Kelly Murphy is an American

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

and educator. She is based in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

Early life

Murphy was born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and raised in southeastern Massachusetts. She attended the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

(RISD) in

. Her student work receiving distinction from the Society of Illustrators of New York. After graduating with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree in illustration in 1999, Murphy started a freelance career as an editorial and

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 ...

illustrator.

Career

She wrote and illustrated her first picture book, ''The Boll Weevil Ball'', in 2002 and has since illustrated more than 50 books for children, including stories written by authors

Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. His 2000 memoir, '' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius'', became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is a ...

, J. Patrick Lewis, Linda Sue Park, Richard Peck,

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Heelis (; 28 July 186622 December 1943), usually known as Beatrix Potter ( ), was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' ...

and Jane Yolen. Murphy has also created artwork for theater, film and animation, including character designs for the

Sesame Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization and Television station, television company that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's ...

animated show '' Esme & Roy'' on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

, and the 2013 documentary '' Muscle Shoals''. She has taught at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Montserrat College of Art, and is a faculty member of the

Awards

In 2009 Murphy earned an E.B. White Read Aloud Award for illustrating the New York Times Best Seller ''

Masterpiece A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

'', written by Elise Broach. She subsequently illustrated books in a companion series for younger readers, ''The Masterpiece Adventures'', by the same author. In 2019 ''All the Greys on Greene Street'', written by Laura Tucker and illustrated by Murphy, was distinguished as a best book of the year by ''

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 ...

'', ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'', BookPage and ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

''.

Exhibitions

Murphy was one of 5 artists whose work was exhibited in the 18th Annual Children's Book Illustrators' Show & Signing at the Chemers Gallery in Tustin, CA in 2009. Murphy's original art was exhibited in the 2010 Children's Book Illustrators Exhibition at the Brush Art Gallery & Studios, with fellow RISD alumni illustrators Christopher Bing, David Macaulay and David Wiesner. Murphy's work has been exhibited at the Museum of American Illustration in New York City, NY. In 2012, Murphy's work received a Gold Award in the Illustration West 50 competition and was exhibited at the Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, California. Murphy was also chosen from RISD's illustrious alumni as one of the artists featured in RISD ICONS: A Legacy of Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design exhibit at the Woods Gerry Gallery. In 2014, Murphy was a keynote speaker at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators 2014 Writers & Illustrators Working Conference in Austin, Texas. Murphy is one of the illustrators and authors presenting at the Lincoln School's 2018 Rhode Island Festival of Children's Books and Authors.

Bibliography

Chapter books

* ''

'' (2008, Illustrator, written by Elise Broach) * ''Flight of the Phoenix ( Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book 1)'' (2009, Illustrator, written by R. L. LaFevers) * ''The Basilisk's Lair ( Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book 2)'' (2010, Illustrator, written by R. L. LaFevers) * ''The Wyverns' Treasure ( Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book 3)'' (2010, Illustrator, written by R. L. LaFevers) * ''Haunted Houses (Are You Scared Yet?)'' (2010, Co-illustrated with Antoine Revoy, written by Robert D. San Souci) * ''The Unicorn's Tale ( Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book 4)'' (2011, Illustrator, written by R. L. LaFevers) * '' Secrets at Sea'' (2011, Illustrator, written by Richard Peck) * ''Alex and the Amazing Time Machine'' (2012, Illustrator, written by Rich Cohen) * ''The Scorpions of Zahir'' (2012, Illustrator, written by Christine Brodien-Jones) * ''Behind the Bookcase'' (2012, Illustrator, written by Mark Steensland) * '' The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail'' (2013, Illustrator, written by Richard Peck) * ''Anton and Cecil: Cats at Sea'' (2013, Illustrator, written by Lisa and Valerie Martin) * ''The Miniature World of Marvin and James'' (2014, Illustrator, written by Elise Broach) * ''The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, Book 1: The Case of the Missing Moonstone'' (2015, Illustrator, written by

Jordan Stratford Jordan Stratford is a Canadian author of children's fiction. Books Children's books Jordan is the author of the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency Series (Knopf / Random House), a pro-math and science adventure series for children 8-12. The first bo ...

