John Thacher Hurd (born March 6, 1949)
[ is an American artist and the creator of children's picture books including ''Mama Don't Allow'' and ''Art Dog''.][
]
Biography
Thacher Hurd was born in Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...
,[ the son of children's book creators Clement Hurd and Edith Thacher Hurd. He has referred in an interview to the "wonderful aura of creativity" surrounding his father and the Vermont farm that was their home.][
Leonard S. Marcus (1997)]
"Meet Clement Hurd"
''Enter the World of Margaret Wise Brown''. HarperCollins Children's. Retrieved 2014-10-01. Apparently citing Marcus's book, ''Dear Genius, The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom''.
Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret Wise Brown (May 23, 1910 – November 13, 1952) was an American writer of children's books, including ''Goodnight Moon'' and ''The Runaway Bunny'', both illustrated by Clement Hurd. She has been called "the laureate of the nursery" for ...
's 1949 '' My World'' is dedicated to the recently born Thacher by Brown. (The original dedication "to Hiram Hurd" was altered just before press to read "to John Thacher Hurd when he comes (he's here)".)
After attending the California College of Arts and Crafts
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...
, he turned his talents to picture books. His first book was ''The Old Chair'', published in 1978.
In 2001, Hurd re-colored the re-issued edition of '' My World'', by Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret Wise Brown (May 23, 1910 – November 13, 1952) was an American writer of children's books, including ''Goodnight Moon'' and ''The Runaway Bunny'', both illustrated by Clement Hurd. She has been called "the laureate of the nursery" for ...
and Thacher's father Clement Hurd.[Review of ''My World.'"]
''Publishers Weekly'' (2001). In 2008, he used his father's artwork from ''Goodnight Moon
''Goodnight Moon'' is an American children's book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. It was published on September 3, 1947, and is a highly acclaimed bedtime story.
This book is the second in Brown and Hurd's "cla ...
'' to produce ''Goodnight Moon 123: A Counting Book''. Hurd's work, as well as that of his father and mother, was featured at the Stamford Museum & Nature Center in the 2004 exhibition "From ''Goodnight Moon'' to ''Art Dog'': The World of Clement, Edith and Thatcher Hurd."
In 2012, Hurd's book ''Zoom City'' inspired the name of the American technology company Zoom Video Communications
Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (commonly shortened to Zoom, and stylized as zoom) is an American communications technology company headquartered in San Jose, California. It provides videotelephony and online chat services through a cloud-based ...
.
Hurd and his wife, Olivia, live in Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...
.
Books
* ''The Old Chair'' (Greenwillow Books, 1978)
* ''The Quiet Evening'' (Greenwillow Books, 1978)
* ''Hobo Dog'' (Scholastic, 1980)
* ''Axle the Freeway Cat'' (Harper & Row, 1981)
* ''Hobo Dog's Christmas Tree'' (Scholastic, 1983)
* ''Mystery on the Docks'' (Harper & Row, 1983)
* ''Hobo Dog in the Ghost Town'' (Scholastic, 1985)
* ''Mama Don't Allow'' (Reading Rainbow Books, 1984)
* ''The Pea Patch Jig'' (Crown, 1986)
* ''Blackberry Ramble'' (Crown, 1989)
* ''Tomato Soup'' (Crown, 1992)
* ''Watercolor for the Artistically Undiscovered'' (Klutz Press, 1992) — with John Cassidy
* ''Art Dog'' (HarperCollins, 1996)
* ''Santa Mouse and the Ratdeer'' (HarperCollins, 1998)
* ''Little Mouse's Birthday Cake'' (HarperCollins, 1992)
* ''Zoom City'' (HarperCollins, 1998)
* ''Cat's Pajamas'' (HarperFestival, 2001)
* ''Moo Cow Kaboom!'' (HarperCollins, 2003)
* ''Sleepy Cadillac: A Bedtime Drive'' (HarperCollins, 2005)
* ''Bad Frogs'' (Candlewick Press, 2009)
* ''The Weaver'' (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2010) — with Elisa Kleven
Elisa Kleven is an American children's writer and illustrator of 30 books. She grew up in Los Angeles and currently resides near San Francisco. Her titles have been Booklist editor's choices, and PBS and Rainbow Book selections.
Career
Kleven has ...
* ''Bongo Fishing'' (Henry Holt & Co., 2011)
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurd, Thacher
Living people
American children's book illustrators
American children's writers
Writers from Burlington, Vermont
1949 births
Artists from Burlington, Vermont
Artists from Berkeley, California