Donald Crews
Biography
Donald Crews
Donald Crews (born 1938) is an American illustrator and writer of children's picture books including two Caldecott Honor Books. Common subjects of his include modern technology (especially travel vehicles), and childhood memories. His stories often include few humans.
Crews was drafted into the army in 1963, and sent to Frankfurt, Germany with his wife. Their first daughter, Nina was born in Germany, and their second was born a year later in New York. Nina is also an award-winning children's book author.
While in Germany, he worked on several pieces for his portfolio, including the book WE READ: A TO Z. After several suggestions from friends, he submitted it, and it was published by Harper & Row (now HarperCollins). The book relied on abstract ideas, rather than the clichés that were usually associated with ABC books. One classic example is the entry for the letter C: "Cc, corner: where the yellow is" is illustrated with a yellow square in the far corner of a red page in the book.
He created several other books over the next few years, but it was 1979's FREIGHT TRAIN that won him a Caldecott Honor and the respect of other artists in the field. He won another Caldecott Honor the next year for TRUCK. Several other transportation themed books followed, such as SCHOOL BUS (1984), FLYING (1986), and SAIL AWAY (1995). His memories from his summers in Florida first appeared in BIGMAMA'S and later in SHORTCUT. These stories are vastly different from his previous works, in that they focus on humans, and tell a more linear story.
Crews and his wife currently live in the state of New York in an old, restored farmhouse overlooking the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains.
Donald Crews
