Illustrator Spotlight: Jerry Pinkney
Jerry Pinkney is an award-winning illustrator of over 100 books for children. He’s also a native to Philadelphia which is always a neat fact to share with kids! Although an artist from the time he was a young child, he also suffered from dyslexia at a time when little was known about the learning disability. He used his art to express himself in a way that he wasn’t able to when using text. He earned a full scholarship to the University of the Arts after high school and furthered his artistic training, although he didn’t graduate, instead choosing to start a family with his wife. Today’s illustrator spotlight is Jerry Pinkney!
Like many children’s book illustrators, Jerry Pinkney began his career as a greeting card illustrator, later opening his own studio in 1968. In the 1970s Jerry Pinkney also illustrated a set of stamps for the Black Heritage Stamp Series for the U.S. Postal Service.
Even if you’re not sure you’ve heard his name before, I can almost guarantee you’ve seen his work. Jerry Pinkney has his own style that can be easily picked out with his focus on pencil and watercolors. Often when you think of watercolors you think of board strokes with very little detail. Jerry Pinkney’s work is unique in that he uses watercolors while also creating intricate works of art with more detail than you’d expect from the medium. He’s done a number of stories focusing on African American history and folktales. And has also created nearly wordless picture books of some of Aesop’s Tales as well.
Illustrator Spotlight: Jerry Pinkney
- The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
- The Tortoise & the Hare by Jerry Pinkney
- The Grasshopper & the Ants by Jerry Pinkney
- Three Little Kittens by Jerry Pinkney
- The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
- Sweethearts of Rhythm by Marilyn Nelson, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
- A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation by Barry Wittenstein, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
- Mirandy and Brother Wind by Patricia C. McKissack, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
- The First Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales by Joyce Cooper Arkhurst, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
You might also be familiar with the Pinkney name as Jerry’s son Brian and daughter-in-law, Andrea Davis Pinkney are also children’s book authors and illustrators.
My image on the screen does not do his work justice! I beg you to stop by a library and bookstore to take a minute (or more) and pour over his gorgeous illustrations! I promise you won’t be disappointed!
For more amazing stories featuring Black characters and highlighting Black creators, check out Black History Month: 25 Picture Books Featuring Black Characters.
