William Sherman Pène du Bois (May 9, 1916 – February 5, 1993) was an American writer and illustrator of books for young readers. He is best known for The Twenty-One Balloons, published in April 1947 by Viking Press, for which he won the 1948 Newbery Medal. He was twice a runner-up for the Caldecott Medal for illustrating books written by others, and the two Caldecott Honor picture books, which he also wrote.

From 1953 to 1960, Pène du Bois was art editor of The Paris Review, working alongside founder and editor George Plimpton.

Early life

William Pène du Bois was born in Nutley, New Jersey in May 1916. As an illustrator he was a runner-up for the companion Caldecott Medal in 1952 for Bear Party and in 1957 for Lion. He was the illustrator for Claire Huchet Bishop's Twenty and Ten, which won the Child Study Association of America's Children's Book Award (now Josette Frank) in 1952.

Some of his books including Bear Party and Lion are children's picture books with a minimum of text. The Twenty-One Balloons, however – and others including The Three Policemen, The Great Geppy, Squirrel Hotel, Peter Graves and The Giant – appeal to all ages. These books exhibit whimsical ingenuity in story and illustrations. Though not usually so classified, these books seem to qualify as science fiction. Their interest lies more in their imaginative elaboration of ideas than in their characters. Some of his fictional ideas are fantastic but many are plausible, and some such as the Balloon Merry-Go-Round in The Twenty-one Balloons may be feasible. Many show the influence of Jules Verne.

Many of his papers are in the collection of the New York Public Library, Humanities and Social Sciences Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division.

Personal life

Pène du Bois married Jane Michèle Bouche of Manhattan,

Children's book illustrator Margot Tomes was a cousin, as was theatrical costume and set designer Raoul Pene Du Bois.

He died on February 5, 1993, in Nice, France,

  • Otto And The Magic Potatoes (1970)

::Further adventures of Otto the giant dog.

  • Call Me Bandicoot (1970)

:: A fast-talking young man entertains passengers on the Staten Island Ferry in exchange for food and money; serialized in Children's Digest

  • Bear Circus (1971)
  • Mother Goose for Christmas (Viking, 1973), picture book
  • The Forbidden Forest (1978)

::Lady Adelaide, a boxing kangaroo, helps to defeat the German army, thus becoming a heroine of the Great War.

  • Gentleman Bear (1985)

:: A story about a London gentleman and his inseparable companion of over seventy years, his teddy bear.

As illustrator only

  • The Mousewife, written by Rumer Godden (Viking Press, 1951)
  • Twenty and Ten, by Claire Huchet Bishop as told by Janet Joly (Viking, 1952), – also published by Scholastic as The Secret Cave,
  • The Great Dog Robbery, written by Dodie Smith, published serially in Woman's Day, June–September 1956.
  • Castles and Dragons: Read-to-yourself fairy tales for boys and girls, compiled by the Child Study Association of America (Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1958), 292 pp.,
  • A Certain Small Shepherd, Rebecca Caudill (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965)
  • The Magic Finger, Roald Dahl (Allen & Unwin; Harper & Row, 1966) – later editions illustrated by Pat Mariott, Tony Ross, and Quentin Blake
  • The Topsy-Turvy Emperor of China, Isaac Bashevis Singer (Harper & Row, 1971)
  • William's Doll, Charlotte Zolotow (Harper & Row, 1972)
  • My Grandson Lew, Charlotte Zolotow (Harper & Row, 1974)
  • Bear in Mind: A book of bear poems, selected by Bobbye S. Goldstein (Viking Kestrel, 1989), picture book,
  • Harriet, by Charles McKinley Jr. (Viking Press, 1946)

Notes

References

  • William Pène du Bois papers, 1940s-1970s, held by the Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library