Blair Lent
Blair Lent (January 22, 1930[1] – January 27, 2009), who sometimes wrote as Ernest Small, was an American illustrator and writer of children's books, perhaps best known for those with Chinese themes such as Tikki Tikki Tembo (1968). He won the 1973 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing The Funny Little Woman by Arlene Mosel. Lent used a wide range of techniques in his illustrations, including acrylic painting, cardboard cutouts, colored pencil and ink and wash.
Born in
After receiving positive feedback from a juvenile-books editor at
Lent also did illustrations for other authors, some of which became his best-known works, such as the 1964 book The Wave by Margaret Hodges that adapted a story by Lafcadio Hearn,[3][4] Arlene Mosel's 1968 Chinese folk tale Tikki Tikki Tembo, the 1968 book Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky based on an African folk tale as told by Elphinstone Dayrell, a 1968 retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl and Mosel's 1973 retelling of a Japanese folk tale The Funny Little Woman that won that year's Caldecott Medal.[2][5][6] In 1997, Tikki Tikki Tembo was selected by The New York Times on its list of the 50 best children's books of the previous 50 years.[7]
Lent's artwork had been contributed to the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota and the Mazza Museum at the University of Findlay, in Findlay, Ohio.
Lent was a resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts and died at age 79 on January 27, 2009, of pneumonia in Medford, Massachusetts.[2]
References
- ^ "Collection: Blair Lent Papers". Children's Literature Research Collections. University of Minnesota Archival Collections Guides. CLRC-49. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Grimes, William (February 2, 2009). "Blair Lent, 80, an Illustrator of Books, Is Dead". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 11, 2009.
- ^ Caraher, Michele (May 24, 1964). "THE WAVE. By Margaret Hodges. Illustrated by Blair Lent. 47 pp. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. $3.25.; For Ages 5 to 8". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - Newspapers.com.
- ^ Sutherland, Zena (March 25, 1973). "Who won: Newbery, Caldecott prizes". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2009 – via pqarchiver.com.
- Newspapers.com.
Recently the 1972 Caldecott Medal has been presented to Arlene Mosel's book The Funny Little Woman (Dutton) which is illustrated by Blair Lent.
- ^ Staino, Rocco (February 4, 2009). "Caldecott-Winning Blair Lent Dies at 79". School Library Journal. Archived from the original on February 17, 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
External links
- Blair Lent at Library of Congress, with 23 library catalog records
- Ernest Small[permanent dead link] at LC Authorities, with 1 record