Marc Simont

Marc Simont (November 23, 1915 – July 13, 2013) was a Paris-born American artist, political cartoonist, and illustrator of more than a hundred children's books. Inspired by his father, Spanish painter Joseph Simont, he began drawing at an early age. Simont settled in New York City in 1935 after encouragement from his father, attended the National Academy of Design with Robert McCloskey, and served three years in the military.

Simont's first illustrated children's book was published in 1939. In 1952, ''Jareb'', a book he illustrated alongside author Miriam Powell, won the Child Study Association of America's Children's Book Award (now Bank Street Children's Book Committee's Josette Frank Award). He won the 1957 Caldecott Medal for U.S. children's book illustration, recognizing ''A Tree Is Nice'' by Janice May Udry, and he was a runner-up both in 1950 (''The Happy Day'' by Ruth Krauss) and in 2002 (''The Stray Dog'' retold by Simont).

He also illustrated ''The 13 Clocks'' (1950) and ''The Wonderful O'' (1957) by the writer James Thurber; ''In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson'' by Bette Bao Lord (1984); ''Top Secret'' by John Reynolds Gardiner (1995); ''My Brother, Ant'' by Betsy Byars (1996); and ''The Beautiful Planet: Ours to Lose'', which he also wrote (2010), and illustrated ''The Trail Driving Rooster'' by Fred Gipson (1955).

Simont and writer Marjorie W. Sharmat created the boy detective Nate the Great in 1972, and he illustrated the first twenty cases, through 1998.

As cartoonist for ''The Lakeville Journal'' in Connecticut, he won the 2007 James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism from Hunter College.

He died at his home in West Cornwall, Connecticut on July 13, 2013 at the age of 97. He was survived by his wife Sara "Bee" Dalton. Provided by Wikipedia