Robert Byrd  

Robert Byrd was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1942.  He graduated from Atlantic City High School in 1960 and The Philadelphia Museum College of Art (now The University of The Arts) in 1966. He has been a free-lance illustrator for over thirty-five years. He has illustrated and illustrated/written twenty children's books, beginning with Poor Mister Splinterfitz (Windmill Books, 1973).  His latest illustrated book, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz (Candlewick) is the 2008 Newbery Medal Winner.

He has taught illustration and children's book illustration at Moore College of Art & Design and The University of The Arts in Philadelphia for over thirty years. His work has appeared in Graphis Annual, Graphis Poster, The Original Art and Society of Illustrator's Annual Exhibitions, New York and Philadelphia Art Directors Club, Cricket – 225 Years. The Art Institute of Chicago, “60 Years of Illustration” University of The Arts, “Page to Page” – 2The Art of The Children's Book – 2The Noyes Museum, The Philadelphia Art Institute – 20 year retrospective – 21991, and the Philadelphia Art Alliance.

Additional awards include: The Magazine Merit Award from The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (1993), Neumann College Children's Literature 2000 Award, and The Golden Kite Award (2003) for Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer (Dutton).  His work has appeared in American Artist (portfolio) and Step-by-Step Graphics (The Emperor's New Clothes, 1992).

Additional picture books by Robert Byrd include:

The Bear and The Bird King (Dutton)
Finn MacCoul and His Fearless Wife (Dutton)
Saint Francis and The Christmas Donkey (Dutton)
The Hero and The Minotaur (Dutton)
The Hero Schliemann (Candlewick Press)
The Barbarians, forthcoming (Dutton)

www.robertbyrdart.com