Stephen Wilkins Jenkins (March 31, 1952 December 26, 2021) was an American children's book author. He illustrated, wrote, and art-directed over 80 books.

Biography

Jenkins was born March 31, 1952, in Hickory, North Carolina, to Alvin and Margaret Jenkins. His father, who was a physics professor and astronomer, did research and taught at various universities, so he spent much of his childhood moving from one city to the next. He received a bachelor's and master's from the School of Design at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

(NCSU). During his time at NCSU, he met his wife, Robin Page. After graduating, the couple moved to New York City, and in 1982, founded their own graphic design firm, Jenkins & Page. In 1994, they moved to

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

. Jenkins's debut book, ''Duck’s Breath and Mouse Pie,'' was published in 1994. Jenkins died on December 26, 2021, of a splenic artery aneurysm, in Boulder, Colorado.

Awards and honors

Forty-four of Jenkins's books are Junior Library Guild selections. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books included the following books in their lists of the best books of the year: ''How to Swallow a Pig'' (2015) and ''Animals by the Numbers'' (2016). '' The Horn Book Magazine'' has included the following books in their lists of the best children's nonfiction books of the year: ''The Top of the World'' (1999), ''Life on Earth'' (2002), ''Invisible Allies'' (2005), and ''The Animal Book'' (2013).

Selected works

As author and illustrator

*''Duck's Breath and Mouse Pie: A Collection of Animal Superstitions'' (Ticknor & Fields, 1994) *''Animals in Flight'' *''What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?'' *''How to Clean a Hippopotamus: A Look at Unusual Animal Partnerships'', illustrated by Robin Page ( Clarion Books, 2010)

As illustrator only

*''One Nighttime Sea'', written by Deborah Lee Rose (Scholastic, 2003) *''Vulture View'', illustrated by April Pulley Sayre ( Henry Holt & Company, 2007) *''Pug and Other Animal Poems'', written by

Valerie Worth Valerie Worth Bahlke (October 29, 1933 – July 31, 1994) was an American poet and writer of children's books under her maiden name, Valerie Worth. Biography Valerie Worth was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Swarthmore, Penn ...

( Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013) *''Squirrels Leap, Squirrels Sleep'', written by

April Pulley Sayre April Pulley Sayre (April 11, 1966 — November 6, 2021) was an American children's book author from the 1990s to 2020s. Before becoming an author, Sayre worked at the National Wildlife Federation and National Geographic Society. Sayre published ser ...

( Henry Holt & Co., 2016)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Steve 1952 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers People from Hickory, North Carolina North Carolina State University alumni Caldecott Honor winners Writers who illustrated their own writing 21st-century American illustrators 20th-century American illustrators Writers from North Carolina American children's writers