{{Short description|American illustrator of book covers and children's books}} {{for|the member of the New Jersey General Assembly|John A. Rocco}} {{BLP primary sources|date=December 2010}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}} thumb|Rocco in 2025 '''Christopher John Rocco''' (born July 9, 1967),<ref name=LCCN/>{{efn|The U.S. Library of Congress cites 2007 email correspondence with Rocco's publisher, for his full name and date of birth, and otherwise cites his website as of March 2012.}} simply known as '''John Rocco''' is an American illustrator of book covers and children's books.<ref name=LCCN/> He is best known for illustrating the covers of books in the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. He is the sole creator of some children's picture books.
==Personal life==
Rocco was raised in Barrington, Rhode Island.<ref name=LCCN/> He studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design and at the School of Visual Arts in New York City<ref name=about/> and earned a degree from the latter.<ref name=LCCN/>
==Career==
Rocco did not take drawing seriously until he was 19 years old. Rocco has also been an international art director in the entertainment industry. Rocco was the pre-production art director at DreamWorks for the film Shrek.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/john-rocco|title=John Rocco {{!}} Kidsreads|website=www.kidsreads.com|language=en|access-date=2017-06-06|archive-date=April 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407093324/http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/john-rocco|url-status=dead}}</ref> He designed attractions at Disney's Epcot and served as art director for DisneyQuest.<ref name=about/>
Two companion books to the Percy Jackson series were published in 2014 and 2015, with lavish interior illustrations by Rocco, ''Percy Jackson's Greek Gods'' and ''Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes''. Regarding the first ''Kirkus Reviews'' observed in a starred review, "Riordan has a sure touch when it comes to fitting much into a small space—as does Rocco’s artwork, which smokes and writhes on the page as if hit by lightning ...".<ref name=kirkus-gods/> John Rocco spent 18 months as animation director at ImagineAsia in Manila, Philippines. Rocco worked on and oversaw several projects while there involving CGI animation, motion capture, and story development.
==Awards== Rocco was a runner-up for the American Library Association Caldecott Medal, which annually recognizes the best in U.S. children's picture book illustration, when ''Blackout'' was named a Caldecott Honor Book in 2012.<ref name=caldecott>[http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/caldecottmedal "Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938–Present"]. Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA).<br> [http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/aboutcaldecott/aboutcaldecott "The Randolph Caldecott Medal"]. ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2015-11-05.</ref> Rocco's book ''How We Got to the Moon'' was one of the ten books selected on the longlist for the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.<ref>{{citation | title=2020 National Book Awards Longlist for Young People's Literature | publisher=National Book Foundation | date= September 12, 2020 | url=https://www.nationalbook.org/2020-national-book-awards-longlist-for-young-peoples-literature/ | access-date=2020-11-23 }}</ref>
*Borders Original Voices Award for best picture book<ref name=about/> *Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators *New York Times Best Book of the Year *2015 Irma Black Award Honor for ''Blizzard''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bankstreet.edu/center-childrens-literature/irma-black-award/list-winners/ |title=Past Winners (Irma Black Award)|website=www.bankstreet.edu |publisher=Bank Street College of Education |access-date=May 8, 2016}}</ref>
==Works==
===Children's books as writer===
* ''Wolf! Wolf!'' (Hyperion Books for Children, 2007), picture book – "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" told from the wolf's point of view and set in Asia, {{LCCN|2007004636}}, Rocco's first book as writer<ref name=LCCN/> * ''Moonpowder'' (Hyperion Books for Children, 2008) * ''Fu Finds the Way'' (Disney Hyperion, 2009) * ''Blackout'' (Disney Hyperion, 2011)<ref name=kirkus-black>[https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-rocco/blackout-rocco/ "BLACKOUT, by John Rocco, illustrated by John Rocco"] (starred review). ''Kirkus Reviews''. April 15, 2011. Retrieved 2015-11-24.</ref> * ''Super Hair-o and the Barber of Doom'' (Disney Hyperion, 2013) * ''Blizzard'' (Disney Hyperion, October 2014), {{LCCN|2014003220}} – companion to ''Blackout''; based on his Rhode Island childhood experience in the New England blizzard of 1978<ref name=2014--ohmy/><ref name=kirkus-blizz>[https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-rocco-3/blizzard-rocco/ "BLIZZARD, by John Rocco, illustrated by John Rocco"] (starred review). ''Kirkus Reviews''. September 1, 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-05.</ref> * ''Swim that Rock'', Rocco and Jay Primiano (Candlewick Press, 2014<ref name="bk">{{Cite book |title=Swim that Rock |last1=Primiano |first1=Jay |last2=Rocco |first2=John |date=April 8, 2014 |publisher=Candlewick Press |isbn=978-0763669058 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780763669058 }}</ref><ref name="candlewick">{{Cite web |url=http://www.candlewick.com/cat.asp?browse=Title&mode=book&isbn=0763669059&pix=n |title=Swim That Rock |website=Candlewick Press Catalog |publisher=Candlewick Press |access-date=March 25, 2017}}</ref>), 293 pp. unillus., {{LCCN|2013952797}} - a "middle grade/YA novel" by Rocco and an old friend, the "captain of the shellfishing boat I worked on as a child".<ref name=2014--ohmy/>
