Jerry Pinkney
Mr. Pinkney is an illustrator. He does the pictures for other authors' words. He has won many awards for his illustrations including 3 Caldecott Honor awards. He loved to draw pictures as a child. His teachers recognized his talent and encouraged him to solve certain projects with his art.
Mr. Pinkney says that good illustrations come from good writing. But illustrating is not always easy. He plans his pictures first. He makes simple sketches before he tries the "real" picture. Planning is a great habit for authors and illustrators.
As a young man he worked designing greeting cards. This gave him lots of experience with a different kind of art.
Designing cards is great practice for you too. Try to design cards to send to people you love.
The poems in Turtle in July (by Singer) come "alive" because of Mr. Pinkney's beautiful illustrations. Visit ZooNet and study the pictures of all the interesting animals you find. Illustrate your favorites and try to write a poem about it.
Here is a report about Jerry Pinkney visiting a school.
Find out Mr. Pinkney's favorite children's books.
Here are books by Jerry Pinkney
Childrenslit.com has an extensive review of Mr. Pinkney's work for teachers and other grown-ups.