Pat Cummings (illustrator) facts for kids

Patricia Marie Cummings, born on November 9, 1950, is an amazing American writer and artist who creates books for children. She is known for her beautiful illustrations and engaging stories that have won many awards.

Pat Cummings' Early Life

Pat Cummings' dad was in the Army, so her family moved around a lot when she was growing up. They lived in different places, from Europe to Asia. Pat remembers always being the "new kid" at school.

She found that art helped her connect with her new classmates. Her parents often read fairytales to her and her siblings. This fueled her imagination as she explored real castles and villages in the places they lived.

After high school, Pat went to Pratt Institute in New York City to study art. After graduating, she first worked on art for magazines and advertisements. Later, she decided to focus only on creating children's books.

Her Career as an Author and Illustrator

Pat Cummings has created more than 30 books for children. Many of her books have won important awards. These include the Horn Book-Boston Globe Award and the Orbis Pictus Award for nonfiction.

In 1984, she won the famous Coretta Scott King Award for her illustrations in the book My Mama Needs Me. This book was written by Mildred Pitts Walter. She was also a finalist for this award for Just Us Women and C.L.O.U.D.S.. Pat wrote and illustrated C.L.O.U.D.S. herself.

She also helped illustrate Our Children Can Soar in 2009. For this book, she received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work: Children.

Besides books, Pat has worked in television. She was a producer and writer for Gullah Gullah Island, a children's show on Nickelodeon. She also co-hosted Cover to Cover, a TV show about children's books and the people who make them.

Pat is very involved in helping other writers and illustrators. She is the National Secretary for The Authors Guild. She also serves on the boards of other groups like The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

She teaches children's book illustration at Pratt and Parsons, the New School for Design. Her goal is to help her students become successful in the world of children's books. Some of her former students, like David Ezra Stein, have also won big awards. Pat lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband.

Books Written by Pat Cummings

• Trace, 2019.

Books Written and Illustrated by Pat Cummings

• Jimmy Lee Did It, 1985.
• C.L.O.U.D.S., 1986. (Coretta Scott King Award Illustrator Honor 1987)
• Clean Your Room, Harvey Moon, 1991.
• Petey Moroni's Camp Runamok Diary, 1992.
• Purr, 1999.
• Angel Baby, 2000.
• Ananse and the Lizard, 2002.
• Harvey Moon, Museum Boy, 2008.

Books Illustrated by Pat Cummings

• Eloise Greenfield, Good News, 1977.
• Jeanette Caines, Just Us Women, 1982. (Coretta Scott King Award Illustrator Honor 1983)
• Mildred Pitts Walter, My Mama Needs Me, 1984. (Coretta Scott King Award Illustrator Winner 1984)
• Jeanette Caines, Chilly Stomach, 1986.
• Jeanette Caines, I Need a Lunch Box, 1988.
• Mary Stolz, Storm in the Night, 1988.
• Mildred Pitts Walter, Mariah Loves Rock, 1988.
• Joyce Durham Barrett, Willie's Not the Hugging Kind, 1989.
• Mildred Pitts Walter, Two and Too Much, 1990.
• Mary Stolz, Go Fish, 1991.
• Margaret Read MacDonald, Pickin' Peas, 1998.
• Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard, Lulu's Birthday, 2001.
• Elizabeth Winthrop, Squashed in the Middle, 2005.
• Michelle Cook, Our Children Can Soar, 2012.