Peter Brown (illustrator, 1979)
Peter Brown (* 1979 in Hopewell (New Jersey) , USA ) is an American author and illustrator.
He illustrated 13 picture books, eight of which he also wrote. His most important works include The Curious Garden (2009; German Der curious Garden , 2014), Mr. Tiger Goes Wild (2013; German Herr Tiger wird wild , 2014) and My Teacher Is a Monster! (No, I Am Not.) (2014). Several of his books have been bestsellers in The New York Times . For his illustrative work, Brown was awarded the Caldecott Medal (2013), among others . Brown lives in Brooklyn, New York.
life and work
Peter Brown grew up in the state of New Jersey and even as a child he loved telling stories through pictures. At the age of six, Brown wrote and illustrated his (unpublished) book The Adventure of Me and My Dog "Buffy" . The story was inspired by the disappearance of the family dog Buffy. Although the dog wasn't long gone, Brown speculated what Buffy might have been through alone and apart from his family. He recorded his ideas in the book for which his mother wrote his story. As a teenager, he also discovered writing for himself and began writing his first stories.
Brown studied illustration at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California , where he took various courses on children's books. After completing his studies with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Brown moved to Brooklyn, New York, mainly because of its proximity to the US publishing scene, but initially worked in the field of animated television shows, for which he painted backgrounds. His first picture book as an author and illustrator was Flight of the Dodo (2005).
To illustrate books, Brown uses both classical and modern forms of painting. He usually starts a picture by painting with ink, watercolors, or gouache . He then scans the illustrations and arranges and finalizes them on the computer. Brown's style is sometimes very different from book to book. He justifies this constant change in two ways:
"1) I get bored, and so I try new things to keep it interesting. 2) I let my illustrations to do most of my storytelling. But I think certain art styles are better suited to tell certain kinds of stories. So I change my art style to better tell each particular story. "
Aesthetic models for his book Mr. Tiger Goes Wild were, according to his own reports, above all Eyvind Earl, Mary Blair , Martin and Alice Provensen , Charley Harper and Leonard Weisgard. A special feature of the book is the protective cover, which is atypical for picture books, through which the central theme of the book - breaking out of familiar structures - is also matched aesthetically.
Inspiration for his book My Teacher Is a Monster. (No. I am Not.) Was an elementary school teacher from Brown, who as a child he always thought was a monster and would not like him due to her strict, humorless and cold nature. One day this teacher discovered a drawing by Brown that impressed her so much that she handed it over to the art teacher and the school principal and demanded that Brown be included in the school's ambitious art program. In this way, Brown took art courses and was able to develop his skills early on.
In May 2014, Brown commented on his blog about the dispute between the Hachette Book Group , which publishes many of his books, and Amazon . (Amazon wanted to push through lower prices for e-books from Hachette, while at the same time increasing the proportion of sales for Amazon. As a result of the dispute, books from Hachette were temporarily not available at Amazon or had particularly long delivery times.) Brown initially co-founded his criticism of Amazon the loss of awareness triggered by the group that the book is a cultural asset that costs money:
“To sell things like batteries and soap Amazon has driven down the price of books, which is convincing people that books aren't worth much. But that's not true. Books change lives, and they're beautiful objects, and they have a special place in our history and culture. Books are worth a lot. "
He then goes on to explain why he would advise against Amazon as a bookseller:
"If you care about books, if you care about culture, if you want to live in a world with bookstores, then I encourage you to wean yourself from Amazon. There are other ways to buy books online. "
In 2015 he was a member of the jury for The Extraordinary Book of the Children and Youth Program of the Berlin International Literature Festival .
Brown's books have been partially reworked into plays and animated short films and translated into various languages.
Publications (selection)
- Peter Brown (text and illustration): The Curious Garden. Picture book. (Text and illustration). Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, New York 2009, ISBN 978-0-31601547-9 .
- The curious garden. Nils Aulike (translation). Bohem Press , Münster 2014, ISBN 978-3-85581543-2 .
- Peter Brown (text and illustration): Mr. Tiger Goes Wild. Picture book. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, New York 2013, ISBN 978-0-31620063-9
- Mr. Tiger is going wild. Uwe-Michael Gutzschhahn (translation). Cbj Verlag , Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-57015908-8 .
- Peter Brown (text and illustration): My Teacher Is A Monster! (No. I Am Not.) Picture book. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, New York 2014, ISBN 978-0-31607029-4 .
Nominations and Awards
| date | book | Nomination / award |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd Sept 2013 | Mr. Tiger Goes Wild | Starred Review from Kirkus Reviews |
| May 30, 2014 | Mr. Tiger Goes Wild | Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Literature in the Picture Book category |
| July 1, 2014 | My Teacher Is A Monster! (No. I Am Not.) | Starred Review from Kirkus Reviews |
| Dec 31, 2014 | Mr. Tiger Goes Wild | Inclusion on the list The most beautiful picture books of the year in Die Welt |
| Dec 31, 2014 | The Curious Garden | Inclusion on the list The most beautiful picture books of the year in Die Welt |
Web links
- Brown's website , Facebook presence , Twitter presence, and Instagram presence
- Teaching material for Mr. Tiges Goes Wild
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.peterbrownstudio.com/peters-first-book-age-6/
- ↑ http://www.peterbrownstudio.com/book-production/mr-tiger-gets-styled
- ↑ http://www.peterbrownstudio.com/book-production/mr-tiger-gets-styled/
- ↑ http://www.peterbrownstudio.com/uncategorized/my-teacher-is-a-monster-no-i-am-not/
- ↑ http://www.peterbrownstudio.com/publishing/amazon-is-destroying-my-favorite-things/
- ↑ http://www.peterbrownstudio.com/publishing/amazon-is-destroying-my-favorite-things/
- ↑ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/peter-brown/mr-tiger-goes-wild/
- ↑ http://www.hbook.com/2014/05/news/boston-globe-horn-book-awards/2014-boston-globe-horn-book-awards-excellence-childrens-literature/
- ↑ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/peter-brown-2/my-teacher-is-a-monster-no-i-am-not/
- ^ A b Marion Meier-Rietdorf: Laughing and Learning: These are the most beautiful picture books of the year. In: welt.de . December 31, 2014, accessed October 7, 2018 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Brown, Peter |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American author and illustrator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1979 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hopewell (New Jersey) , USA |