The Cornell Children’s Literature Hall of Fame
Several Cornell graduates, professors, and other affiliates have made significant contributions to the field of children’s literature. Fortunately, we have the papers of some of these authors and illustrators among our collections, which provides a unique opportunity to study the creative process from first draft to published book.
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Alison Mason Kingsbury. Illustration no. 16 for The Adventures of Phunsi. Ink and graphite pencil drawing, 1946. [zoom] Kingsbury first came to Ithaca from New York City as an assistant artist to Ezra Winter, who had been commissioned to create a mural for the lobby of Willard Straight Hall. She caught the eye of a young Romance Languages professor, Morris Bishop, who climbed the scaffolding to court her as she worked. After they married, she remained active as a professional artist, obtaining her own commission for the World War I Memorial Chapel and illustrating her husband’s books. She also wrote and illustrated a children’s book about an especially fast zebra named Phunsi for her daughter Alison. |
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Helen Sewell. Dust jacket design for Azor and the Blue-Eyed Cow. 1951. Tempera (?) painting [zoom] Helen Sewell (1896-1957) hailed from a talented family. Her sister Marjorie was a prominent landscape architect (Cornell ’17), and her father was the Governor of Guam. She is best known for illustrating Alice Dalgliesh’s The Thanksgiving Story, a Caldecott Honor book, and the original editions of the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. |