Theodore Peter Lewin (May 6, 1935 – July 28, 2021) simply known as Ted Lewin, was an American illustrator and writer of
children's book
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Children's ...
s. Lewin and his wife
Betsy Lewin
Betsy Reilly Lewin (born May 12, 1937) is an American illustrator from Clearfield, Pennsylvania. She studied illustration at Pratt Institute. After graduation, she began designing greeting cards. She began writing and illustrating stories for c ...
drew on their travels to exotic places such as the Amazon River,
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
Sahara Desert
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, and
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
when collaborating on their many books. Lewin illustrated over 100 books for children and young adults over the course of 20 years.
Early life
Ted Lewin was born in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
on May 6, 1935. He has a sister and two brothers,
Donn
In Irish mythology, Donn ("the dark one", from cel-x-proto, Dhuosnos) is an ancestor of the Gaels and is believed to have been a god of the dead. Donn is said to dwell in Tech Duinn (the "house of Donn" or "house of the dark one"), where the ...
and
Mark
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* F ...
, both of them professional wrestlers. The Lewin household had a number of exotic pets, such as an
iguana
''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his ...
, a
rhesus monkey
The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies that are split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally b ...
lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
. Lewin grew up with the hobby of sketching his family pets. He also copied works of many illustrators and painters that interested him. While attending Lafayette High School (LHS), Lewin refined his talent for art. He graduated from LHS in 1952, and in 1956 earned a BFA degree from Pratt Institute of Art in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
, where he met his wife, Betsy Reilly. He and his wife resided in Brooklyn, New York.
In order to finance his education at Pratt, Lewin took on a part-time career as a teenage professional
wrestler
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spo ...
alongside his brothers. His wrestling career lasted for 26 years, and it inspired him to record his experience by writing ''I Was a Teenaged Professional Wrestler''. He wrestled mainly in the
World Wide Wrestling Federation
Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing ...
from 1963 to 1968.
In 1994, Lewin's book ''Peppe the Lamplighter'' received 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 Servic ...
.
In 2006, ''One Green Apple'', illustrated by Lewin and written by
Eve Bunting
Anne Evelyn Bunting (née Bolton) (born December 19, 1928), also known as Eve Bunting, is a Northern Ireland-born American people, American writer of more than 250 books. Her work covers a broad array of subjects and includes fiction and non-fict ...
, won the inaugural Arab American Book Award for books written for Children/Young Adults.2007 Arab American book Award Winners, http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/2007-Arab-American-Book-Award-Winners.id.261.htm ''One Green Apple'' tells the story of a young girl who has just immigrated to America from an Arab country and her discovery that her differences are what makes her special.
Exhibits
Some exhibits featuring Ted's work:
*"Ted and Betsy Lewin's World of Picture Books",
Brooklyn Public Library
The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is the public library system of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is the sixteenth largest public library system in the United States by holding and the seventh by number of visitors. Like the two othe ...
, New York, March 4–30, 2004
*"Adventures With Ted and Betsy", Society of Illustrators main floor gallery, June 1 through June 11, 2005
*"Travels with Ted and Betsy Lewin", Children's Museum of Manhattan, New York
*"Around the World with Ted and Betsy Lewin", Pratt Institute Libraries, October 30 - December 2, 2008
Awards
* 1994:
National Jewish Book Award
The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature.
Championships and accomplishments
*
Cauliflower Alley Club
The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America.
Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abra ...