# David Wiesner > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/David_Wiesner > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/David_Wiesner.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wiesner > Source revision: 1276033765 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American illustrator and writer of children's books (born 1956) David Wiesner Wiesner at the Mazza Museum in 2011 Born David Wiesner (1956-02-05) February 5, 1956 (age 70) Bridgewater Township, New Jersey Occupation Illustrator, writer Nationality American Period 1980–present Genre Children's picture books Notable works Free Fall Tuesday Sector 7 The Three Pigs Flotsam Mr. Wuffles! Notable awards Caldecott Medal 1992, 2002, 2007 **David Wiesner** (born February 5, 1956) is an [American](/source/American_people) illustrator and writer of [children's books](/source/Children's_books), known best for [picture books](/source/Picture_books) including some that tell stories without words. As an illustrator he has won three [Caldecott Medals](/source/Caldecott_Medal) recognizing the year's "most distinguished American picture book for children"[1] and he was one of five finalists in 2008 for the biennial, international [Hans Christian Andersen Award](/source/Hans_Christian_Andersen_Award), the highest recognition available for creators of children's books.[2] ## Life Wiesner was born and raised in [Bridgewater Township, New Jersey](/source/Bridgewater_Township%2C_New_Jersey), and attended [Bridgewater-Raritan High School](/source/Bridgewater-Raritan_High_School). He graduated from [Rhode Island School of Design](/source/Rhode_Island_School_of_Design) with a [Bachelor of Fine Arts](/source/Bachelor_of_Fine_Arts) in illustration.[3] Wiesner currently resides outside of [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia) with his family. ## Career Wiesner's first book was *Honest Andrew*, a [picture book](/source/Picture_book) with text by [Gloria Skurzynski](/source/Gloria_Skurzynski), published by [Harcourt Brace Jovanovich](/source/Harcourt_Brace_Jovanovich) in 1980. That year he also illustrated a novel by [Avi](/source/Avi_(author)), *Man From the Sky* (Knopf, 1980). After illustrating a dozen or more books with other writers, he and his wife Kim Kahng co-wrote *Loathsome Dragon*, a picture book with his illustrations that [G.P. Putnam's](/source/G.P._Putnam's) published in 1987. Since then Wiesner has created many picture books solo—as writer and illustrator, or stories without words. *[Free Fall](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Free_Fall_(book)&action=edit&redlink=1)* (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1988) was a Caldecott Honor Book, a runner-up for the annual [Caldecott Medal](/source/Caldecott_Medal), conferred by the [American Library Association](/source/American_Library_Association) on the illustrator of the year's best-illustrated picture book.[1] *Free Fall* was the first example of the predominant style of his solo books, which tell a fantastical, often dream-like story without words, only illustrations. Subsequently he won three Caldecott Medals for solo picture books—*[Tuesday](/source/Tuesday_(book))* (1991), *[The Three Pigs](/source/The_Three_Pigs)* (2001), and *[Flotsam](/source/Flotsam_(David_Wiesner_book))* (2006)—and he was one of the runners-up for *[Sector 7](/source/Sector_7_(book))* (1999) and *Mr. Wuffles!* (2013).[4] In January 2017, Wiesner had a retrospective art exhibition entitled *David Wiesner & the Art of Wordless Storytelling* at the [Santa Barbara Museum of Art](/source/Santa_Barbara_Museum_of_Art). In the exhibition Wiesner showed his work highlights throughout the years of his career.[5] ## Works ### As writer and illustrator - 1987 *Loathsome Dragon*, retold by Wiesner and Kim Kahng - 1988 *Free Fall* - 1990 *Hurricane* - 1991 *[Tuesday](/source/Tuesday_(book))* - 1992 *June 29, 1999* - 1999 *[Sector 7](/source/Sector_7_(book))* - 2001 *[The Three Pigs](/source/The_Three_Pigs)* - 2006 *[Flotsam](/source/Flotsam_(Wiesner_book))*[6] - 2010 *Art & Max* - 2013 *Mr. Wuffles!* - 2017 *Fish Girl* - 2018 *I Got It!