Jan Spivey Gilchrist facts for kids

Jan Spivey Gilchrist is an American author, illustrator, and artist from Chicago, Illinois. She is famous for her work in children's books. She created illustrations for popular books like The Great Migration: Journey to the North, Nathaniel Talking, and My America. Her books have won many awards, including the Coretta Scott King Medal for Illustration.

Early Life and Artistic Beginnings

Jan Spivey Gilchrist was born on February 15, 1949, in Chicago, Illinois. She started drawing when she was a young girl. A bone disease kept her from playing outside, so art became her favorite activity. Her father, a minister, encouraged her love for art. They often visited the Art Institute of Chicago together.

Young Jan noticed that there wasn't much art by or about African Americans. This made her sad. She decided then that she would change things. She wanted to make sure that African Americans were shown in paintings and books.

To follow her passion, Jan studied art education at Eastern Illinois University. She graduated in 1973, hoping to become a teacher. She worked as an art teacher in different public schools for several years. During this time, she also earned a Master of Art in Painting from the University of Northern Iowa in 1979. She also has advanced degrees in writing and English.

Her Journey as an Artist and Author

While teaching, Jan Gilchrist kept painting and showing her artwork. She met Eloise Greenfield, a well-known author of children's books about African American families. Eloise was impressed by Jan's art. She suggested that Jan should become an illustrator. Soon after, Jan started working with Philomel Books, a publishing company in New York.

Jan Gilchrist has worked with three generations of Eloise Greenfield's family. Her first published book was Children of Long Ago in 1988. It was written by Eloise's mother, Lessie Blanche Little. Jan and Eloise published their first book together, Nathaniel Talking, in 1989. They have created 27 books together! They have a strong working relationship because they respect each other's art. Jan also worked with Eloise's daughter, Monica Greenfield, on two books: The Baby (1994) and Waiting for Christmas (1996).

Jan Gilchrist has worked on 73 children's books in total. While she mostly illustrates for other authors, she has also written and illustrated some of her own books. Her first book as an author, Indigo and Moonlight Gold, was published in 1993. It tells the story of a young African American girl learning about time. Her second book, Madelia (1997), is about a girl who loves to paint. Jan continues to write and illustrate children's books from her home near Chicago, Illinois.

Jan Gilchrist's Unique Art Style

Jan Gilchrist uses many different art materials. These include watercolor, mixed-media collage, gouache (a type of paint), pastels, and pencil. Many of her books focus on the African-American experience throughout history. She shows a wide range of people, from slaves in the United States to modern-day children doing everyday things. She has even drawn famous figures like Barack Obama and Michael Jordan.

In Nathaniel Talking, Jan used large charcoal drawings. These drawings show the feelings and events of the main character, Nathaniel. Her soft charcoal art can also be seen in Children of Long Ago. She also uses collage very well, like in The Great Migration: Journey to the North. In this book, she mixes portraits of travelers with photos, newspaper headlines, maps, and small painted scenes. She used watercolor images in The Girl Who Buried Her Dream in a Can. This book tells the true story of a girl's journey to get an education in Zimbabwe.

Eloise Greenfield, her frequent collaborator, says that Jan's art is full of emotion. She pays special attention to the eyes of her characters, making them very expressive. Jan often uses real people as models to make her characters look realistic. This helps her show the everyday lives of her characters.

Awards and Recognition

Jan Spivey Gilchrist is a very productive artist and illustrator. She is praised for her work in many art forms, including watercolor, pen, marker, pencil, gouache, and oil. Her art is displayed in important collections. These include the DuSable Museum of African American History, the Isobel Neal Gallery, and the South Side Community Art Center. Her work is also kept in special collections at the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Minnesota. Her art has been shown in exhibitions at places like the Anacostia Community Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago.

She won the 1990 Coretta Scott King Award for her illustrations in Nathaniel Talking. Her work on Night on Neighborhood Street also earned her a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor award in 1992. This book was also chosen as a Reading Rainbow Book. In 2014, Jan Gilchrist received the Zora Neale Hurston Award. Her work has also been recognized by the Cooperative Children's Book Center and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She was inducted into the Society of Illustrators in 2001 and the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent in 1999.

List of Works

Books Written and Illustrated by Jan Gilchrist

• Indigo and Moonlight Gold (1993) ISBN: 9780863162107
• Madelia (1997) ISBN: 9780803720527
• My America (2007) ISBN: 9780060791049
• Obama: The Day the World Danced (2010) ISBN: 9780982409503
• A Voice As Soft as a Honeybee's Flutter: Inspired by Psalm 46 (2019) ISBN: 9781627079365
• You See Me, God: Inspired by Psalm 139 (2020) ISBN: 9781627079389

Books Illustrated by Jan Gilchrist (Other Authors)

