Uri Shulevitz ( he, אורי שולביץ; born February 27, 1935) is an

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, pe ...

writer and 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 1969

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 ''

The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship ''The Flying Ship'' (Russian title ''Летучий корабль''), or ''The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship'', is a Russian fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Yellow Fairy Book'' and Arthur Ransome in ''Old Peter's Russian Ta ...

'', a Russian

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

retold by

Arthur Ransome Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childre ...

in 1916.

Biography

Uri Shulevitz was born in

Warsaw, Poland Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-cen ...

, on February 27, 1935. During the bombing of Warsaw in 1939, a bomb fell into a stairwell of his apartment building when he was at home. The family fled from Poland and settled in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

by 1947, then moved again to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 1949. During the

Sinai War The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

in 1956, Mr. Shulevitz joined the Israeli Army. Later, he joined the

Ein Gedi kibbutz Ein Gedi ( he, עֵין גֶּדִי, ''lit.'' Kid Spring) is a kibbutz on the western shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. Located on the edge of the Judean desert at the site of historic Ein Gedi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Tamar Regional ...

. Shulevitz moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1959, studying painting at

Brooklyn Museum Art School The Brooklyn Museum Art School was a non-degree-granting professional school that opened at the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York in the summer of 1941. The Brooklyn Museum Art School provided instruction for amateur artists as well until Janua ...

and working as an illustrator for a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

children's book publisher. In 1962, an editor at Harper & Row saw his freelance portfolio and suggested he write children's books. He created his first picture book, ''The Moon in My Room'', in 1963. Shulevitz lives in

. Despite having the same name, Uri Shulevitz is not directly related to noted independent filmmaker Robert Shulevitz.

Works

*''The Moon in My Room'' (1963) *''The Mystery of the Woods'' (1964) (written by

Mary Stolz Mary Stolz (born Mary Slattery, March 24, 1920 – December 15, 2006) was an American writer of fiction for children and young adults. She received the 1953 Child Study Association of America's Children's Book Award for ''In a Mirror,'' Newbe ...

) *''A Rose, a Bridge, and a Wild Black Horse'' (1964) (written by

Charlotte Zolotow Charlotte Zolotow (born Charlotte Gertrude Shapiro; June 26, 1915 – November 19, 2013) was an American writer, poet, editor, and publisher of many books for children. She wrote about 70 picture book texts. The writers she edited include Paul Fl ...

) *''The Second Witch'' (1965) (written by

Jack Sendak Jack Sendak (July 20, 1923 – February 3, 1995) was a children's literature author. He was the brother of Maurice Sendak and the son of Philip Sendak. He served in the U.S. Army during the Second World War, and later worked for Emerson Radi ...

) *''The Twelve Dancing Princesses'' (1966) (Brothers Grimm tale adapted by Elizabeth Shub) *''The Carpet of Solomon'' (1966) (written by Sulamith Ish-Kishor) *''The Month Brothers'' (1967) (written by Dorothy Nathan) *''Runaway Jonah, and other tales'' (1967) (written by

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 ...

) *''One Monday Morning'' (1967) *''The Silkspinners'' (1967) (written by Jean Russell Larson) *''My Kind of Verse'' (1968) (edited by John Smith) *''

The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (book) ''The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship'' is a children's picturebook illustrated by Uri Shulevitz that retells a Russian fairy tale of the same name. The text is taken from Arthur Ransome's version of the story in the 1916 book '' Old Pet ...

'' (1969) (written by

) *''Rain Rain Rivers'' (1969) *''The Wonderful Kite'' (1970) (written by Jan Wahl) *''Oh What a Noise!'' (1971) (written by William Brighty Rands) *''Soldier and Tsar in the Forest'' (1972) (written by A N Afanasʹev) *''The Magician'' (1973) (adapted from the Yiddish of Isaac Leib Peretz) *''The Fools of Chelm and Their History'' (1973) (written by Isaac Bashevis Singer) *''Dawn'' (1974) *''The Touchstone'' (1976) (written by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

) *''The Treasure'' (1978) *''Hanukah Money'' (1978) (written by Sholem Aleichem) *''The Lost Kingdom of Karnica'' (1979) (written by Richard Kennedy) *''The Golem'' (1982) (written by Isaac Bashevis Singer) *''Writing With Pictures'' (1985) *''The Strange and Exciting Adventures of Jeremiah Hush'' (1986) *''Toddlecreek Post Office'' (1990) *''The Diamond Tree'' (1991) (written by Howard Schwartz and Barbara Rush) *''The Secret Room'' (1993) *''The Golden Goose'' (1995) (adapted from the Brothers Grimm) *''Hosni the Dreamer'' (1997) (written by Ehud Ben-ʻEzer) *''

Snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

'' (1998) *''What Is a Wise Bird Like You Doing in a Silly Tale Like This'' (2000) *''Daughters of Fire'' (2001) (written by Fran Manushkin) *''The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela'' (2005) *''SoSleepyStory'' (2006) *'' How I Learned Geography'' (2008) *''When I Wore My sailor Suit'' (2009) *''Dusk'' (2013) *''Troto and the Trucks'' (2015) *''Chance'' (2020)

Awards

*1969:

, ''The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship'' *1979: Caldecott Honor, ''The Treasure'' *1998:

Charlotte Zolotow Award The Charlotte Zolotow Award is an American literary award presented annually for outstanding writing in a picture book published in the United States during the preceding year. By contrast, the Caldecott Medal is for outstanding illustration in ...

, ''Snow'' *1998:

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 ...

, Picture Book Illustration, ''Snow'' *1999: Caldecott Honor, ''Snow'' *2005:

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature.Uri Shulevitz profile
at publisher

Macmillan US Macmillan Inc. is a defunct American book publishing company. Originally established as the American division of the British Macmillan Publishers, the two were later separated and acquired by other companies, with the remnants of the original Am ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shulevitz, Uri 1935 births American children's writers Caldecott Medal winners American children's book illustrators Israeli soldiers Jewish American artists Polish emigrants to the United States Polish emigrants to Israel Living people 21st-century American Jews