Salvatore Murdocca

{{short description|American children's book illustrator (born 1943)}} {{BLP sources|date=March 2014}} {{Infobox person | name = Salvatore "Sal" Murdocca | image = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1943|4|26}} | occupation = {{hlist|[[Illustrator]]|writer}} | known_for = Illustrations for the ''[[Magic Tree House]]'' series | education = {{plainlist| * [[High School of Art and Design]] * [[Art Students League of New York]] }} }} '''Salvatore "Sal" Murdocca''' (born April 26, 1943) is an American children's book [[illustrator]]. He is best known for illustrating the ''[[Magic Tree House]]'' series written by [[Mary Pope Osborne]] (from 1992) and the nonfiction ''Magic Tree House Fact Checkers'' by Osborne and collaborators (from 2000)—about 50 and 30 volumes respectively to 2014. He also illustrated a series by George Edward Stanley.

== Early life and education == Murdocca grew up in [[Brooklyn, New York]] and attended the [[High School of Art and Design]] in New York City, majoring in illustration. After graduating in 1960, he spent another year studying at the [[Art Students League]] while apprenticing in a commercial art studio.

== Career == After a successful nine-year career as an advertising and magazine illustrator, Murdocca gradually turned to children's book illustration.

Since 1970, Murdocca has authored 10 books and illustrated hundreds of education, mass-market, and trade books. He has illustrated books by such noted authors as [[Elizabeth Winthrop]] (''Dancing Granny'', [[Marshall Cavendish]], 2003), [[Eve Bunting]], [[Bill Martin Jr.]], [[Olivia Newton-John]], [[Charles Grodin]], Alan Benjamin, [[Laura Numeroff]], [[Edward Packard (writer)|Edward Packard]], Jeanne Bendick, and [[Mary Pope Osborne]].

In the early 1980s, Murdocca taught writing and illustration for two years at the [[Parsons School of Design]].

He wrote the [[libretto]] for an opera inspired by his own book, ''The Hero of Hamblett'', published in 1980.

== Awards and recognition == His artwork has been recognized by The Society of Illustrators, the Art Director's Club in New York City, and the [[Children's Book Council (United States)|Children's Book Council]]. His writing has been recognized by the [[Literary Guild]]. He won an international short story competition in 1978.

Murdocca is also an award-winning fine artist who has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions of his watercolor and acrylic paintings. His fine art has been shown at galleries in [[Nyack, New York]], [[SoHo, Manhattan|SoHo in New York City]], Key West, Florida, and in France.

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060630184559/http://simonsays.com/content/destination.cfm?tab=1&pid=360555 Salvatore Murdocca] at Simon & Schuster

* {{LCAuth|n79045328|Sal Murdocca|187|}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murdocca, Salvatore}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:1943 births]] [[Category:American children's book illustrators]] [[Category:Artists from Brooklyn]] [[Category:Art Students League of New York alumni]] [[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:High School of Art and Design alumni]]