Illustrator of the Week - Steven Kellogg

I know I missed two entries last week. I can only claim insanity due to writing, or the lack thereof. This weekend I am heading the National Book Festival in Washington, DC. As such, I'm going to focus on some of the writers and illustrators who will be at the festival. This may be a trend for the next week or so as it is all I can think about.

Steven Kellogg is a writer and illustrator of many children's classics. He was an enthusiastic young artist who geared his entire education around his love of drawing. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design, where he majored in illustrations. It was there that he discovered his love of picture book illustrating. In his senior year he won a fellowship that allowed him to work and study in Florence, Italy. Upon his return to the US, he did some graduate work and teaching at American University and also began submitting picture book ideas to publishers. Almost thirty years later, Kellogg has written and illustrated almost ninety books.

His book Pinkerton, Behave! was based on his beloved harlequin Great Dame named Pinkerton, whose stubborn unadaptability during puppyhood made him write not one but two books about the dog.

Kellogg says about his artwork, "The individual spreads are designed so that they crackle with graphic vitality. The characters seem to speak, cavort, and lap from the page so energetically that their life and movement are totally convincing."