Feodor Stepanovich Rojankovsky () (December 24, 1891 – October 12, 1970), also known as Rojan, was a Russian émigré illustrator. He is well known both for

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

illustration and for

erotic art Erotic art is a broad field of the visual arts that includes any artistic work intended to evoke arousal. It usually depicts human nudity or sexual activity, and has included works in various visual mediums, including drawings, engravings, fil ...

. He won the 1956

Caldecott Medal 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 ...

for U.S.

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...

illustration from the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

, recognizing '' Frog Went A-Courtin''' by

John Langstaff John Meredith Langstaff (December 24, 1920 – December 13, 2005), a concert baritone, and early music revivalist was the founder of the tradition of the Christmas Revels, as well as a respected musician and educator. He attended the Curtis Inst ...

Biography

Rojankovsky was born in

Mitava Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

Courland Governorate Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland or Governorate of Kurland, and known from 1795 to 1796 as the Viceroyalty of Courland, was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

) on December 24, 1891, to Lydia Kiprianova and Stepan Fedorovich Rojankovsky. After Stephan's death in 1897, the family moved to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

to be closer to his older married sister. There, Rojan's interest in books grew, particularly natural history picture books and illustrated classics. He studied two years at the private

Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (), also known by the acronym MUZHVZ, was one of the largest educational institutions in Russia. The school was formed by the 1865 merger of a private art college, established in Moscow ...

but left in 1914 to serve in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

during World War I where he served as Staff Captain of one of the first motorized units until 1917. His first work appeared in the May 1915 issue of the magazine ''Lukomor’e'' where he depicted war scenes during his bed rest after being wounded in battle. After the war, Rojankovsky joined his siblings in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and worked as an artist for the local district council where some of his projects were illustrating books for local schools. He was conscripted by the White Army in 1919, soon to be a prisoner of war in Poland. After the war, he stayed in Poland working with Polish bookseller and publisher Rudolf Wegner designing book covers and illustrating whole books. After the Rapallo Treaty of 1922 recognized the new Soviet Union, he was unable to return to Russia with his Tsarist papers and became a stateless person and moved to France in 1925 where he worked as an art director for Lecram Press. His work for Lecram caught

Esther Averill Esther Averill (July 24, 1902 – May 19, 1992) was an American people, American writer and illustrator best known for the Cat Club picture books, a collection of 13 stories featuring Jenny Linsky, a small black cat who always wears a red scarf. ...

's attention and he began collaborating with Averill and her business partner, Lila Stanley. With their insight, Rojankovsky created ''Daniel Boone'' in 1931 featuring

fauvist Fauvism ( ) is a style of painting and an art movement that emerged in France at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the style of (, ''the wild beasts''), a group of modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong col ...

-inspired lithographs celebrating Boone and the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...

. The plates were prohibitive to print, so Averill and Stanley started their own Domino Press to print the book. ''Daniel Boone'' set a new direction in children's books, but was not a commercial success. In 1933, he began working with Paul Faucher on the ''Père Castor'' series. The series integrated bold coloring with games, stories or projects designed to stimulate a child's curiosity and imagination. In 1941, he moved to the US and began a career of illustrating more than a hundred books, most featuring animals or nature with

Little Golden Books The 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 ...

. From 1943 to 1970, Rojan illustrated 35 children's books under the imprint. Rojankovsky also wrote books, such as ''The Great Big Animal Book'', published in 1952. In 1956, '' Frog Went A-Courtin''' by

won the

for U.S.

illustration from the

. In the 1950s and 60s, he began working with a new female editor, Margaret McElderry of

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, and produced ''Over in the Meadow'', ''The Little River'', ''So Small'', and ''A Crowd of Cows''. Rojan died on October 12, 1970, in

Bronxville Bronxville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the Adminis ...

, New York.

