Leo Dillon

Tag: Leo Dillon

February 6, 2023 by Betsy Bird

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Who’s In Rabbit’s House by Verna Aardema, ill. Leo and Diane Dillon

There's such creativity behind the presentation of today's book. The play-within-a-play motif sets this apart. The art is extraordinary. And was there every such a goofy frog?

January 31, 2022 by Betsy Bird

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Ashanti to Zulu by Margaret Musgrove, ill. Leo and Diane Dillon

In a year of many ALA Award winner "firsts" we look back at a Caldecott Award winner that marked the first time a Black illustrator won the Award two years running. How has it aged? How has it fared? We consider the Dillons' Ashanti to Zulu.

September 27, 2021 by Betsy Bird

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Blast Off by Linda C. Cain and Susan Rosenbaum, ill. Leo and Diane Dillon

We consider this "Seamless amalgam" of the hands of Leo and Diane Dillon and the timeliness of this recent reprint.

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears

November 20, 2017 by Betsy Bird

She’s no household name, though Verna Aardema has been behind some of the most memorable books in the field of children’s literature. And yet, we could easily have a lot of debate about authenticity and appropriation as it relates to her books. Her best known to this day, I would argue, would have to be […]

RIP Leo Dillon, 1933-2012

May 31, 2012 by Betsy Bird

As I’m sure you’ve heard the news already but in case you haven’t, yet another star in the Caldecott firmament went out. Leo Dillon, perhaps best known as the first African-American winner of the Caldecott Award, has passed away following complications with a recent surgery. For a recap of his history, his life with Diane, […]

Review of the Day: Never Forgotten by Patricia McKissack

August 26, 2011 by Betsy Bird

Never Forgotten By Patricia C. McKissack Illustrated by Leon and Diane Dillon Schwartz & Wade $18.99 ISBN: 978-0-375-84384-6 Ages 4 and up On shelves October 11, 2011 The more I read children’s literature the more I come to realize that my favorite books for kids are the ones that can take disparate facts, elements, and […]

The Conundrum of The Secret River

January 22, 2011 by Betsy Bird

Oh, it’s too soon to consider 2012 Caldecott/Newbery books, right? Of course it is. Far too soon. Still in the first flush of the announcements regarding the 2011 winners we should do a bit of maxin’ and relaxin’. Enjoy some adult literature. Sip a gimlet and enjoy all that Masterpiece Theater queuing up on our […]