===As illustrator only=== ;Interior illustrations * ''Alice'', picture book written by Whoopi Goldberg (Bantam Books, 1992) * ''Boy, Were We Wrong about the Solar System'', Kathleen V. Kudlinski (Dutton Children's Books, 2008) * ''The Flint Heart: a fairy story'', Katherine and John Paterson (Candlewick, 2011) – "freely abridged from Eden Phillpotts's 1910 fantasy", {{LCCN|2010048225}} * The Hunter Chronicles by E. J. Patten (Simon & Schuster Books for Children) ** ''Return to Exile'' (2011), snare 1, {{LCCN|2010053480}} ** ''The Legend Thief'' (2013), snare 2 * ''How to Train a Train'', Jason Carter Eaton (Candlewick, 2013) * ''Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!'', Todd Tarpley (Little, Brown, 2015) * ''How to Track a Truck'', Jason Carter Eaton (Candlewick, 2016) * ''Percy Jackson's Greek Gods'', Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion, 2014) – illustrated with more than 60 paintings<ref name=kirkus-gods> [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/rick-riordan/percy-jacksons-greek-gods "Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan, illustrated by John Rocco"]. ''Kirkus Reviews''. July 15, 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-24.</ref><ref name=2014--ohmy/> * ''Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes'', Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion, 2015)<ref name=kirkus-heroes> [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/rick-riordan/percy-jacksons-greek-heroes/ Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes by Rick Riordan, illustrated by John Rocco"]. ''Kirkus Review''. Posted online July 22, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-24.</ref> * ''How to Send a Hug'', Hayley Rocco (Little, Brown, 2022)<ref> [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/hayley-rocco/how-to-send-a-hug/ How to Send a Hug Starred Review"]. ''Kirkus Review''. Posted online November 15, 2022. Retrieved 2023-07-14.</ref>
;Cover and dustjacket art * Camp Half-Blood chronicles by Rick Riordan (2005 to present)<ref name=RRbooks/> * ''The Kane Chronicles'' trilogy by Riordan (2010–2012)<ref name=RRbooks>[http://roccoart.com/category/riordan-books/ "Rick Riordan Books"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027224744/http://roccoart.com/category/riordan-books/ |date=2013-10-27 }}. ROCCOART. Retrieved 2015-11-05.</ref> * ''Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard'' trilogy by Riordan (2015–present) *Ring of Fire (novel) by Pierdomenico Baccalario (2009-2012) <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://roccoart.com/gallery-ii.html|title = Gallery II}}</ref> *''Alex and the Ironic Gentleman'' by Adrienne Kress (2008)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kress |first=Adrienne |title=Alex and the Ironic Gentleman |publisher=Weinstein Books |year=2008 |isbn=9781602860254 |location=New York, NY}}</ref>
Another artist illustrated the first edition dustjacket for at least<!-- missing data book 2 --> the first Camp Half-Blood Chronicles novel by Rick Riordan,''The Lightning Thief''. Before the end of the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' subseries (2005 to 2009), all volumes were in print with stylistically matching dustjackets illustrated by Rocco.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} New cover illustrations from a single Rocco painting that spans all five books were introduced early in 2014.<ref> [http://roccoart.com/percy-jackson-gets-new-covers "Percy Jackson gets new covers!"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126102917/http://roccoart.com/percy-jackson-gets-new-covers/ |date=2016-01-26 }}. [February 2014]. ROCCO Art. Retrieved 2015-11-14. .</ref>{{efn|According to Rocco his first reaction was that "because of the popularity of the books they had become very iconic", evidently concerning his cover illustrations for all five novels.}}
==Notes== {{notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist|25em |refs= <ref name=about> {{cite web |title=About |url=http://roccoart.com/about/|publisher=ROCCOART: Words and Pictures (roccoart.com) |access-date=2013-01-20}}</ref>
<ref name=2014--ohmy> {{cite web|publisher=ROCCO Art (roccoart.com) |author=John Rocco |url=http://roccoart.com/2014-a-novel-an-illustrated-book-of-myths-and-a-picture-book-oh-my |title=2014 – a novel, an illustrated book of myths and a picture book, oh my ... |access-date=2015-11-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713032709/http://roccoart.com/2014-a-novel-an-illustrated-book-of-myths-and-a-picture-book-oh-my/ |archive-date=2014-07-13 }}</ref>
<ref name=LCCN> <br> [http://lccn.loc.gov/n92049070 "Rocco, John"]. Library of Congress Authorities (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2015-11-04. Point of entry to LC Online Catalog for works by Rocco.</ref> }}
== External links == {{Portal |Speculative fiction |Visual arts}} * {{official website}} * {{isfdb name}} * {{LCAuth|n92049070|John Rocco|15|}} * {{IMDb name|1657991|John Rocco}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocco, John}} Category:1967 births Category:American children's book illustrators
Category:School of Visual Arts alumni Category:Living people Category:Caldecott Honor winners