Floyd Cooper (January 8, 1956July 15, 2021) was an American illustrator of

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

whose art frequently explored the

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

experience.Floyd Cooper, Illustrator of Black Life for Children, Dies at 65
by Alex Vadukul, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', July 29, 2021. He was based in

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in and the county seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Delawa ...

, and worked with authors such as

Jane Yolen Jane Hyatt Yolen (born February 11, 1939) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 400 books, of which the best known is '' The Devil's Arithmetic'', a Holocaust novella. H ...

Nikki Grimes Nikki Grimes (born October 20, 1950) is an American author of books written for children and young adults, as well as a poet and journalist. Background and career Grimes was born in Harlem, New York. In a conversation with a Reading Is Fundament ...

Eloise Greenfield Eloise Greenfield (May 17, 1929 – August 5, 2021) was an American children's book and biography author and poet famous for her descriptive, rhythmic style and positive portrayal of the African-American experience. After college, Greenfield bega ...

Howard Bryant Howard "Howie" Bryant (born November 25, 1968) is a sports journalist, and radio and television personality. He writes weekly columns for ESPN.com and ''ESPN The Magazine'', ESPN, and appears regularly on ESPN Radio. He is a frequent panelist o ...

Joyce Carol Thomas Joyce Carol Thomas (May 25, 1938 – August 13, 2016) was an African-American poet, playwright, motivational speaker, and author of more than 30 children's books. Background Thomas was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma, the fifth of nine children in ...

, and

Bill Martin Jr William Ivan Martin Jr. (March 20, 1916 – August 11, 2004) was an American educator, publishing executive, and author of more than 300 children's books including ''The Sounds of Mystery,'' ''Chicka Chicka Boom Boom'' (co-authored with John Arch ...

, among others. He illustrated more than 100 titles.

Personal

Floyd Donald Cooper Jr. was born in 1956 in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, to Ramona (Williams) Cooper and Floyd Cooper Sr. His mother was a beautician while his father built houses. Floyd grew up in low income housing and attended 11 different elementary schools. In school his teachers began to notice his illustrations and submitted his work to a scholarship committee. Floyd earned a scholarship to the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, where he studied advertising. After graduating in 1978, Floyd worked for

Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a Privately held company, privately held, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of greeting cards in the United ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

. He later moved to

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

where he struggled before he got his first contract with

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

Floyd's first illustrated book was published in 1988 and written by

. He married Velma Hyatt Cooper and they had two sons. He died of cancer on July 15, 2021 in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...

Technique

Cooper's artwork is known for using what he called an "oil erasure" subtractive technique, where he would "wash a board in oil paint and use a rubber eraser to methodically knead the paint away. He'd then create radiant images in soft, shimmering tones."

Awards

Floyd won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award in 2009 and 2022. He was also selected for the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor in 1994, 1995, and 1999, and a

Caldecott Honor 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 ...

in 2022. Additionally, he won a

Golden Kite Award The Golden Kite Awards are given annually by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an international children's writing organization, to recognize excellence in children’s literature. The award is a golden medallion showing ...

for ''A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina’s Dream'' and a

Charlotte Zolotow Award The Charlotte Zolotow Award is an American literary award presented annually for outstanding writing in a picture book published in the United States during the preceding year. By contrast, the Caldecott Medal is for outstanding illustration in a ...

for ''Max and the Tag-Along Moon'' written by Floyd himself. ''Laura Charlotte'' received a

Parents' Choice Award The Parents' Choice Award was an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It was considered a "prest ...

and a

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

Best Books citation."Kathryn O. Galbraith." ''Gale Literature:

Contemporary Authors ''Contemporary Authors'' is a reference work that has been published by Gale since 1962. The work provides short biographies and bibliographies of contemporary and near-contemporary writers and is a major source of information on over 116,000 liv ...

''. Gale, 2011. ''Gale Literature Resource Center''. Accessed 5 May 2023.

Selected works

*'' Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre'' by

Carole Boston Weatherford Carole Michele Weatherford ( Boston; born February 13, 1956) is an American author, critic, and poet. She has published over 50 children's books, primarily non-fiction and poetry. The music of poetry has fascinated Weatherford and motivated her l ...

(2021) *''Max and the Tag-Along Moon'' by Floyd Cooper (2013) *''The Blacker the Berry'' by

(2008) *''Grandpa's Face'' by

(1988) *''Jump! From the Life of

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

'' by Floyd Cooper (2004) *''Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea'' by

(1993) *''I Have Hear of a Land'' by

(1998) *''Caddie the Golf Dog'' by Michael Sampson and

(2002) *''The Ring Bearer'' by Floyd Cooper (2017) *''Juneteenth for Mazie'' by Floyd Cooper (2015) *''Coming Home: From the Life of Langston Hughes'' by Floyd Cooper (1994) *''Meet Danitra Brown'' by

(1994) *''Sisters and Champions: The True Story of Venus and Serena Williams'' by

(2018) *''A Dance Like Starlight'' by Kristy Dempsey (2014) *''Laura Charlotte'' by Kathryn O. Galbraith (Philomel, 1990) *''These Hands'' *''Ruth and the Green Book'' *''Ben and the Emancipation Proclamation'' *''Brick by Brick''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Floyd 1956 births 2021 deaths African-American literature American illustrators University of Oklahoma alumni Artists from Tulsa, Oklahoma Caldecott Honor winners Coretta Scott King Award winners