Ed Young, the prolific author and illustrator of children’s books, has died at 91, Publishers Lunch reports.
Young was born in Tianjin, China, and moved to the United States as a young man. He made his children’s book debut in 1962, illustrating Janice May Udry’s The Mean Mouse and Other Mean Stories, and then went on to provide the art for dozens more, many of which he also wrote.
He won the 1990 Caldecott Medal for Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China, as well as three Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards, for Lon Po Po, Seven Blind Mice, and The Double Life of Pocahontas (written by Jean Fritz). In 2017, he was named an artist honoree by the Eric Carle Museum.
In a remembrance, Ruth Weiner, the publisher of Triangle Square Books for Young Readers, which put out three of Young’s books, wrote, “If you ever had the astonishing experience of visiting Ed Young's studio, you know the awe of seeing such an unstoppable creative force at work.…All of his books feel deeply personal, and it's a salve to know that in them we have Ed Young with us always.”
And on X, formerly known as Twitter, author and poet Nikki Grimes, who worked with Young on her 2004 book Tai Chi Morning, posted, “Sad to hear of the passing of Ed Young, an extraordinary talent. I remember being stunned and excited when he agreed to illustrate this book! As it turned out, we’d both been in China around the same time. Our pairing felt like a divine appointment. He will be missed by many.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
