May "Nonny" Hogrogian (May 7, 1932 – May 9, 2024) was an American writer and illustrator, known best for

children's 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 ''child ...

picture books 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 ...

. She won two annual

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 ...

s for U.S. children's book illustrations. From childhood she preferred folk and fairy tales, poetry, fantasy and stories. The ''New York Times'' attributes her for bringing multiculturalism to children's literature by evoking her Armenian heritage. Another children's author describes her approach to American culture as that of a patchwork quilt, rather than a melting pot.

Biography

Hogrogian was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on May 7, 1932, to Mugerdich and Rakel ( Ansoorian) Hogrogian, who were born in

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and fled the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

. Her parents were amateur painters and her sister became an interior designer. Hogrogian earned a B.A. in Fine Arts from

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

in 1953. Afterward, Hogrogian worked as a book designer at

Thomas Y. Crowell Co. Thomas Y. Crowell Co. was a publishing company founded by Thomas Y. Crowell. The company began as a bookbindery founded by Benjamin Bradley in 1834. Crowell operated the business after Bradley's death in 1862 and eventually purchased the compan ...

She studied with

Antonio Frasconi Antonio Frasconi (28 April 1919 in Montevideo, Uruguay – 8 January 2013 in Norwalk, CT, USA) was a Uruguayan - American visual artist, best known for his woodcuts. He was raised in Montevideo, Uruguay, and lived in the United States from 19 ...

and

Hodaka Yoshida was a Japanese modernist artist who worked first in oils, and then from 1950 in the woodblock print medium. From the beginning of his career, he broadened the range of styles and techniques used by Yoshida family artists. Family His father and ...

, and she studied art at the New School. In 1960, Crowell published her first works in ''King of the Kerry Fair'', a book with text by Nicolete Meredith, which Hogrogian illustrated with

woodcuts Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with Chisel#Gouge, gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts ...

. Subsequently, she worked as a designer at Holt and Scribner's and as a freelance illustrator. In 1971 Hogrogian married

David Kherdian David Kherdian (born December 17, 1931) is an Armenian- American writer, poet, and editor. He is known best for his book, '' The Road from Home'' (1979), depicting his mother's childhood. His works have been translated into 14 languages. Early ...

, a writer and editor. For two years they lived in Lyme Center, New Hampshire, where he was the state "poet-in-the-schools." The state university library is one repository for their works (in a joint collection). Hogrogian has illustrated some of his poetic anthologies and other works for publication. For one seven year period, they moved to a farm in Oregon with other followers of

George Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff ( – 29 October 1949) was a philosopher, mystic, spiritual teacher, composer, and movements teacher. Born in the Russian Empire, he briefly became a citizen of the First Republic of Armenia after its formation in 1 ...

. In 2016 they moved to Armenia, but later moved back to the United States after she sustained a back injury—residing in Black Mountain, North Carolina and then in western Massachusetts. Hogrogian died of cancer in

Holyoke Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,247. Loca ...

, Massachusetts on May 9, 2024, two days after her 92nd birthday.

Awards

Hogrogian won the

for illustration in 1966 and 1972. The American Library Association award annually recognizes the previous year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". '' Always Room for One More'' was written by Sorche Nic Leodhas and published by

Holt, Rinehart and Winston Holt McDougal is an American publishing company, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that specializes in textbooks for use in high schools. The Holt name is derived from that of U.S. publisher Henry Holt (1840–1926), co-founder of ...

in 1965. ''One Fine Day'', an old

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

tale that she retold and illustrated, was published by Macmillan US in 1971. Hogrogian received a Caldecott Honor in 1977 for ''The Contest'', another story she retold and illustrated.

Works

Books

*''Right Now'' *'' The Cat Who Loved To Sing'' *''

The Animal ''The Animal'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Luke Greenfield, written by Tom Brady and Rob Schneider from a story conceived by Brady. It stars Schneider in the lead role, alongside Colleen Haskell, John C. McGinley, Guy Torry, an ...

'' *'' The First Christmas'' *'' By Myself'' *'' Juna's Journey'' *'' The Great Fishing Contest'' *'' The Song of the Stork'' *'' Always Room for One More'' *''

Cool Cat Cool Cat may refer to: * ''Cool Cat'' (album), an album by jazz trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker * ''Cool Cat'' (book), a picture book by Nonny Hogrogian * ''Cool Cat'' (film), a 1967 animated cartoon film * Cool Cat (Looney Tunes), a Warner Bros. cart ...

'' *'' The Contest'' *'' One Fine Day'' *'' Ghosts Go Haunting''

References

External links

*
Always room for one more
(first edition), Library of Congress Catalog Record
One fine day
(first edition), LC Catalog Record * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hogrogian, Nonny 1932 births 2024 deaths American children's writers American women children's writers American women illustrators American children's book illustrators American women children's book illustrators Caldecott Medal winners American people of Armenian descent Hunter College alumni Writers from New York City 21st-century American women