I picked David Shannon while on my journey of reading children’s literature. I just love the way he draws his
characters, so much fun description. His backgrounds are so detailed and fun as well, very animated. The colors he uses just
fit so well with each picture-they are amazing.
He was born October 5th, 1959 in Washington, District Of Columbia United States Of America.
Ever since David was a child he loved to read books, and then draw what he imagined the picture would be like. He says
that it just all came to him by luck.
He graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California,
with degree in Fine Arts, and then he moved to New York City,
where he continued his illustration work.
He got his first big break with a Scholastic editor noticing his work and offering him to illustrate Julius Lester’s,
“How many spots does a Leopard have? And other tales” that book was published in 1989.His editorial illustrations
have appeared in the New York Times, Time, and Rolling Stone, and his artwork has graced a number of book jackets. He enjoys
illustrating folk tales. Shannon has also teamed up with his brother, Mark Shannon on a few
books.
He is also and author of many books.
He says when he’s “doing a book, I kind of think of it as
directing a little movie. So, I try to make everything in the pictures reinforce the story in some way. And color can do an
awful lot with conveying the emotion and mood and tone of the story. If you're doing a sad story, a lot of times bright colors
aren't the way to go.” (
He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Heidi;
their daughter, Emma; and their dog, Fergus.
Some of his works in which he illustrated and wrote
No, David! Was named a Caldecott Honor Book, an ALA Notable Children's
Book, and a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year and has received numerous other accolades and state awards.
The Rain Came Down
A Bad Case of Stripes
Oops!
How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball
The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza
How I Became A Pirate
The Bunyans
The Boy Who Lived With Seals
The Rough-Face Girl
The Shark God
The Life and Times of David Shannon:
http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/shannon/bio
Author Study: David Shannon
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001540.shtml
