Just Jerry: How Drawing Shaped My Life

An inspiring memoir of a Caldecott-winning artist and one of the most acclaimed children's book illustrators of all time, sharing the story of a young artist who finds the courage to follow his passion against all odds.

* "A moving work from a legend of children's literature and a testament to his legacy of visual storytelling." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Jerry Pinkney--creator of Caldecott Medal-winning The Lion & the Mouse and The Little Mermaid--drew everywhere, all the time. Since childhood, it was how he made sense of the world--how he coped with the stress of being a sensitive child growing up in crowded spaces, struggling with a learning disability, in a time when the segregation of Black Americans was the norm. Only drawing could offer him a sense of calm, control, and confidence. When friends and siblings teased him about having the nickname "Jerry" as his only name, his mother always said, "Just 'Jerry' is enough. He'll make something of that name someday." And so he did, eventually becoming one of the most celebrated children's book illustrators of all time and paving the way for countless other Black artists.

Jerry's vivid recollections and lively sketchbook drawings of his youth in postwar America tell an inspiring story of how a hardworking boy pursued his passion in less-than-ideal circumstances and became a legendary artist against all odds.

Author: Jerry Pinkney
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 01/17/2023
Pages: 160
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 8.80h x 6.90w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780316383851

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 11/01/2022
Publishers Weekly 12/05/2022
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 01/01/2023
Booklist 01/01/2023 pg. 52
Shelf Awareness 01/14/2023
Horn Book Magazine 01/01/2023 pg. 107
School Library Journal 02/01/2023 pg. 90