie's Pearls'' (by

Mollie Hunter Maureen Mollie Hunter McIlwraith (30 June 1922 – 31 July 2012) was a Scottish writer known as Mollie Hunter. She wrote fantasy for children, historical stories for young adults, and realistic novels for adults. Many of her works are inspired b ...

) * 1976 ''Ghosts'' (by Seymour Simon) * 1977 ''A Furl of Fairy Wind'' (by

) * 1977 ''Alice Yazzie's Year'' (by Ramona Maher) * 1977 ''The Wicked One'' (by

) * 1978 ''The Hawks of Chelney'' (by Adrienne Jones) * 1978 ''Day of the Blizzard'' (by Marietta Moskin) * 1978 ''The Ghost of Tillie Jean Cassaway'' (by Ellen Harvey Showell) * 1979 ''A Net to Catch the Wind'' (by Margaret Greaves) * 1979 ''Leo Possessed'' (by Dilys Owen) * 1979 ''Yesterday's Island'' (by

Eve Bunting Anne Evelyn Bunting (née Bolton) (born December 19, 1928), also known as Eve Bunting, is a Northern Ireland-born American writer of more than 250 books. Her work covers a broad array of subjects and includes fiction and non-fiction books. Her no ...

) * 1979 ''Stonewall'' (by

Jean Fritz Jean Guttery Fritz (November 16, 1915 – May 14, 2017) was an American children's writer best known for American biography and history. She won the Children's Legacy Literature Award for her career contribution to American children's literature ...

) * 1979 ''Meet the Vampire'' (by

) * 1980 ''And Then the Mouse... Three Stories'' (by Malcolm Hall) * 1980 ''Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust'' (by

) * 1980 ''Blackbird Singing'' (by

) * 1981 ''Flash and the Swan'' (by Ann Brophy) * 1981 ''Where the Buffaloes Begin'' (by Olaf Baker) —Caldecott Honor * 1981 ''Once Upon MacDonald's Farm'' (by Stephen Gammell) * 1981 ''Demo and the Dolphin'' (by

Nathaniel Benchley Nathaniel Goddard Benchley (November 13, 1915 – December 14, 1981) was an American writer from Massachusetts. Early life Born in Newton, Massachusetts to a literary family, he was the son of Robert Benchley (1889–1945), a noted American wri ...

) * 1981 ''Wake Up, Bear...It's Christmas!'' (by Stephen Gammell) * 1981 ''

'' (by Alvin Schwartz) * 1982 ''The Story of Mr. and Mrs. Vinegar'' (by Stephen Gammell) * 1982 ''The Best Way to Ripton'' (by Maggie S. Davis) * 1983 ''Git Along, Old Scudder'' (by Stephen Gammell) * 1983 ''The Old Banjo'' (by Dennis Haseley) * 1984 ''Waiting to Waltz'' (by

) * 1984 ''The Real Tom Thumb'' (by Helen Reeder Cross) * 1984 ''Thaddeus'' (by Alison Cragin Herzig, Jane Lawrence Mali) * 1984 ''More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark'' (by Alvin Schwartz) * 1985 ''Who Kidnapped the Sheriff?: Tales from Tickfaw'' (by Larry Callen) * 1985 ''Thanksgiving Poems'' (by Myra Cohn Livingston) * 1986 ''The Relatives Came'' (by

) —Caldecott Honor * 1986 ''A Regular Rolling Noah'' (by

George Ella Lyon George Ella Lyon (born April 25, 1949, in Harlan, Kentucky) is an American author from Kentucky, who has published in many genres, including picture books, poetry, juvenile novels, and articles. Biography George Ella Lyon was born April 25, 194 ...

) * 1987 ''Old Henry'' (by Joan Blos) * 1987 ''The Great Dimpole Oak'' (by

Janet Taylor Lisle Janet Taylor Lisle (February 13, 1947 – October 5, 2023) was an American author of children's books and young adult novels that range between fantasy and reality. Early years Lisle was born on February 13, 1947, in Englewood, New Jersey. She g ...

) * 1988 ''

'' (by Karen Ackerman) —Caldecott Medal * 1988 ''Airmail to the Moon'' (by

Tom Birdseye Tom Birdseye (born July 13, 1951) is an American children's author. He is best known for writing books such as '' Attack of the Mutant Underwear'', '' Just Call Me Stupid'', and ''Tarantula Shoes''. He signs his name with an eye at the end. Bibli ...

) * 1989 ''Dancing Teepees: Poems of American Indian Youth'' (by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve) * 1989 ''Halloween Poems'' (by Myra Cohn Livingston) * 1989 ''Will's Mammoth'' (by Rafe Martin) * 1990 ''Come a Tide'' (by

) * 1990 ''Wing-A-Ding'' (by Lyn Littlefield Hoopes) * 1991 ''The Wing Shop'' (by

Elvira Woodruff Elvira Woodruff (born June 19, 1951) is an American children's writerMarch 15th, 2008Kirkus Review of 'Fearless' Accessed June 15, 2014, "...Woodruff spins a labored but engrossing tale around a lighthouse, its builder and a cataclysmic storm—all ...

) * 1991 ''Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones'' (by Alvin Schwartz) * 1992 ''The Old Black Fly'' (by Jim Aylesworth) * 1993 ''Monster Mama'' (by

Liz Rosenberg Lizbeth Meg Rosenberg (born February 3, 1955) is an American poet, novelist, children's book author and book reviewer. She is currently a professor of English at Binghamton University, and in previous years has taught at Colgate University, Sara ...

) * 1997 ''Is That You, Winter?'' (by Stephen Gammell) * 1997 ''You Be the Bread and I'll Be the Cheese: Showing How We Care'' (by Scott Foresman) (contributing illustrator) * 2000 ''Twigboy'' (by Stephen Gammell) * 2001 ''Ride'' (by Stephen Gammell) * 2001 '' The Burger and the Hot Dog'' (by Jim Aylesworth) * 2001 ''The Art Contest'' (by Stephen Gammell) * 2002 ''Humble Pie'' (by

Jennifer Donnelly Jennifer Donnelly (born August 16, 1963) is an American writer of young adult fiction best known for the historical novel '' A Northern Light''. ''A Northern Light'' was published as ''A Gathering Light'' in the U.K. There, it won the 2003 Car ...

) * 2003 ''Swing Around the Sun'' (by Barbara Juster Esbensen) (contributing illustrator) * 2003 ''Hey, Pancakes!'' (by Tamson Weston) * 2005 ''Timothy Cox Will Not Change His Socks'' (by Robert Kinerk) * 2006 ''The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School'' (by Judy Sierra) * 2008 ''My Friend, the Starfinder'' (by

) * 2008 ''I Know an Old Teacher'' (by Anne Bowen) * 2009 ''How the Nobble Was Finally Found'' (by

C.K. Williams Charles Kenneth "C. K." Williams (November 4, 1936 – September 20, 2015) was an American poet, critic and translator. Williams won many poetry awards. ''Flesh and Blood'' won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1987. ''Repair'' (1999) won ...

) * 2009 ''I Did It Anyway'' (by

) (cancelled) * 2011 ''Mudkin'' (by Stephen Gammell) * 2012 ''Laugh-Out-Loud Baby'' (by Tony Johnston) * 2013 ''The Frazzle Family Finds a Way'' (by Ann Bonwill)

References

External links

Biography of Stephen Gammell
at HarperTeacher.com

at lookingglassreview.com
A Tribute To Stephen Gammell
at wordpress.com

biography and complete booklist * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gammell, Stephen 1943 births Caldecott Medal winners American children's book illustrators Living people