Susan Jeffers 1942 - 2020

Art from Stopping by Woods on a Snowy evening - by Robert Frost

Art from Thumbelina

Breathtaking and exquisite are two words I would use to describe the art of Susan Jeffers which can be found in some very precious picture books.  I have talked about her work previously as a part of my twelve books of Christmas.

"Susan approached her job, and most things, with exacting care and thoughtfulness. She created sensitive illustrations of animals and the natural world, as in Lassie Come-Home, and also nuanced portraiture, like the exquisite cover of The Nutcracker (Harper, 2007). She could draw anything, really, and her mastery of painting shows skill and a degree of control few can achieve." Martha Rago  in Publisher’s Weekly

Sadly, Susan died earlier this year. She was the illustrator of forty-seven books.  Here is the cover of one of Susan's earliest books which was based on a Mother Goose Rhyme.

Here are some classic books which I think school and public libraries should own. I hope they will shared with children for many years to come:

Here is an interview where Susan Jeffers talks about her illustrating process and shows some of her work for The Nutcracker. If you click the link to this interview by Kathy Temean you will see some of her glorious work.

I adore making connections. Some time ago I talked about an Australian book called 52 Mondays by Anna Ciddor. In her book she cites an older US title called Hitty: Her first hundred years published in 1930.  I now discover Susan Jeffers did an illustrated version of this book in 1999 with the story adapted by her friend Rosemary Wells.

Here are some other books illustrated by Susan Jeffers that you may find in a library.

Here are her very beautiful Christmas titles.

Susan Jeffers worked with Rosemary Wells on a series of books about a little Westie dog called McDuff. I do hope one or two of these might be in a library near me.