) * ''James to the Rescue'' (2015, Illustrator, written by Elise Broach) * ''The Door by the Staircase'' (2016, Illustrator, written by Katherine Marsh) * ''The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, Book 2: The Case of the Girl in Grey'' (2016, Illustrator, written by

) * ''Anton and Cecil: Cats Aloft'' (2016, Illustrator, written by Lisa and Valerie Martin) * ''The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, Book 3: The Case of the Counterfeit Criminals'' (2017, Illustrator, written by

) * ''Trouble at School for Marvin & James'' (2017, Illustrator, written by Elise Broach) * ''A Properly Unhaunted Place'' (2017, Illustrator, written by William Alexander) * ''The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, Book 4: The Case of the Perilous Palace'' (2018, Illustrator, written by

) * ''A Festival of Ghosts'' (2018, Illustrator, written by William Alexander) * ''All The Greys on Greene Street'' (2019, Illustrator, written by Laura Tucker) * ''A Trip to the Country for Marvin & James'' (2020, Illustrator, written by Elise Broach) * ''Happily for Now'' (2021, Illustrator, written by Kelly Jones) * ''Ginny Off the Map'' (2023, Illustrator, written by Caroline Hickey) * ''Bulldozer and Friends Vol 1: Bulldozer's Big Rescue'' (2025, Illustrator, written by Elise Broach)

Picture books

* ''The Boll Weevil Ball'' (2002) * ''A Place To Grow'' (2002, Illustrator, written by Stephanie Bloom) * ''Loony Little'' (2003, Illustrator, written by Dianna Hutts Aston) * ''Dancing Matilda'' (2004, Illustrator, written by Sarah Hager) * ''Good Babies'' (2005, Illustrator, written by Tim Myers) * ''Fiona's Luck'' (2007, Illustrator, written by Teresa Bateman) * ''Gallop-O-Gallop'' (2007, Illustrator, written by Sandra Alonso) * ''Hush, Little Dragon'' (2008, Illustrator, written by Boni Ashburn) * ''The Peach Boy'' (2009, Illustrator, written by Alex Frith) * ''Brand-New Baby Blues'' (2009, Illustrator, written by Kathi Appelt) * ''Over At The Castle'' (2009, Illustrator, written by Boni Ashburn) * ''Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters'' (2011, Illustrator, written by Jane Yolen) * ''Face Bug'' (2013, Illustrator, written by J. Patrick Lewis, photographs by Fred Siskind) * ''Romping Monsters, Stomping Monsters'' (2013, Illustrator, written by Jane Yolen) * ''The Slowest Book Ever'' (2016, Illustrator, written by April Pulley Sayre) * ''Together We Grow'' (2020, Illustrator, written by Susan Vaught) * ''Faraway Things'' (2021, Illustrator, written by

) * ''Dakota Crumb: Tiny Treasure Hunter'' (2021, Illustrator, written by Jamie Michalak) * ''Dakota Crumb and the Secret Bookshop: A Tiny Treasure Hunt'' (2023, Illustrator, written by Jamie Michalak) * ''Goat Is The G.O.A.T.'' (2025, Illustrator, written by Bea Birdsong)

References

External links

Kelly Murphy's official website

Kelly Murphy on the Macmillan's Authors page

Kelly Murphy on Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Illustrator page

Kelly Murphy , Official Publisher Page , Simon & Schuster
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Kelly Living people People from Boston Rhode Island School of Design alumni Rhode Island School of Design faculty American illustrators American women illustrators American children's writers American children's book illustrators Writers who illustrated their own writing 1977 births Montserrat College of Art faculty Massachusetts College of Art and Design faculty American women academics 21st-century American women