Stephen Gammell

Stephen Gammell (born February 10, 1943) is an American illustrator of children's books. He won the 1989 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman. In 1982 he was a runner-up for Where the Buffaloes Begin by Olaf Baker.^[1]

Stephen Gammell grew up in Iowa. His father, an art editor for a major magazine, brought home periodicals that gave Stephen early artistic inspiration. His parents also supplied him with lots of pencils, paper, and encouragement. He is self-taught.

He started his career with freelance commercial work, but became interested in children's book illustration. His first picture book was published by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1973: A Nutty Business by Ida Chittum, featuring a "war" between squirrels and a farmer.^[2] That same year he illustrated The Search (Harper & Row, 1973), a juvenile biography of Leo Tolstoy by Sara Newton Carroll.^[3] Since then, he has illustrated nearly sixty titles.

Gammell is particularly well known for the surreal, unsettling illustrations he provided for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, a series of horror short stories by Alvin Schwartz that is still an adolescent favorite.

He and his wife, photographer Linda Gammell, live in St. Paul, Minnesota.^[4] He works daily in his studio, located over a restaurant.

Works

1973 The Search: a Biography of Leo Tolstoy 1973 A Nutty Business 1975 Nabby Adam's Diary 1975 Thunder at Gettysburg 1976 Ghosts 1976 Meet Werewolf 1977 A Furl of Fairy Wind 1977 Alice Yazzie's Year 1978 The Hawks of Chelney 1978 Day of the Blizzard 1978 The Ghost of Tillie Jean Cassaway 1979 Leo Possessed 1979 Stonewall 1980 Terrible Things: an Allegory of the Holocaust 1980 Blackbird Singing 1981 Flash and the Swan 1981 Demo and the Dolphin 1981 Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 1982 Where the Buffaloes Begin —Caldecott Honor[1] 1982 Wake Up, Bear...It's Christmas! 1982 The Best Way to Ripton 1982 The Story of Mr. and Mrs. Vinegar 1983 Meet the Vampire 1983 Git Along, Old Scudder 1984 "More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" 1984 The Real Tom Thumb 1984 Once Upon McDonald's Farm 1984 Thaddeus 1985 Thanksgiving Poems 1986 The Relatives Came 1986 A Regular Rolling Noah

1987 Old Henry 1987 The Great Dimpole Oak 1988 Song and Dance Man —Caldecott Medal[1] 1988 The Old Banjo 1989 Airmail to the Moon 1989 Halloween Poems 1989 Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust 1989 Will's Mammoth 1989 Dancing Teepees: Poems of American Indian Youth 1990 Wing-A-Ding 1990 Come a Tide 1991 Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones 1992 The Old Black Fly 1993 Monster Mama 1996 The Wing Shop 2000 Twig Boy 2001 Ride 2001 Waiting to Waltz 2001 The Burger and the Hot Dog 2002 Humble Pie 2003 Swing Around the Sun 2003 Hey, Pancakes! 2005 Timothy Cox Will Not Change His Socks 2006 The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate The School 2008 My Friend, the Starfinder 2008 I Know an Old Teacher 2009 How the Nobble Was Finally Found 2011 Mudkin

See also

References

1. "Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938–Present". Association for Library Service to Children. ALA. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
2. "A nutty business." WorldCat. 15 February 2013.
3. "The search; a biography of Leo Tolstoy.". WorldCat. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
4. "Stephen Gammell: Biography". HarperCollins. Retrieved 27 March 2010.

External links

• Biography of Stephen Gammell at HarperTeacher.com
• Profile of Stephen Gammell at lookingglassreview.com
• A Tribute To Stephen Gammell at wordpress.com
• Children's Literature Network biography and complete booklist