Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life
by Jerry Pinkney (Author)
An inspiring memoir of a Caldecott-winning artist and one of the most acclaimed children's book illustrators of all time, sharing the story of a young artist who finds the courage to follow his passion against all odds.
* "A moving work from a legend of children's literature and a testament to his legacy of visual storytelling." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Jerry Pinkney--creator of Caldecott Medal-winning The Lion & the Mouse and The Little Mermaid--drew everywhere, all the time. Since childhood, it was how he made sense of the world--how he coped with the stress of being a sensitive child growing up in crowded spaces, struggling with a learning disability, in a time when the segregation of Black Americans was the norm. Only drawing could offer him a sense of calm, control, and confidence. When friends and siblings teased him about having the nickname "Jerry" as his only name, his mother always said, "Just 'Jerry' is enough. He'll make something of that name someday." And so he did, eventually becoming one of the most celebrated children's book illustrators of all time and paving the way for countless other Black artists.
Jerry's vivid recollections and lively sketchbook drawings of his youth in postwar America tell an inspiring story of how a hardworking boy pursued his passion in less-than-ideal circumstances and became a legendary artist against all odds.
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Publishers Weekly
In kinetic sketches and sensorial prose both warm and electric, late Caldecott Medalist Pinkney recalls his post-WWII childhood and path toward making "something of my name." Three quick-paced sections and an epilogue span the figure's early life on Philadelphia's East Earlham Street ("our tight-knit, all-Black block"), his navigating dyslexia at school, and his adopting art as a profession. Through it all, Pinkney finds solace and joy in drawing, a talent that adults recognize from a young age: an English teacher rewards him with extra credit for sketching diagrams, a boss encourages him to draw between selling newspapers, and a comic-strip artist steps forward as a mentor. Pinkney's discovery that his school difficulties don't define him, and that his artistic gift can secure his future, give the story power and excitement. Throughout, familial portraits prove moving, including those of Pinkney's mother, who instinctively knew when he was anxious, and his hardworking father, whose recognition he desired. Though an editor's note explains that the art for this volume wasn't finished before the author-illustrator's 2021 death, loose sketches included throughout convey a vivid sense of life in progress, giving this treasure of a memoir a growing and changing feel. Pinkney's language reflects the era in which he was born, a decision contextualized in the epilogue. Ages 8-12. (Jan.)
Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Hornbook
Review quotes
He has won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award five times and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor four times. Jerry has received several major lifetime achievement awards and was also the first children's book illustrator elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He lives with his wife, author Gloria Jean Pinkney, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. The artist invites you to visit his website at jerrypinkneystudio.com.
JNF018010 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | United States - African-American
JNF053140 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Social Topics | Prejudice & Racism
JNF011000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Careers
JNF006020 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Art | Drawing
United States
Illustrators
African American illustrators
Pinkney, Jerry
