Tad Hills

Last updated
Tad Hills
Tad hills 5172420.JPG
reading at the 2014 Gaithersburg Book Festival
Born (1963-04-01) April 1, 1963 (age 61)
Needham, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
GenreChildren's fiction
Website
tadhills.com

Tad Hills (born April 1, 1963, in Needham, Massachusetts) is an American children's book author and illustrator. His first picture book, Duck & Goose, a New York Times bestseller and ALA Notable Book for Children, is about a pair of feathered friends. [1] In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews wrote that "readers will likely hope to see more of this adorable odd couple" [2] —a hope that was realized. The Duck & Goose series now contains nine titles, including Duck, Duck, Goose; Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin; and Duck & Goose, It's Time for Christmas. [3] Hills is also the author of How Rocket Learned to Read, winner of the Irma Simonton Black & James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature [4] and a New York Times bestseller. [5] A sequel, Rocket Writes a Story, was published to similar acclaim, debuting at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list and named as a top picture book of the year by Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Publishers Weekly , and School Library Journal . [6]

Contents

Early life and career

Hills was raised in Norwell, Massachusetts in a creative household. His grandmother was an accomplished artist—together, she and Hills created paintings, drawings, and books. His mother, a 4th-grade science teacher, inspired his love of nature by frequently bringing home animals (including raccoons, owls, and other wild creatures). "I come from a long line of engineers on both sides, so my interest in making things almost feels like it could be genetic", Hills has said.

Hills graduated with a degree in art from Skidmore College in New York. He states, however, that his greatest educational experience has been raising his children: "Spending time with my kids helps me remember what it's like to be a child. I try to capture that innocence and enthusiastic vision of the world in my books. I want kids to see themselves in my characters". [7]

Hills has dabbled in many arts, including acting, jewelry-making, and interior designing. [8] He began illustrating picture books in the late 90s when his wife, Lee Wade, was the VP and creative director for Simon & Schuster's children's book division: "Lee used to ask me to try illustrating some books she couldn't find an illustrator for," he said. Hills published the first book in his breakout Duck & Goose series in 2006, when Wade and friend Anne Schwartz began Schwartz & Wade Books (a Random House imprint). [9]

Hills lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children. [10]

Selected bibliography

Author & Illustrator:

Illustrator:

Related Research Articles

Magic Tree House is an American children's series written by American author Mary Pope Osborne. The original American series was illustrated by Salvatore Murdocca until 2016, after which AG Ford took over. Other illustrators have been used for foreign-language editions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Scarry</span> American author and illustrator (1919–1994)

Richard McClure Scarry was an American children's author and illustrator who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million worldwide. He is best known for his Best Ever book series that take place primarily in the fictional town of Busytown, "which is populated by friendly and helpful resident [animals...such as] Mr. Frumble, Huckle Cat, Mr. Fixit, Lowly Worm, and others..." The series spawned a media franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Boynton</span> American humorist, author, director and music producer

Sandra Keith Boynton is an American humorist, songwriter, director, music producer, children's author, and illustrator. Boynton has written and illustrated over seventy-five books for children and seven general audience books, as well as over four thousand greeting cards, and five music albums. She has also designed calendars, wallpaper, bedding, stationery, paper goods, clothing, jewelry, and plush toys for various companies.

<i>Little Golden Books</i> Childrens book series

Little Golden Books is an American series of children's books, published since 1942. The Poky Little Puppy, the eighth release in the series, is the top-selling children's book of all time in the United States. Many other Little Golden Books have become bestsellers, including Tootle, Scuffy the Tugboat, The Little Red Hen, and Doctor Dan the Bandage Man.

Helen Sonia Cooper is a British illustrator and an author of children's literature. She grew up in Cumbria, where she practiced literature and piano playing. She currently lives in Oxford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Brett</span> American illustrator and writer

Jan Brett is an American illustrator and writer of children's picture books. Her colorful, detailed depictions of a wide variety of animals and human cultures range from Scandinavia to Africa. Her titles include The Mitten, The Hat, and Gingerbread Baby. She has adapted or retold traditional stories such as the Gingerbread Man and Goldilocks and has illustrated classics such as "The Owl and the Pussycat."

