Ron Barrett

Ron Barrett (born 1937) is an American illustrator and cartoonist best known for illustrating the 1978 children's book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which was written by his collaborator and former wife, Judi Barrett.

Career Barrett attended high school at the School of Industrial Art in New York City, where he was an apprentice in the studio of the German graphic designer Lucian Bernhard. He also found a mentor in Ervine Metzl, illustrator and president of the Society of Illustrators, who predicted that the young Mr. Barrett "...would either wind up in a mental institution or make a million dollars." He attended the Pratt Institute, where he met Judi Barrett in the 1960s. He and Judi began to collaborate on children's books, and later married.

After early success as an art director at Young & Rubicam and Carl Ally, winning the Gold Medal of the Art Directors Club of New York, Barrett left advertising to become an illustrator, author and puzzle maker. He wrote The Nutty News and has illustrated many books, such as a series of children's books with Judi Barrett, including Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.