Quote

"Two great events determined the course of my childhood. I was taken to the zoo and saw the most marvelous creatures on earth: bears, tigers, monkeys and reindeer, and, while my admiration was running high, I was given a set of color crayons. Naturally, I began immediately to depict the animals which captured my imagination. Also when my elder brothers, who were in schools in the capital, came home for vacation, I tried to copy their drawings and to imitate their paintings."

Books

As writer and illustrator

* ''Daniel Boone: les adventures d'un chasseur americain parmi les peaux-rouges'' (1931) * ''The Tall Book of Mother Goose'' (

, 1942) * ''Grandfather’s Farm Panorama: Ten Feet Long'' (Platt and Munk, 1943) * ''Choo-choo Panorama'' (Platt and Munk, 1945) * ''The Three Bears'' (

, 1948) * ''Favorite Fairy Tales'' (Simon & Schuster, 1949) * ''Farm Animals'' (Merrigold Press, 1950) *''The Great Big Animal Book'' (Simon & Schuster, 1950) *''The Great Big Wild Animal Book'' (Simon & Schuster, 1951) *''The Great Big Animal Book'' (1952) *''Little Golden Mother Goose'' (

Golden Press Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was an American company founded in 1907 in Racine, Wisconsin, best known for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also ...

, 1957) *''The Outside Cat'' (Morrow, 1957) *''Animals on the Farm'' (Knopf, 1962, 1967) *''Animals in the Zoo'' (1962) *''The Dog and Cat Book'' (Golden Pleasure Books, 1963) *''An Alphabet of Many Things'' (Golden Press, 1970) *''The Tall Book of Mother Goose'' (Harper and Brothers, 1942)

With other writers

*''Flash: The Story of a Horse, a Coach-Dog and the Gypsies'', written by

(Domino Press, 1934) *''Bourru, the Brown Bear'', Written by Rose Fyleman and Lida (George Allen & Unwin, 1936) *''Fluff, the Little Wild Rabbit'', written by Lida, translated by Georges Duplaix (Harper & Brothers, 1937) *''The Children’s Year'', written by Y. Lacôte (Harper & Brothers, 1937) *''Adventures of Dudley and Gilderoy'', written by

Algernon Blackwood Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (14 March 1869 – 10 December 1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary cr ...

and Marion B. Cothren (EP Dutton & Co, 1941) *''Cuckoo'', written by Lida (

Harper & Brothers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship Imprint (trade name), imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper (publisher), James Harper and his brother John, the compan ...

, 1942) *''How the Camel Got His Hump'', written by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

(Garden City Publishing Co., 1942) *''How the Leopard Got His Spots'', written by

(Garden City Publishing Co., 1942) *''How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin'', written by

(Garden City Publishing Co., 1942) *''The Cat That Walked by Himself'', written by

(Garden City Publishing Co., 1942) *''The Elephant’s Child'', written by

(Garden City Publishing Co., 1942), Junior Literary Guild Award *''The Golden Book of Birds'', written by Hazel Lockwood (Simon & Schuster, 1943) *''Animal Stories'', written by Georges Duplaix (Simon & Schuster, 1944) *''Cortez the Conqueror'', written by Covelle Newcomb (Random House, 1947) *''The Butterfly that Stamped'', written by

(Garden City Publishing Co., 1947) *''Big Farmer Big and Little Farmer Little'', written by Byron and Kathryn Jackson (Simon & Schuster, 1948) *''Gaston and Josephine'', written by Georges Duplaix (Simon and Schuster, 1948) *''Our Puppy'', written by Elsa Ruth Nast (Simon & Schuster, 1948) *''The Big Elephant'', written by Kathryn Jackson (Golden Book, 1949) *''All Alone'', written by

Claire Huchet Bishop Claire Huchet Bishop (30 December 1898 – 13 March 1993) was a Swiss children's writer and librarian. She wrote two Newbery Medal runners-up, '' Pancakes-Paris'' (1947) and '' All Alone'' (1953), and she won the Josette Frank Award for '' Twe ...

