Caldecott Medal winner Leo Dillon has passed away. He was 79-years-old.
Dillon (pictured, via) illustrated more than 50 children’s books with his wife, Diane Dillon. The books included Verna Aardena‘s picture book, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears. The Dillons later branched out into writing as well. Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic, will release the Dillons’ current project, If Kids Ran the World, in 2014.
Here’s more from his publisher: “As illustrators, designers, and craftsmen, the Dillons comment on a ‘third artist’ who emerges as the combination of the two of them. In 2002, they published the first picture book they wrote themselves, Rap a Tap Tap: Here’s Bojangles—Think of That!, followed by Jazz on a Saturday Night (2007). As well, they collaborated with their son, sculptor Lee Dillon, on their award-winning title Pish, Posh, Said Hieronymus Bosch, by Newbery Medalist Nancy Willard, an ALA Notable Book and a Parents’ Choice Honor Book.”