Mordicai Gerstein (November 24, 1935 – September 24, 2019) was an American artist, writer, and film director, best known for illustrating and writing

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 ...

. He illustrated the comic

mystery fiction Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...

series '' Something Queer is Going On''.

Life and career

Gerstein was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He attended the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles before getting a job at an animation studio in New York. There he designed characters and came up with ideas for TV commercials. He illustrated the ''Something Queer Is Going On'' series, written by Elizabeth Levy, from 1973 to 2003. He won the 2004

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 illustration, recognizing '' The Man Who Walked Between the Towers'' (Roaring Brook Press, 2003), which he also wrote. Created in response to the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, it features the story of

Philippe Petit Philippe Petit (; born 13 August 1949) is a French highwire artist who gained fame for his unauthorized highwire walks between the towers of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in 1971 and of Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1973, as well as between the Twi ...

's unauthorized high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. Gerstein directed four holiday specials for NBC TV in the late 1970s and early 1980s based on the ''

Berenstain Bears The ''Berenstain Bears'' is a children's literature franchise created by Stan and Jan Berenstain and continued by their son, Mike Berenstain. The books feature a family of anthropomorphic grizzly bears who generally learn a moral or safety ...

'' book series, the most notable being '' The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree'', which premiered on December 3, 1979. Gerstein lived in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...

. He was Jewish.

Works

Gerstein wrote and illustrated the following books: * ''Moose, Goose, and Mouse'' (2021, with Jeff Mack) * ''I Am Hermes!'' (2019) * ''The Boy and the Whale'' (2017) * ''I Am Pan!'' (2016) * ''The Sleeping Gypsy'' (2016) * ''The Night World'' (2015) * ''You Can't Have Too Many Friends!'' (inspired by Drakestail; 2014) * ''The First Drawing'' (2013) * ''How to Bicycle to the Moon to Plant Sunflowers'' (2013) * '' Dear Hot Dog'' (2011) * ''A Book'' (2009) * ''Minifred Goes to School'' (2009) * ''Leaving the Nest'' (2007) * ''The White Ram: A Story of Abraham and Isaac'' (2006) * ''Carolinda Clatter!'' (2005) * ''The Old Country'' (2005) * '' The Man Who Walked Between the Towers'' (2003) * ''Sparrow Jack'' (2003) * ''What Charlie Heard'' (2002) * ''Fox Eyes'' (2001) * ''Queen Esther the Morning Star'' (2001) * ''The Absolutely Awful Alphabet'' (1999) * ''Noah and the Great Flood'' (1999) * ''Victor'' (1998) * ''The Wild Boy'' (1998) * ''Stop Those Pants!'' (1998) * ''Jonah and the Two Great Fish'' (1997) * ''Behind the Couch'' (1996) * ''Bedtime Everybody!'' (1996) * ''The Giant'' (1995) * ''The Shadow of a Flying Bird'' (1994) * ''The Story of May'' (1993) * ''The New Creatures'' (1991) * ''The Sun's Day'' (1989) * ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1989) * ''William, Where Are You?'' (1989) * ''The Mountains of Tibet'' (1987) * ''The Seal Mother'' (1986) * ''Tales of Pan'' (1986) * ''The Room'' (1985) * ''Roll Over'' (1984) * ''Prince Sparrow'' (1984) * ''Follow Me!'' (1983) * ''Arnold of the Ducks'' (1983) Gerstein wrote two books that were illustrated by his wife, Susan Yard Harris: * ''Daisy's Garden'' (1995) * ''Anytime Mapleson and the Hungry Bears'' (1990) Gerstein also illustrated numerous books by other writers, including: * ''Frankenstein Moved In On The Fourth Floor'' (1981), by Elizabeth Levy * ''Dracula Is A Pain in the Neck'' (1983), by Elizabeth Levy * ''Gorgonzola Zombies in the Park'' (1993), by Elizabeth Levy * ''Apple Sauce Season'' (2009), by Eden Ross Lipson * ''How to Paint the Portrait of a Bird'' (2007), by

Jacques Prévert Jacques Prévert (; 4 February 1900 – 11 April 1977) was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. His best-regarded films formed part of the Poetic realism, poetic ...

(1900–1977) * '' Something Queer Is Going On'' (1973 to 2003), mystery series by Elizabeth Levy

Awards

* 2004:

for ''The Man Who Walked Between the Towers'' * 2004:

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award The ''Boston Globe''–''Horn'' Book Awards are a set of American literary awards conferred by ''The Boston Globe'' and ''The Horn Book Magazine'' annually from 1967. One book is recognized in each of four categories: Fiction and Poetry, Nonficti ...

children's book category for ''The Man Who Walked Between the Towers'' * 2006: Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Video * 2006:

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of qual ...

in the Illustrated Children's Book category for ''The White Ram: A Story of Abraham and Isaac''

References

External links

*
''New York Times'' obituary

Mordicai Gerstein
at publisher Scholastic
Mordicai Gerstein
at publisher Holiday House * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerstein, Mordicai American children's writers Caldecott Medal winners American children's book illustrators Jewish American children's writers Jewish American artists People from Westhampton, Massachusetts 1935 births 2019 deaths Artists from Los Angeles Writers from Los Angeles 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American writers 20th-century American illustrators 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American male artists 21st-century American writers 21st-century American illustrators 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American male artists Writers from Massachusetts Artists from Massachusetts Chouinard Art Institute alumni