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Death Of An Animator

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The New York Times reports the death of Gene Deitch, “an Oscar-winning animator who created the early television cartoon “Tom Terrific” and went on to make countless cartoons and film versions of popular children’s books for more than a half-century, died on April 16 in Prague, where he lived. He was 95.”

Deitch  made animated version of Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” (1975),  Tomi Ungerer’s “Moon Man” (1981) and many other other well-regarded children’s books.

An excellent, recommended obituary.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/24/arts/gene-deitch-dead.html

Tomie dePaola dies aged 85

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from the Washington Post report:

Tomie dePaola, whose picture-book tales of bullied children, Christian saints and a magically overflowing pasta pot delighted generations of young readers and sold millions of copies, died March 30 at a hospital in Lebanon, N.H. He was 85.

The cause was complications from surgery, said his literary agent, Doug Whiteman. Mr. dePaola had suffered a fall last week at his studio barn in New London, N.H.

A former art and theater teacher, Mr. dePaola published more than 200 picture, pop-up and chapter books in his five-decade career. On at least six occasions, he illustrated 10 or more books in a single year.

His illustrations of tousle-haired children and talking animals were uncluttered and uncomplicated, drawn with bold lines and soft colors in acrylic paints, watercolors, ink and collage — in almost every medium except pastel, Mr. dePaola said, which is “too dusty and makes me sneeze too much.”

Ann McGovern – New York Times Obit

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New York Times

Ann McGovern, a prolific author for children whose work ranged over women’s history, adaptations of folk tales and her own exploits as a globe-trotting adventurer, died on Saturday at her home in Manhattan. She was 85.

…

The author of more than 50 titles that have collectively sold millions of copies, Ms. McGovern was known in particular for “Stone Soup,” her 1986 retelling of the traditional story, with illustrations by Winslow Pinney Pels.

Her books carried artwork by some of the foremost picture-book illustrators of the era, among them “Too Much Noise” (1967), illustrated by Simms Taback; “Zoo, Where Are You?” (1964), illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats; “Nicholas Bentley Stoningpot III” (1982), illustrated by Tomie dePaola; and “Little Wolf” (1965), with pictures by Nola Langner, a friend since grade school who illustrated a half-dozen of Ms. McGovern’s books.

Before turning to writing full time, Ms. McGovern was a children’s book editor in New York.

via Ann McGovern, Author, Is Dead at 85; She Made ‘Stone Soup’ a School Staple – The New York Times.

Penny Dann illustrator – Guardian obituary

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guardiansmall

The older daughter of Julian Dann, an architect, and his wife, Jill, Penny was born in Slough, Berkshire, and was educated at Burnham grammar school, Buckinghamshire, and Brighton College of Art. After graduating, she remained in Brighton, where she played an active part in the monthly meetings of the Brighton Illustrators Group. Between the early 1990s and the early 2000s, she lived in Australia, in Sydney then Melbourne, but continued to work for London-based publishers.

After returning to the UK, through the Brighton Illustrators Group she met Tom Sanderson, a book designer, whom she married a few days before her death.

via Penny Dann obituary | Books | The Guardian.