John Rocco

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Rocco on a SCBWI panel, November 2011 John Rocco.jpg
Rocco on a SCBWI panel, November 2011

Christopher John Rocco (born July 9, 1967), [1] [lower-alpha 1] simply known as John Rocco is an American illustrator of book covers and children's books. [1] He is best known for illustrating the covers of books in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. He is the sole creator of some children's picture books.

Contents

Personal life

Rocco was raised in Barrington, Rhode Island. [1] He studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design and at the School of Visual Arts in New York City [2] and earned a degree from the latter. [1]

Career

Rocco did not take drawing seriously until he was 19 years old. Rocco has also been an international art director in the entertainment industry. Rocco was the pre-production art director at DreamWorks for the film Shrek. [3] He designed attractions at Disney's Epcot and served as art director for DisneyQuest. [2]

Two companion books to the Percy Jackson series were published in 2014 and 2015, with lavish interior illustrations by Rocco, Percy Jackson's Greek Gods and Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes. Regarding the first Kirkus Reviews observed in a starred review, "Riordan has a sure touch when it comes to fitting much into a small space—as does Rocco’s artwork, which smokes and writhes on the page as if hit by lightning ...". [4] John Rocco spent 18 months as animation director at ImagineAsia in Manila, Philippines. Rocco worked on and oversaw several projects while there involving CGI animation, motion capture, and story development.

Awards

Rocco was a runner-up for the American Library Association Caldecott Medal, which annually recognizes the best in U.S. children's picture book illustration, when Blackout was named a Caldecott Honor Book in 2012. [5] Rocco's book How We Got to the Moon was one of the ten books selected on the longlist for the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. [6]

Works

Children's books as writer

As illustrator only

Interior illustrations
Cover and dustjacket art

Another artist illustrated the first edition dustjacket for at least the first Camp Half-Blood Chronicles novel by Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief . Before the end of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians subseries (2005 to 2009), all volumes were in print with stylistically matching dustjackets illustrated by Rocco.[ citation needed ] New cover illustrations from a single Rocco painting that spans all five books were introduced early in 2014. [18] [lower-alpha 2]

Notes

  1. The U.S. Library of Congress cites 2007 email correspondence with Rocco's publisher, for his full name and date of birth, and otherwise cites his website as of March 2012.
  2. According to Rocco his first reaction was that "because of the popularity of the books they had become very iconic", evidently concerning his cover illustrations for all five novels.

Related Research Articles

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The Lightning Thief is a 2005 American fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology, the first children's novel by Rick Riordan. The opening installment in the series Percy Jackson & the Olympians, the book was recognized among the year's best for children. Riordan followed the novel with various books and spin-off series, spawning the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles media franchise.

<i>Percy Jackson & the Olympians</i> Childrens fantasy adventure series

Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a fantasy novel series by American author Rick Riordan. The first book series in his Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, the novels are set in a world with the Greek gods in the 21st century. The series follows the protagonist, Percy Jackson, a young demigod who must prevent the Titans, led by Kronos, from destroying the world.

<i>The Titans Curse</i> 2007 book by Rick Riordan

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Richard Russell Riordan Jr. is an American author, best known for writing the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million copies in the United States. 20th Century Fox adapted the first two books of his Percy Jackson series as part of a series of films in which Riordan was not involved. Riordan currently serves as a co-creator and executive producer on the television series adaption of the book series that was released on Disney+ in 2023. Riordan's books have also spawned other related media, such as graphic novels and short story collections.

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<i>Blackout</i> (picture book) Book by John Rocco

Blackout is a children's picture book written and illustrated by John Rocco, published by Disney Hyperion in 2011. It features a New York City family during an electrical power outage. During the blackout, the lack of distraction by their technological devices leads to a renewal of the family members' connections with each other.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5
      "Rocco, John". Library of Congress Authorities (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2015-11-04. Point of entry to LC Online Catalog for works by Rocco.
  2. 1 2 3 "About". ROCCOART: Words and Pictures (roccoart.com). Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  3. "John Rocco | Kidsreads". www.kidsreads.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan, illustrated by John Rocco". Kirkus Reviews . July 15, 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  5. "Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938–Present". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA).
      "The Randolph Caldecott Medal". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
  6. 2020 National Book Awards Longlist for Young People's Literature, National Book Foundation, September 12, 2020, retrieved November 23, 2020
  7. "Past Winners (Irma Black Award)". www.bankstreet.edu. Bank Street College of Education. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  8. "BLACKOUT, by John Rocco, illustrated by John Rocco" (starred review). Kirkus Reviews . April 15, 2011. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  9. 1 2 3 John Rocco. "2014 – a novel, an illustrated book of myths and a picture book, oh my ..." ROCCO Art (roccoart.com). Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  10. "BLIZZARD, by John Rocco, illustrated by John Rocco" (starred review). Kirkus Reviews . September 1, 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
  11. Primiano, Jay; Rocco, John (April 8, 2014). Swim that Rock . Candlewick Press. ISBN   978-0763669058.
  12. "Swim That Rock". Candlewick Press Catalog. Candlewick Press . Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  13. Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan, illustrated by John Rocco". Kirkus Review. Posted online July 22, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-24.
  14. How to Send a Hug Starred Review". Kirkus Review. Posted online November 15, 2022. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  15. 1 2 "Rick Riordan Books" Archived 2013-10-27 at the Wayback Machine . ROCCOART. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
  16. "Gallery II".
  17. Kress, Adrienne (2008). Alex and the Ironic Gentleman. New York, NY: Weinstein Books. ISBN   9781602860254.
  18. "Percy Jackson gets new covers!" Archived 2016-01-26 at the Wayback Machine . [February 2014]. ROCCO Art. Retrieved 2015-11-14. .