Leonard Weisgard

Leonard Weisgard
Born	Leonard Joseph Weisgard (1916-12-12)December 12, 1916 New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Died	Denmark
Nationality	American
Education	Pratt Institute
Known for	Children's picture book illustration
Notable work	Collaborations with Margaret Wise Brown
Awards	Caldecott Medal 1947

Leonard Joseph Weisgard (December 13, 1916 – January 14, 2000) was an American writer and illustrator of more than 200 children's books. He is known best for his collaborations with writer Margaret Wise Brown. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and spent most of his childhood in England.

Weisgard studied art at the Pratt Institute in New York City. His first book, Suki the Siamese Pussy, was published in 1937 and his first collaboration with Brown was two years later, The Noisy Books. He won the 1948 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing The Little Island, written by Brown. They collaborated again on The Important Book, published by Harper & Brothers in 1949. Writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was a Newbery Medal runner-up in 1956 for The Secret River, which Weisgard illustrated.

Personal life

Weisgard married Phyllis Monnot in 1951 and moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, with her and their three children in 1969.

Later years

He died on January 14, 2000, in Denmark.

External links

• Official website
• Leonard Weisgard biography at LeonardWeisgard.com
• Leonard Weisgard: Renowned Illustrator and Author at University of Connecticut Libraries