* - 2020 *Robobaby* ### As illustrator - 1980 *Honest Andrew* by [Gloria Skurzynski](/source/Gloria_Skurzynski) - 1980 *Man from the Sky* by [Avi](/source/Avi_(author)) - 1981 *Ugly Princess* by Nancy Luenn - 1981 *One Bad Thing about Birthdays* by David R. Collins - 1981 *Boy who Spoke Chimp* by [Jane Yolen](/source/Jane_Yolen) - 1982 *Owly* by Mike Thaler - 1982 *Neptune Rising: Songs and Tales of the Undersea Folk* by Jane Yolen - 1983 *Miranty and the Alchemist* by [Vera Chapman](/source/Vera_Chapman) - 1984 *Dark Green Tunnel* by [Allan W. Eckert](/source/Allan_W._Eckert) - 1985 *Wand: the Return to Mesmeria* by Allan W. Eckert - 1985 *E.T., the Storybook of the Green Planet* by [William Kotzwinkle](/source/William_Kotzwinkle); based on the [film story](/source/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial) by [Steven Spielberg](/source/Steven_Spielberg) and [Melissa Mathison](/source/Melissa_Mathison) - 1986 *Kite Flier* by Dennis Haseley - 1988 *Firebrat* by [Nancy Willard](/source/Nancy_Willard) - 1989 *The Rainbow People* by [Laurence Yep](/source/Laurence_Yep) - 1989 *The Sorcerer's Apprentice* by [Marianna Mayer](/source/Marianna_Mayer) - 1991 *Tongues of Jade* by Laurence Yep - 1994 *Night of the Gargoyles* by [Eve Bunting](/source/Eve_Bunting) ### Other - 1989 Cover for *The Glass Salamander* by [Ann Downer](/source/Ann_Downer) - 1997 Story and Design for CD-ROM adventure game *[The Day the World Broke](/source/The_Day_the_World_Broke)* ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-caldecott_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-caldecott_1-1) ["Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938–Present"](http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/caldecottmedal). [Association for Library Service to Children](/source/Association_for_Library_Service_to_Children) (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA). ["The Randolph Caldecott Medal"](http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/aboutcaldecott/aboutcaldecott). ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2013-07-16. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-ibby2008_2-0)** ["IBBY Announces Winners of 2008 Hans Christian Andersen Awards"](http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=845). [International Board on Books for Young People](/source/International_Board_on_Books_for_Young_People) (IBBY). Press release 31 March 2008. ["Hans Christian Andersen Awards"](http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=273). IBBY. Retrieved 2013-07-22. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Article for the Horn Book](http://www.davidwiesner.com/article-for-the-horn-book/), David Wiesner. Accessed September 4, 2019. "A guy walked into my tenth-grade art class at Bridgewater-Raritan high school New Jersey, and changed my life. Sounds like the setup for a classic punch line, but this was no joke. The guy had graduated from my school two years earlier and was now a student at some place called the Rhode Island School of Design. He said it was an art school." 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Metzler, Laura. ["LibGuides: Caldecott Award Books: All Caldecott Award Winners"](https://abqlibrary.org/caldecott/all). *abqlibrary.org*. Retrieved 2024-01-24. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Donelan, Charles (February 9, 2017). ["David Wiesner at SBMA"](https://www.independent.com/2017/02/09/david-wiesner-sbma/). *The Santa Barbara Independent*. Retrieved March 10, 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-small_6-0)** David Small (November 12, 2006). ["Fish in Focus"](https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/books/review/Small.t.html?ref=authors). *The New York Times*. Retrieved 2011-06-16. Review of *Flotsam* (Clarion Books, 2007). ## External links - [Children's literature portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Children%27s_literature) - [Visual arts portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Visual_arts) - [Official website](http://www.hmhbooks.com/wiesner/) - [David Wiesner](http://lccn.loc.gov/n79116184) at [Library of Congress](/source/Library_of_Congress) Authorities —with 30 catalog records Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Japan Spain Portugal Netherlands Norway Latvia Korea Israel Academics CiNii Artists RKD Artists People DDB Other IdRef Open Library Yale LUX Kim Kahng VIAF United States --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [David Wiesner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wiesner) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wiesner?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.