Simms Taback (February 13, 1932 – December 25, 2011) was an American writer,

graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming l ...

, and illustrator of more than 35 books. He won the 2000

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 '' Joseph Had a Little Overcoat'', and was a runner-up in 1998 for '' There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly''.

Biography

He was born to a working family of a housepainter and a seamstress, socialists and labor organizers. His first name is after Harry Simms, Jewish labor leader. Taback graduated from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Art and served in the United States Army during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. He was a designer for CBS Records and

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

. He was the founder and president of the Illustrators Guild (later the New York Graphic Artists Guild) and taught art at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

and

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. Taback designed the first

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

Happy Meal A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food Chain store#Restaurant chain, restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard b ...

box in 1977. He died in 2011 of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

Selected works

* ''Jabberwocky and Other Nonsense'' ( Harlin Quist, 1964), three poems by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

, 1871 to 1889 * ''Too Much Noise'' (1967), by Ann McGovern * ''Joseph Had a Little Overcoat'' (Random House, 1977), movable book based on a Yiddish folk song * ''Jason's Bus Ride'' (1987), by Harriet Ziefert * ''Road Builders'' (1994), by B. G. Hennessy * ''Sam's Wild West Show'' (1995), by Nancy Antle * ''Two Little Witches: A Halloween Counting Story'' (1996), by Harriet Ziefert * ''There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly'' (1997), illustrating the American folk poem * ''Joseph Had a Little Overcoat'' (Viking, 1999) —the Caldecott Medal-winning edition for U.S. picture book illustration * ''This Is the House That Jack Built'' (2002), based on the nursery rhyme * ''Kibitzers and Fools: Tales My Zayda (Grandfather) Told Me'' (2005), traditional Jewish tales * ''I Miss You Every Day'' (2007)

Original works

*''Animal Parade'' **''City Animals'' **''Dinosaurs'' **''Farm Animals'' **''Safari Animals'' *''Quack Like A Duck!'' *''Who Am I?'' *''Who Said Moo?'' *''Where Is My Baby?'' *''Where Is My Friend?''

Awards

Winner

* 1999:

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of qual ...

for ''Joseph Had a Little Overcoat'' * 2000:

for U.S. picture book illustration for ''Joseph Had a Little Overcoat''

Finalist

* 1998:

for U.S. picture book illustration for ''There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.''

References

External links

Official Simms Taback WebsiteOfficial Caldecott WebsiteThe Horn Book interview with Simms Taback
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taback, Simms 1932 births 2011 deaths 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers American children's book illustrators Caldecott Medal winners Deaths from pancreatic cancer in California Jewish American artists Jewish American children's writers Writers who illustrated their own writing