(Viking Press, 1953),

Newbery Honor Book The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

*''The Giant Golden Book of Cat Stories'', written by

Elizabeth Coatsworth Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth (May 31, 1893 – August 31, 1986) was an American writer of fiction and poetry for children and adults. She won the 1931 Newbery Medal from the American Library Association award recognizing ''The Cat Who Went to Hea ...

(Simon & Schuster, 1953) *''The Giant Golden Book of Dog Stories'', written by

(Simon & Schuster, 1953) *''Horse Stories'', written by Kate Barnes and

(Simon & Schuster, 1954) *'' Frog Went A-Courtin''', written by

(1955) *''I Play at the Beach'','' '' written by Dorothy Koch (Holiday House, 1955) *''Balboa, Swordsman and Conquistador'', written by Felix Riesenberg, Jr. (Random House, 1956) *''Cartier Sails the St. Lawrence'', written by

(Harper & Row, 1956) *''I Like the City'', wri'' ''tten by James L. Mursell (Silver Burdett Company, 1956) *''I Like the Country'', '' ''written by James L. Mursell (Silver Burdett Company, 1956)'' '' *''Over in the Meadow'', '' ''written by

(

Harcourt, Brace and Company Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. It was known at different stages in its history as Harcourt Brace, & Co. and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. From 1919 to 1 ...

, 1957) *''The Giant Golden Book of Dogs, Cats and Horses'', written by Kate Barnes and

(Simon & Schuster, 1957)'' '' *''The White Bunny and His Magic Nose'', written by Lily Duplaix (Golden Press, 1957) *''Baby Wild Animals'', w'' ''ritten by John Wallace Purcell (Simon & Schuster, 1958) *''The Cabin Faced West'', written by Jean Fritz (Puffin Books, 1958) *''The Little River'', wr'' ''itten by Ann Rand (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1959) *''Animal Dictionary'', written by Jane Werner Watson (Golden Press, 1960) *''The Defender'', written by Nicholas Kalashnikoff (Oxford University Press, 1961),

*''The Whilry Bird'', written by Dimitry Varley (

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

, 1961) *''Cricket in a Thicket'', written by

Aileen Fisher Aileen Lucia Fisher (September 9, 1906 – December 2, 2002) was an American people, American writer of more than a hundred children's books, including poetry, picture books in verse, prose about nature and America, biographies, Bible-themed book ...

( Scribner, 1963) *''I Can Count'', written by Carl Memling (Merrigold Press, 1963) *''The Cow Went Over the Mountain'', written by Jeanette Krinsley (Golden Press, 1963) *''Hop, Little Kangaroo'', written by Patricia Scarry (Golden Press, 1965) *''Christmas Bear'', written by Marie Colmont, translated by Constance Hirsch (Golden Press, 1966) *''I Am a Fox'', written by Ole Risom (Golden Press, 1967) *''A Crowd of Cows'', written by John Graham (Harcourt, Brace and World, 1968) *''The Falcon Under the Hat: Russian Merry Tales and Fairy Tales'', selected and translated by Guy Daniels (Funk & Wagnalls, 1969) *''To Make a Duck Happy'', written by Carol E. Lester (Harper & Row, 1969) *''The Giant Golden Bible,'' written by Elsa Jane Werner (Simon & Schuster, 1946) *''Firkin & The Grey Gangsters,'' written by Ann Scott-Moncrieff (re-issued by Scotland Street Press, 2021)

Wordless Novels

* ''Idylle printanière''. no publisher listed. 1934 * ''Idylle printanière''. Pirate edition, no publisher listed. 1938

References

External links

Feodor Rojankovsky
at

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Authorities — with 71 catalog records {{DEFAULTSORT:Rojankovsky, Feodor Stepanovich 1891 births 1970 deaths People from Jelgava People from Courland Governorate Russian painters of animals Russian children's book illustrators Russian erotic artists Caldecott Medal winners American children's book illustrators Illustrators from the Russian Empire Painters from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni Wordless novels