Steve Jenkins 1952-2022

 

Image Source: Horn Book

Hopefully if children become interested in reading about the natural world, about one kind of creature, then that opens their eyes to the possibility of thinking about other kinds of creatures. Some that aren't as immediately obvious as pandas and great white sharks.

One of the things we should encourage and celebrate in our students is curiosity.  Steve Jenkins had this in bucket loads.  His curiosity about the natural world means we are all so much richer because he wrote and illustrated so many fabulous non fiction books.

Steve did illustrate one Australian book by Mem Fox in 2019:

Over his long career, Mr. Jenkins illustrated, wrote and art-directed more than 50 books, many with Ms. Page; together they sold well over four millions copies and were translated into 19 languages, including Catalan and Farsi. He also illustrated some 40 books for other authors. Among the many awards he received was a Caldecott Honour, one of the highest honours for illustration in children’s books. New York Times

Here are some Instagram images by Steve.  Here is a 2013 interview with the Horn Book Magazine. And here is a 2008 interview with Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast. I previously talked about some books by Steve here.

Kirkus have featured so many books by Steve - you can read all the reviews here. 

The look of a Jenkins book is unmistakable: realistic cut-and-torn–paper images set on a stark white background; short informational paragraphs; a helpful section of concluding facts with a pictorial index. But the content is always an interesting surprise. Kirkus Star review Eyes

I am sure you will not be able to resist these covers. Jump onto your library catalogue and see how many wonderful books by Steve Jenkins you can find and borrow and read and marvel over!