Anna Dewdney has died. She was fifty years old.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Dewdney was well-known as the author and illustrator behind the Llama Llama children’s book series. Altogether, she created seventeen Llama Llama books.
Here’s more from a statement that came from Dewdney’s publishing house, Penguin Young Readers: “She was an outspoken advocate of literacy, and believed that the act of reading to a child fostered empathy and kindness in that child…In lieu of a funeral service, she asked that people read to a child instead.”
Penguin Young Readers will posthumously publish Dewdney’s latest picture book, entitled Little Excavator, in June 2017. Netflix is currently working on a Llama Llama animated series; the episodes will be posted online next year. (via The Washington Post)