James E. Ransome was born on September 25th. He is a renowned illustrator, recently named by the Children's Book Council as one of 75 authors and illustrators everyone should know.
He received the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration and the IBBY Honor Award for his book, The Creation. Uncle Jed's Barbershop is an ALA Notable Book and is featured on Reading Rainbow.
He teaches at the Pratt Institute and lives in upstate New York with his wife and four children.
This quote struck a particular chord: "I have friends who think that a Disney book is a good book for their children. I try to explain that there's a difference between literature and a book. It's like McDonald's and a restaurant: sure, both will fill you up, but it's a different experience. That's one of the reasons (I) travel: I meet parents, they hear me speak and they understand what I put into a book. Hopefully, they'll understand there's a difference. Your children are worthy of literature."
