# John Steptoe

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**John Steptoe** (September 14, 1950 – August 28, 1989) was an author and illustrator for children's books dealing with aspects of the [African-American](/source/African-American) experience. He is best known for *[Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters](/source/Mufaro's_Beautiful_Daughters)*, which was acknowledged by literary critics as a breakthrough in [African history](/source/History_of_Africa) and culture. [citation needed]

## Early life

John Steptoe was born in [Brooklyn, New York](/source/Brooklyn,_New_York). He began drawing as a young child and received formal art training at the [High School of Art and Design](/source/High_School_of_Art_and_Design) in Manhattan, and had [Norman Lewis](/source/Norman_Lewis_(artist)) as his instructor.[1] He also attended the [Vermont Academy](/source/Vermont_Academy), where he studied under the sculptor John Torres, and William Majors, a widely acclaimed painter.[2]

## Career

Steptoe began his first picture book, *Stevie and Me*, when he was only 16 years old.[3] In 1967, while still a high school student and without an appointment, Steptoe took his portfolio to the office of [Harper & Row](/source/HarperCollins). His artwork made a good impression on a staff member in the Department of Books for Boys and Girls, and days later Steptoe returned to see the department director [Ursula Nordstrom](/source/Ursula_Nordstrom). After the meeting, Nordstrom wrote to tell him, "We think you are tremendously talented and we are delighted to think that your first book will be for us."[4] In the same letter she offered Steptoe a contract and an advance as soon as he had a "rough" dummy of the book ready.[5]

*Stevie* was published in 1969 to outstanding critical praise. It received national attention when it appeared in its entirety in *Life* magazine, which commended it for being "a new kind of book for black children."[6]

Since his publication of *Stevie*, John Steptoe illustrated 15 more picture books, 10 of which he also wrote. [The American Library Association](/source/The_American_Library_Association) named *The Jumping Mouse* in 1985 and *[Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters](/source/Mufaro's_Beautiful_Daughters)* in 1988 [Caldecott Honor](/source/Caldecott_Honor) Books, a prestigious award for children's book illustrations. Steptoe also received the [Coretta Scott King Award](/source/Coretta_Scott_King_Award) for illustration for both *Mother Crocodile* (written by [Rosa Guy](/source/Rosa_Guy)) in 1982 and *Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters.* While all of Steptoe's works deals with the African-American experience, *Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters* was widely praised by reviewers and critics as a breakthrough of African history and culture.[citation needed] Based on an African tale from the 19th century, it required Steptoe to research his heritage giving him the chance to awaken his pride in his African ancestry. John Steptoe hoped that his books would lead African-American children to feel pride in their origins as well.[7]

[Caldecott Honors](/source/Caldecott_Honor) for Illustration

- 1985 *Story of Jumping Mouse-A Native American Legend*
- 1988 *Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters*

[Coretta Scott King Award](/source/Coretta_Scott_King_Award) for Illustration

- 1982 *Mother Crocodile*
- 1988 *Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters*

## Family

Steptoe had two children: Bweela, who is one of the models for many of Steptoe's books including *Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters*, and son [Javaka Steptoe](/source/Javaka_Steptoe), who is also a children's book author and illustrator. He won the 2017 [Caldecott Medal](/source/Caldecott_Medal) for his book *[Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat](/source/Radiant_Child:_The_Story_of_Young_Artist_Jean-Michel_Basquiat)*.[8]

## Death and legacy

John Steptoe died on August 28, 1989, at [St. Luke's Hospital](/source/St._Luke's-Roosevelt_Hospital_Center) in Manhattan of [AIDS](/source/AIDS).[9] He was 38 years old. At the time of his death, Steptoe was among the few African-American artists who made a career in children's literature. Following his death, the American Library Association established the [John Steptoe Award for New Talent](/source/John_Steptoe_Award_for_New_Talent), which is given to affirm new talent and excellence in writing and/or illustration.[10]

## References

1. Fowler, Glenn (1989-09-01). ["John Steptoe, 38, Illustrator, Dies; He Also Wrote Children's Books"](https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/01/obituaries/john-steptoe-38-illustrator-dies-he-also-wrote-children-s-books.html). *The New York Times*. [ISSN 0362-4331](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0362-4331). Retrieved 2022-05-09.

1. ["John Steptoe | Author & Illustrator | Creator of Award-Winning Books for Children"](http://johnsteptoe.com/). *johnsteptoe.com*. Retrieved 2022-05-09.

1. Mathis, Sharon Bell (1990-05-13). ["JOHN STEPTOE AN ARTIST REMEMBERED"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1990/05/13/john-steptoe-an-artist-remembered/d561a0a6-95bd-4c36-aca7-51e0ac83856c/). *Washington Post*. [ISSN 0190-8286](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0190-8286). Retrieved 2022-05-09.

1. Nordstrom, Ursula (1998). *Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom*. New York, NY: [HarperCollins](/source/HarperCollins). p. 240. ISBN 0-06-446235-8. [OCLC 36858006](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/36858006)

1. Nordstrom, Ursula (1998). *Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom*. New York, NY: [HarperCollins](/source/HarperCollins). p. 241. ISBN 0-06-446235-8. [OCLC 36858006](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/36858006)

1. Harper Collins Publishers

1. John Steptoe Papers

1. Isaacs, Mike (June 28, 2017). ["Caldecott Medal winner for best picture book visits Skokie"](http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/skokie/news/ct-skr-caldecott-winner-in-skokie-tl-0706-20170628-story.html). *Chicago Tribune*. Retrieved 30 August 2017.

1. *New York Times*.

1. John Steptoe Award for New Talent

Harper Collins Publishers, ["John Steptoe"](https://web.archive.org/web/20101203083004/http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/12770/John_Steptoe/index.aspx), [HarperCollins](/source/HarperCollins), archived from [the original](http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/12770/John_Steptoe/index.aspx) on 2010-12-03, retrieved 2008-04-18.

Grummond Children's Literature Collection, ["John Steptoe Papers"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090115103333/http://avatar.lib.usm.edu/~degrum/html/research/findaids/DG1168f.html?DG1168b/html~mainFrame), archived from [the original](http://avatar.lib.usm.edu/~degrum/html/research/findaids/DG1168f.html?DG1168b/html~mainFrame) on 2009-01-15, retrieved 2008-04-18.

New York Times (September 1, 1989), ["John Steptoe, 38, Illustrator, Dies; He Also Wrote Children's Books"](https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/01/obituaries/john-steptoe-38-illustrator-dies-he-also-wrote-children-s-books.html), *The New York Times*, retrieved 2011-08-14.

American Library Association, ["John Steptoe Award for New Talent"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080409151913/http://www.ala.org/ala/emiert/corettascottkingbookawards/winnersa/newtalentawarda/newtalentaward.cfm), archived from [the original](http://www.ala.org/ala/emiert/corettascottkingbookawards/winnersa/newtalentawarda/newtalentaward.cfm) on 2008-04-09, retrieved 2008-04-21.

## External links

- [The John Lewis Steptoe Cultural Center](http://thejohnlewissteptoeculturalcenter.org/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220331084621/http://thejohnlewissteptoeculturalcenter.org/) 2022-03-31 at the Wayback Machine
- (under 'Steptoe, John, 1950–' without '1989', previous page of browse report)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Steptoe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steptoe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steptoe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.