Oge Mora | |
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Occupation | Author, illustrator |
Alma mater | Rhode Island School of Design |
Genre | Children's books |
Notable works | Thank You, Omu! |
Notable awards |
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Oge Mora is a children's book illustrator and author living in Providence, Rhode Island. [1] She received a Caldecott Honor, [2] Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for New Talent, [3] and Ezra Jack Keats Book Award [4] in 2019 for her book, Thank You, Omu! .
Her parents emigrated from Nigeria to Columbus, Ohio. [5] Mora attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). While taking a class called "Picture and Word" at RISD, she created a picture book mock-up, titled Omu's Stew for her final project. The teacher invited editors and art directors to see the final work and Mora's draft was picked up by publisher Little, Brown and Company [6] and published as Thank You, Omu!. [7]
Her illustrations are created with cut paper, paint, and china markers. [7]
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The Caldecott and Newbery Medals are considered the most prestigious American children's book awards. Besides the Caldecott Medal, the committee awards a variable number of citations to runners-up they deem worthy, called the Caldecott Honor or Caldecott Honor Books.
The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Coretta Scott King Book Award Round Table, part of the American Library Association (ALA). Named for Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., this award recognizes outstanding books for young adults and children by African Americans that reflect the African American experience. Awards are given both to authors and to illustrators for universal human values.
The Snowy Day is a 1962 American children's picture book by American author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats. It features Peter, an African American boy, who explores his neighborhood after the season's first snowfall. Keats’ illustrations helped pave the way for more inclusive and diverse children's literature. Keats received the 1963 Caldecott Medal for his collage artwork, which made The Snowy Day the first picture book with an African American protagonist to win a major children's award. The book's reception was largely positive, although some critics pointed out subtle stereotypes, such as how Peter's mother was portrayed. Since its publication, The Snowy Day has sold millions of copies and has been translated, adapted, and honored, leaving a lasting impression on generations of readers.
Bryan Collier is an American writer and illustrator known best for illustrating children's books. He won both the Coretta Scott King Award as an illustrator and the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award for Uptown, the first book he both wrote and illustrated. He has won six Coretta Scott King Awards as illustrator and he is a four-time Caldecott Honor recipient.
Neal Porter is an American children's book editor. He is the founder of Neal Porter Books, an imprint of Holiday House.
Kelly Murphy is an American author, illustrator and educator. She is based in Providence, Rhode Island.
Grace Lin is a Taiwanese–American children's writer and illustrator. She is a Newbery, Geisel, and Caldecott honoree, known for contributing to and advocating for Asian American representation and diversity in children’s literature. She has published more than 25 books, all of which are written for young and middle-grade audiences. Much of her work features young Asian and Asian American characters in both everyday and fantastical settings.
Gabi Swiatkowska is a Polish-born artist, musician, and children's author and illustrator. She has shown up twice on the ALA Notable Book Award list. One of the books that she illustrated, My Name Is Yoon, won the Ezra Jack Keats Award and is on the New York Public Library's list of 100 Great Children's Books
Tar Beach, written and illustrated by Faith Ringgold, is a children's picture book published by Crown Publishers, Inc., 1991. Tar Beach, Ringgold's first book, was a Caldecott Honor Book for 1992.
The Ezra Jack Keats Book Award is an annual U.S. literary award.
Javaka Steptoe is an American author and illustrator. He won the 2017 Caldecott Medal as well as the Americas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, and the Coretta Scott King Book Award from the American Library Association for his picture book Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Christian Robinson is an American illustrator of children's books and an animator. He is based in Sacramento, California and has worked with The Sesame Street Workshop and Pixar Animation Studios. He graduated from the California Institute of the Arts.
Phoebe Wahl is an illustrator, sculptor and children's book author from the United States. She is the author of Sonya's Chickens, for which she earned the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award for New Illustrator and a Kirkus Star. Her primary media are watercolor, collage and fabric sculpture. Wahl's work deals with "themes of comfort, nostalgia and intimacy with nature and one another".
Sophie Jocasta Blackall is an Australian artist, author, and illustrator of children's books based in Brooklyn, New York.
Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is a 2016 picture book biography by Javaka Steptoe about Jean-Michel Basquiat. Using a style similar to Basquiat's, the book tells the story of his childhood and early career. It won the 2017 Caldecott Medal and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for its illustrations.
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut is a 2017 picture book by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James. The book, Barnes' first picture book, is a poem describing a boy's feelings and experience while getting a haircut. James, who was not the first choice to be the illustrator, wanted the oil color illustrations to have the feel of fine art.
Thank You, Omu! is a 2018 picture book written and illustrated by Oge Mora. The story is about Omu, who cooks a stew and shares it with her neighbors; they show their gratitude by bringing her food. The book started as an assignment for a class of Mora's at the Rhode Island School of Design, where it was seen by an editor from Little, Brown. Thank You, Omu was well reviewed and a recipient of the 2019 Caldecott Honor for its illustrations. The book's mixed media drew praise for their detailed depictions of characters and locations.
Richard Gregory Christie is an American author and illustrator of picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, and album covers best known for his Coretta Scott King Award-winning books No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller, Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal, and Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Only Passing Through, and the NAACP Image Award-winning Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change.
Juana Martinez-Neal is a Peruvian American children's book author and illustrator. Her debut book as an author and illustrator, Alma and How She Got Her Name, was well reviewed and won a 2019 Caldecott Honor.
Bird, written by Zetta Elliott and illustrated by Shadra Strickland, is a picture book written in 2008. It won the New Voices Award Honor from its publishing company Lee & Low Books Incorporation.