Rosemary Wells is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. She often uses animal characters to address real human issues. Some of her most well-known characters are Max & Ruby and Timothy from Timothy Goes To School (both were later adapted into Canadian-animated preschool television series, airing on Nickelodeon.

Laurel Snyder is an American poet and writer of children's books, including novels and picture books. She has also edited a number of literary journals and is a commentator for NPR's All Things Considered.

Alice Rose Provensen and Martin Provensen were an American couple who illustrated more than 40 children's books together, 19 of which they also wrote and edited. According to Alice, "we were a true collaboration. Martin and I really were one artist."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Kellogg</span> American author and illustrator (born 1941)

Steven Castle Kellogg is an American author and illustrator who has created more than 90 children's books.

Gyo Fujikawa was an American illustrator and children's book writer. A prolific creator of more than 50 books for children, her work is regularly in reprint and has been translated into 17 languages and published in 22 countries. Her most popular books, Babies and Baby Animals, have sold over 1.7 million copies in the U.S. Fujikawa is recognized for being the earliest mainstream illustrator of picture books to include children of many races in her work, before it became common to do so.

Bryan Collier is an American writer and illustrator known best for illustrating children's books. He won both the Coretta Scott King Award, as illustrator, and the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award for Uptown, the first book he both wrote and illustrated. He has won six King Awards as illustrator and he is a four-time Caldecott Honor recipient.

Gerald Andrews Hausman is a storyteller and award-winning author of books about Native America, animals, mythology, and West Indian culture. Hausman has published over seventy books for both children and adults.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. Lockhart</span> American writer

Emily Jenkins, who sometimes uses the pen name E. Lockhart, is an American writer of children's picture books, young-adult novels, and adult fiction. She is known best for the Ruby Oliver quartet, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and We Were Liars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rafael López (illustrator and artist)</span> Mexican-American illustrator and artist

Rafael López is an internationally recognized illustrator and artist. To reflect the lives of all young people, his illustrations bring diverse characters to children's books. As a children's book illustrator, he has received three Pura Belpré Award medals from the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and REFORMA in 2020 for Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln,Drum Dream Girl in 2016 and Book Fiesta! in 2010. He created the National Book Festival Poster for the Library of Congress and was a featured book festival speaker at this event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mac Barnett</span> American childrens books author

Mac Barnett is an American writer of children's books living in Oakland, California. He was born in Castro Valley, California but grew up in Castro Valley and Oakland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Klassen</span> Canadian-born writer and illustrator

Jon Klassen is a Canadian writer and illustrator of children's books and an animator. He won both the American Caldecott Medal and the British Kate Greenaway Medal for children's book illustration, recognizing the 2012 picture book This Is Not My Hat, which he also wrote. He is the first person to win both awards for the same work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candace Fleming</span> American childrens writer

Candace Groth Fleming is an American writer of children's books, both fiction and non-fiction. She is the author of more than twenty books for children and young adults, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize-honored The Family Romanov and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award-winning biography, The Lincolns, among others.

Jacqueline Rogers is an American children's-book illustrator.

John Steven Gurney is an American author and illustrator of children's books. Gurney is the author and illustrator of the picture book Dinosaur Train, as well as the Fuzzy Baseball graphic novel series. He has illustrated over 150 books. including popular series such as The Bailey School Kids, A to Z Mysteries, and the Calendar Mysteries. His work has also appeared in popular children’s magazines such as Cricket, Babybug, and Ladybird. Gurney is also an art educator. He is on the faculty at both Hollins University in Hollins, Virginia and Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, where he teaches illustration

References

  1. Hills, Tad. "Duck & Goose". Tad Hills. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  2. "Duck & Goose". Kirkus Reviews. 2005-12-15. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  3. "Tad Hills". Random House Kids. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  4. "'How Rocket Learned to Read' Wins Irma Black Award". Schoollibraryjournal.com. 2011-04-26. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  5. Hills, Tad. "How Rocket Learned to Read". Tad Hills. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  6. "Rocket Writes a Story (9780375870866): Tad Hills: Books". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  7. Hills, Tad. "About". Tad Hills. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  8. Hills, Tad. "About". Tad Hills. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  9. Newman, Patricia (May 2007). "Tad Hills". California Kids!. Archived from the original on 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  10. Newman, Patricia (May 2007). "Tad Hills". California Kids!. Archived from the original on 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2013-04-01.