In Memoriam, Marc Simont

Brilliant illustrator Marc Simont was a staple of my childhood and a hero of my adulthood. He passed away on July 13, 2013 at age 97. The NY Times ran an article on his passing. His elegant style never looked forced or out-of-fashion. The world seems a little dimmed without him.

Cricket The Magazine for Children, Vol. 11, No. 3, Nov. 1983

My first meeting with Marc Simont was via the pages of Cricket Magazine. This illustration for "The Apple Tree and the Magic Water", by Loty Petrovits-Andrutsopulu, translated by Nora Kazitori is from around that time. Thirty years later, his work still amazes me with its complex simplicity.



For more information:

an extensive book list from The Picture Book Cottage

Anita Silvey's 2010 birthday tribute

Simont Political Cartoons

Below are two of my favorite Simont books.

In the Year of the Boar
 and Jackie Robinson,
 by Bette Bao Lord and Marc Simont

My Brother, Ant, by Betsy Byars
and Marc Simont

Please feel free to comment with a book or memory in which Marc Simont's work touched your life.