• Children of Long Ago (by Lessie Jones Little, 1988) ISBN: 9780613997805
• Nathaniel Talking (by Eloise Greenfield, 1989) ISBN: 9780863162008
• Night on Neighborhood Street (by Eloise Greenfield, 1991) ISBN: 9780140556834
• Lisa's Daddy & Daughter Day (by Eloise Greenfield, 1991) ISBN: 9780887419195
• Daddy And I (by Eloise Greenfield, 1991) ISBN: 9780863162060
• Big Friend, Little Friend (by Eloise Greenfield, 1991) ISBN: 9780863162046
• I Make Music (by Eloise Greenfield, 1991) ISBN: 9780863162053
• My Doll Keshia (by Eloise Greenfield, 1991) ISBN: 978-0863162039
• Red Dog Blue Fly: Football Poems (by Sharon Bell Mathis, 1991) ISBN: 9780140543377
• Everett Anderson's Christmas Is Coming (by Lucille Clifton, 1993) ISBN: 9780785720911
• First Pink Light (by Eloise Greenfield, 1993 reprint) ISBN: 9780863162121
• Aaron & Gayla's Counting Book (by Eloise Greenfield, 1993) ISBN: 9780863162244
• William and the Good Old Days (by Eloise Greenfield, 1993) ISBN: 9780060210939
• Aaron & Gayla's Alphabet Book (by Eloise Greenfield, 1993) ISBN: 9780863162138
• The Baby (by Monica Greenfield, 1994) ISBN: 9780694005772
• Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing (by James Weldon Johnson, 1995) ISBN: 978-0-590-46982-1
• Recycling Dump (by Andrea Butler, 1995) ISBN: 9780673362674
• Sharing Danny's Dad (by Angela Shelf Medearis, 1995) ISBN: 9780673362759
• Waiting for Christmas (by Monica Greenfield, 1996) ISBN: 9780590527002
• For the Love of the Game: Michael Jordan and Me (by Eloise Greenfield, 1997) ISBN: 9780064435550
• Singing Down the Rain (by Joy Cowley, 1997) ISBN: 9780060276027
• Kia Tanisha (by Eloise Greenfield, 1997) ISBN: 9780694008476
• Kia Tanisha Drives Her Car (by Eloise Greenfield, 1997) ISBN: 9780694008483
• Lemonade Sun and Other Poems (by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, 1998) ISBN: 9780606207607
• Easter Parade (by Eloise Greenfield, 1998) ISBN: 9780786822713
• Water, Water (by Eloise Greenfield, 1999) ISBN: 9780694012473
• Angels (by Eloise Greenfield, 1998) ISBN: 9780786804429
• Sweet Baby Coming (by Eloise Greenfield, 2000) ISBN: 9780694005789
• I Can Draw A Weeposaur and Other Dinosaurs (by Eloise Greenfield, 2001) ISBN: 9780688176341
• Mimi's Tutu (by Tynia Thomassie, 2002) ISBN: 9780590440219
• How They Got Over: African Americans and the Call of the Sea (by Eloise Greenfield, 2002) ISBN: 9780060289911
• Honey I Love (by Eloise Greenfield, 2003 edition) ISBN: 9780060091248
• In The Land of Words (by Eloise Greenfield, 2003) ISBN: 9780060289935
• Me & Neesie (by Eloise Greenfield, 2004 30th anniversary edition) ISBN: 9780060007010
• A Friend From Galilee (by Dandi Daley Mackall, 2004) ISBN: 9780806645865
• Christmas Soup (by Alice Faye Duncan and Phyllis Dooley, 2005) ISBN: 9780310709305
• When the Horses Ride By: Children in the Times of War (by Eloise Greenfield, 2006) ISBN: 9781584302490
• The Friendly Four (by Eloise Greenfield, 2006) ISBN: 9780060007591
• Brothers Sisters: Family Poems (by Eloise Greenfield, 2008) ISBN: 9780060562847
• Yafi's Family: An Ethiopian Boy's Journey of Love, Loss, and Adoption (by Linda Pettitt, 2010) ISBN: 9780979748141
• The Great Migration (by Eloise Greenfield, 2010) ISBN: 9780061259210
• Secrets of the Seven Stars: Elly's Awakening (by Kelley Powell Barcellona, 2014) ISBN: 9780615828350
• My God Is Awesome (by Kyla McKenzie & Monique McKenzie, 2014) ISBN: 9781502542854
• The Girl Who Buried Her Dream in a Can (by Terarai Trent, 2015) ISBN: 9780670016549
• One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance (by Nikki Grimes, Cozbi A. Cabrera, R. Gregory Christie, Pat Cummings, Ebony Glenn, E. B. Lewis, and Frank Morrison, 2017) ISBN: 9781619635548
• We Are Shining (by Gwendolyn Brooks, 2017) ISBN: 9780062570666
• The Thumbtack Dancer (by Leslie Tyron, 2017) ISBN: 9780997772005
• The Boss: Entrepreneurship for Kids (by Robert D. Blackwell Sr., 2018) ISBN: 9781480863446
• Kringle's Christmas (by Savy Leiser, 2018) ISBN: 9780999161456