Brian Pinkney (born August 28, 1961,

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, Massachusetts) is an American illustrator. His father,

Jerry Pinkney Jerry Pinkney (December 22, 1939 – October 20, 2021) was an American illustrator and writer of children's literature. Pinkney illustrated over 100 books since 1964, including picture books, nonfiction titles and novels. Pinkney's works addresse ...

, was an illustrator and his mother, Gloria Jean, was an author,

milliner Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

, and

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. Both had studios in their home. Pinkney was encouraged by his parents to use the materials in the studio. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the

Philadelphia College of Art Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1983 and after working as a freelance illustrator for several years, he returned to college. This time, he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in illustration from the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

in 1990. As of 2019, he is living with his wife

Andrea Davis Pinkney Andrea Davis Pinkney (born 1963) is the author of numerous books for children and young adults, including picture books, novels, works of historical fiction and nonfiction who writes about African-American culture. In addition to her work as an a ...

and their two children in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, New York. They often work together on projects and between them, have published over seventy children's books.

Honors and awards

Pinkney has won two Caldecott Honors, four Coretta Scott King Honors and a

Coretta Scott King Award The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association (ALA). Named for Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., this award re ...

, and the ''Boston Globe'' Horn Book Award.

Caldecott Honors

* The Faithful Friend (1997) * Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra (1999)

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award

* In the Time of the Drums (2000)

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor

* Sukey and the Mermaid (1993) * The Faithful Friend (1997) * Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra (1999)

Boston Globe Horn Book Award

* The Adventures of Sparrowboy (1997)

References

1961 births Living people American children's book illustrators University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni School of Visual Arts alumni People from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn {{US-artist-stub