Last week we discussed the origins of Mother Goose & the long tradition of stories handed down by word of mouth.

This week's question comes after a visit to The Brandwine Museum of Art last week with my bestie. We went to see the exhibit on Children's Book Illustrators titled Rooted: Family and Nature in Contemporary Children's Book Illustration.  What a wonderful exhibit.  We both came home with a few books from the exhibit & learned so much.  Not only did we get to see some amazing artwork in the exhibit, but we also learned so much more about other artwork including many local artists. I will be sharing another blog post about my favorite pieces from the exhibits soon.

But now onto today's trivia question: John Schoenherr won a Caldecott Medal for his illustration of the book Owl Moon (written by Jane Yolen) in 1988. What other well-known children's books did he also illustrate?

Born on July 5, 1935, John Schoenherr was a graduate of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY.  After he married, his family settled in New Jersey in a farmhouse where he rekindled his love of nature. During his career, he illustrated over 40 books. Famous books he illustrated include Gentle Ben written by Walt Morey, Julie & the Wolves written by Jean Craighead George, and Rascal, written by Sterling North. He also illustrated a number of Science Fiction book covers including Dune written by Frank Herbert. 

In the years leading up to illustrating Owl Moon, Schoenherr primarily painted and was featured in galleries across the country.  When he read Owl Moon, it reminded him of his nighttime walks with his own children and he used their family farm as the setting for the illustrations found in the book.  It was a good choice as it earned the book a Caldecott Medal in 1988.

Do you have a favorite book he illustrated?  I loved the Julie of the Wolves books so I would have to go with them as my top choice.