Peter Brown is an American writer and illustrator who is best known for children's

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 ...

. He won 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 2013 for his illustration of '' Creepy Carrots!''

Biography

Brown was raised in Hopewell, (New Jersey) and studied illustration at

ArtCenter College of Design The ArtCenter College of Design is a private art college in Pasadena, California. It was incorporated in 1930 as a degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the visual arts and design. ...

. After graduating, he moved to New York City in 2002 to be closer to the publishing industry. He was working on animated TV shows when he signed a book deal to write and illustrate his first picture book, ''Flight of the Dodo''. Brown quickly wrote his second and third books, and his career as an author and illustrator of children’s books was under way. Since then Brown has written and illustrated many books for children and earned numerous honors, including a

, a

Horn Book Award Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family o ...

, two E.B. White Awards, two E.B. White Honors, a Children’s Choice Award for Illustrator of the Year, two Irma Black Honors, 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 ...

, a ''

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 ...

'' Best Illustrated Book Award and multiple ''New York Times'' bestsellers that include the novels ''

The Wild Robot ''The Wild Robot'' is a 2024 American animated science fiction film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. Based on the 2016 novel ''The Wild Robot (novel)#The Wild Robot (2016), The Wild Robot'' by Peter Brow ...

'', ''The Wild Robot Escapes'', and ''The Wild Robot Protects''. An animated film based on ''

'' was released in 2024.

Awards and honors

As writer and illustrator

Four of Brown's books are

Junior Library Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial Book sales club, book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samue ...

books: ''You Will Be My Friend!'' (2011), ''My Teacher Is a Monster!'' (2014), ''The Wild Robot'' (2016), and ''The Wild Robot Escapes'' (2018), Six of Brown's books have landed on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list: ''Children Make Terrible Pets'', ''The Curious Garden'', ''The Wild Robot'', ''Mr. Tiger Goes Wild'', ''You Will Be My Friend!'', and ''The Wild Robot Escapes''. ''The Wild Robot'', ''Mr. Tiger Goes Wild'', and ''My Teacher is a Monster!'' are also

IndieBound The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States. ABA's core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and to ...

bestsellers. ''The Wild Robot Escapes'' is also a ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' bestseller. In 2009, ''The Curious Garden'' was named one of the best children's books of the year by ''

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 ...

''. In 2010, ''

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 ...

'' named ''Children Make Terrible Pets'' one of the best illustrated children's books of the year. In 2014, ''My Teacher is a Monster!'' was named one of the best children's books of the year by ''Publishers Weekly''. In 2016, ''The Wild Robot'' was named one of the best children's books of the year by ''

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 ...

'', the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

, ''Publishers Weekly'', and ''

Shelf Awareness Shelf Awareness is an American publishing company that produces two e-zines focused on bookselling, books, and book reviews: ''Shelf Awareness'' is aimed at general consumers, while ''Shelf Awareness Pro'' caters for industry professionals. ...

''. In 2019, ''The Wild Robot Escapes'' was named one of the best children's books of the year by

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'', the

, and ''

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 ...

''. The same year, ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

'' included ''The Wild Robot'' on their "50 Best Middle-Grade Novels of the 21st Century" list.

As illustrator

Four of the books Brown has illustrated are

selections: ''Kaline Klattermaster’s Tree House'' (2008), '' Creepy Carrots!'' (2012), '' Creepy Pair of Underwear!'' (2017), and ''Creepy Crayon!'' (2022). ''Creepy Carrots!'', ''Creepy Pair of Underwear'', and '' Creepy Crayon!'' are ''

bestselling A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, coo ...

books. ''Creepy Carrots!'' is also an

bestseller. In 2017,

, the

Los Angeles Public Library The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California, operating separate from the Los Angeles County Public Library system. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million resid ...

, and ''

'' named ''Creepy Pair of Underwear'' one of the best children's books of the year. In 2022, ''Kirkus Reviews'' named '' Creepy Crayon!'' one of the best children's books of the year.

Publications

As writer and illustrator

*''Flight of the Dodo'' (2005) *''Chowder'' (2006) *''The Fabulous Bouncing Chowder'' (2007) *''The Curious Garden'' (2009) *''Children Make Terrible Pets'' (2010) *''You Will Be My Friend!'' (2011) *''Mr. Tiger Goes Wild'' (2013) *''My Teacher is a Monster! (No, I Am Not.)'' (2014) *''

'' (2016) *'' The Wild Robot Escapes'' (2017) *''Fred Gets Dressed'' (2021) *'' The Wild Robot Protects'' (2023)

As illustrator

*''Barkbelly'' (2006) by Cat Weatherill *''Snowbone'' (2007) by Cat Weatherill *''Kaline Klattermaster’s Tree House'' (2008) by

Haven Kimmel Haven Kimmel (born 1965) is an American author, novelist, and poet. Life and career Kimmel was born Susan Elizabeth Jarvis ("Betsy") in New Castle, Indiana, and was raised in Mooreland, Indiana, the focus of her bestselling memoir, ''A Girl N ...

*''The Purple Kangaroo'' (2009) by

Michael Ian Black Michael Ian Black ( né Schwartz; August 12, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He has starred in several TV comedy series, including ''The State'', '' Viva Variety'', '' Stella'', '' Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp'', ...

*'' Creepy Carrots!'' (2012) by Aaron Reynolds *''Creepy Pair of Underwear!'' (2017) by Aaron Reynolds *'' Creepy Crayon!'' (2022) by Aaron Reynolds

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Peter Living people American children's book illustrators American children's writers Caldecott Honor winners Writers who illustrated their own writing Year of birth missing (living people)