Donald Crews

Donald Crews (born August 30, 1938) is an American illustrator and writer of children's picture books. In 2015, the American Library Association (ALA) honored him with the Children's Literature Legacy Award, recognizing his lasting contribution to children's literature.

His works Freight Train (1978) and Truck (1980) were Caldecott Honor recipients.

Early life

Donald Crews was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1938. His mother worked as a seamstress, and his father worked at the railroad and several other odd jobs. Raised in Newark, Crews spent summers at his grandparents' home in rural Cottondale, Florida, with his mother and three siblings.

Encouraged by a high school teacher, Crews pursued art as a career.

Career

Crews was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1963, and sent to Frankfurt, Germany. Their first daughter, Nina, was born in Germany, and their second daughter, Amy, was born in New York. Nina is also an award-winning children's book author.

The couple lived in New York City until 1996, when they relocated to a restored farmhouse in the Hudson River Valley. Jonas died in September 2013.

Selected works

We Read: A to Z (1967) Ten Black Dots (1968) Freight Train (1978) – Caldecott Honor Book Truck (1980) - Caldecott Honor Book Light (1981) Carousel (1982) Harbor (1982) Parade (1983) School Bus (1984) Bicycle Race (1985) Flying (1986) Bigmama's (1991) Shortcut (1992) Sail Away (1995) Night at the Fair (1998) Cloudy Day Sunny Day (1999) Inside Freight Train (2001)

As illustrator only Rain (written by Robert Kalan) (1978) Blue Sea (written by Robert Kalan) (1979) How Many Snails (written by Paul Giganti Jr.) (1988) Each Orange Had 8 Slices (written by Paul Giganti Jr.) (1992) Tomorrow's Alphabet (written by George Shannon) (1996) More Than One (written by Miriam Schlein) (1996) This Is the Sunflower (written by Lola M. Schaefer) (2000)