Richard Egielski celebrates his birthday on July 16th. He was born in New York City and educated at the High School of Art and Design, Pratt Institute, and Parsons School of Design. While at Parsons, he took a course from Maurice Sendak, who convinced him that he had a natural disposition toward picture books. Egielski met Arthur Yorinks in an elevator at school, and they soon realized that their art and stories belonged together. Their first book, Sid and Sol, came out in 1977, illustrated with black and white drawings. A later project, Hey, Al, was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1987. Buz, a tale about a boy who accidentally swallows a bug, is the first book he wrote and illustrated himself. It was chosen for the New York Times ten best illustrated list in 1995. One of his more recent books is The End, written by David LaRochelle. Egielski works on about two books a year, and, although he now always works in watercolor, Egielski varies the paper surface to achieve a different feel for each book. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, Denise, also an illustrator, and son, Ian.