Jerry Pinkney is one of the most highly acclaimed children’s book illustrators in America. A native of Philadelphia, he studied at the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts) where, in 1992 he received the Alumni Award. He has been illustrating children's books since 1964, illustrating over one hundred titles and has been the recipient of five Caldecott Honor Medals, a Caldecott Medal, and five The New York Times "Best Illustrated Books". He has received five Coretta Scott King Awards, and four Coretta Scott King Honor Awards. In 2016 he won Laura Ingalls and Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award Wilder Award both for lifetime achievement.