Ryan T. Higgins is an American author and 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 ...

. He is best known for his ''Mother Bruce'' and ''Penelope Rex'' series, both of which have had a book on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller List and have won the E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Books.

Biography

Higgins graduated from the

College of the Atlantic College of the Atlantic (COA) is a private liberal arts college in Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Founded in 1969, it awards bachelors and masters ( M.Phil.) degrees solely in the field of human ecology, an interdisciplinary approa ...

in 2006. He is married and has three children. As of 2021, he lives in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

Influences

Higgins was greatly inspired by ''

Calvin and Hobbes ''Calvin and Hobbes'' is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Bill Watterson that was Print syndication, syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. Commonly described as "the last great newspaper comic", ''Calvin a ...

'' comics when he was younger and initially wanted to become a comic writer; however, after seeing

Mo Willems Mo Willems (born February 11, 1968) is an American writer, animator, voice actor, and children's book author. His work includes creating the animated television series '' Sheep in the Big City'' for Cartoon Network, working on '' Sesame Stre ...

's ''

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! ''Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!'' is a children's book, children's picture book written and illustrated by Mo Willems. Published by Disney-Hyperion in 2003, it was Willems' first book for children, and received the Caldecott Honor. The plot ...

'' at a friend's home, he became intrigued by the genre. He was inspired to write ''We Don't Eat Our Classmates'' when his son was preparing for

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

Awards and honors

''Mother Bruce'' was a ''New York Times'' bestseller. ''

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 ...

'' included it on their list of the best children's books of 2015. ''We Don't Eat Our Classmates'' was a ''New York Times'' and

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 ...

bestseller. ''Kirkus Reviews'' included it on their list of the best children's books of 2018. ''What About Worms?!'' was a 2021 ALSC Notable Children's Book for Younger Readers.

Publications

''Mother Bruce'' series

* ''Mother Bruce'' (2015) * ''Hotel Bruce'' (2016) * ''Bruce's Big Move'' (2017) * ''Santa Bruce'' (2018) * ''1 Grumpy Bruce'' (2019) * ''Bruce's Big Fun Day'' (2019) * ''Bruce's Big Storm'' (2019) * ''Peek-a-Bruce'' (2019) * ''The Bruce Swap'' (2021) * ''Thanks for Nothing'' (2021) * ''Spring Stinks'' (2021) * ''Ballet Bruce'' (2022) * ''Hey, Bruce!: An Interactive Book'' (2022)

''Penelope Rex'' series

* ''We Don't Eat Our Classmates'' (2018) * ''We Will Rock Our Classmates'' (2020) * ''We Don't Lose Our Class Goldfish'' (2023) * ''Penelope Rex and the Problem with Pets'' (2024)

Stand alone books

* ''Twaddleton's Cheese'' (2008) * ''Roger Goes Up'' (2012) * ''Wilfred'' (2013) * ''This Book Does Not Have Words'' (2014) * ''Be Quiet!'' (2017) * ''What About Worms!?'' (2020) * ''Norman Didn't Do It! (Yes He Did)'' (2021)

References

External links

Ryan T. Higgins Talks with Roger
(2017 ''Horn Book'' interview)

(2018 ''Publishers Weekly'' interview)

(2022 ''Publishers Weekly'' interview) {{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Ryan T. Living people College of the Atlantic alumni American children's book illustrators Writers from Maine 21st-century American writers Year of birth missing (living people)