Martin Lemelman facts for kids

Martin Lemelman (born October 26, 1950) is an American artist. He works as a freelance illustrator and also creates graphic memoirs. A graphic memoir is like a comic book that tells a true story about someone's life.

Early Life and Art Training

Martin Lemelman was born in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in a home that followed Orthodox Jewish traditions and went to a yeshiva, which is a Jewish school. When he was 13, he decided he wanted to be an artist. He started his art education at Brooklyn College. There, he earned both his first college degree and a higher degree called a Masters of Fine Arts. Since 1976, he has worked as a freelance illustrator. This means he works for himself, creating art for different clients.

His Work as an Illustrator and Author

Martin Lemelman has illustrated more than 30 children's books. His artwork has also appeared in many magazines, from The New York Times Book Review to Sesame Street Magazine.

He has also written two graphic memoirs. These are books that tell true stories using drawings and words, like a comic book.

Mendel's Daughter

Martin Lemelman's mother, Gusta, was a Holocaust survivor. This means she lived through a terrible time in history when many Jewish people were persecuted. In 1989, he started recording his mother's stories on video. She talked about her childhood in Poland in the 1930s and how she escaped from the Nazis.

At first, he just wanted to save these memories for his own children. But after visiting Hermakivka, his mother's hometown in Ukraine, in 2000, he knew he had to share her story with more people. He began working on it again in 2003. This work became his 2006 graphic memoir called Mendel's Daughter.

This book is special because it uses photos and documents along with drawings. This helps readers understand that Gusta's story happened to real people. Through this book, Lemelman helps his mother tell about her life and feelings. In 2013, Mendel's Daughter was named one of the ten greatest graphic novels ever by Entertainment Weekly.

Two Cents Plain

Martin Lemelman continued his family's story in his second graphic memoir, Two Cents Plain: My Brooklyn Childhood. This book tells about his own childhood in the 1950s and 1960s. He grew up in Brownsville, Brooklyn, living behind a candy store. The book describes how his neighborhood changed over time. Two Cents Plain won the 2010 New York City Book Award for memoir.

Teaching and Other Projects

Martin Lemelman is a professor emeritus of communication design at Kutztown University. This means he was a professor there and is now retired, but still holds the title.

In 1985, he designed five postage stamps for Sierra Leone. These stamps promoted the 1986 FIFA World Cup, a big international soccer tournament.

Personal Life

Martin Lemelman lives in South Florida. He is married and has four sons.