Pat Cummings (illustrator) facts for kids

Patricia Marie Cummings, born on November 9, 1950, is an American author and artist. She is famous for writing and illustrating many wonderful children's books.

Pat Cummings' Early Life

Pat Cummings' father was in the Army, so her family moved around a lot. She lived in different places, from Europe to Asia, as she grew up. Being the "new kid" often, Pat found that art helped her make friends. It was a way to connect with her classmates.

Her parents often read fairytale stories to her and her siblings. This helped spark her imagination. She loved exploring real castles along the Rhine River and visiting villages in Okinawa. Later, she studied at the Pratt Institute in New York City. After college, she first worked as a freelance artist for magazines and ads. Soon, she decided to focus only on creating children's books.

Her Amazing Career

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 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 her work in Just Us Women (written by Jeannette Caines). Another book she wrote and illustrated, C.L.O.U.D.S., also made her a finalist.

Pat was one of the artists who illustrated Our Children Can Soar (published by Bloomsbury in 2009). For this book, she received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work: Children.

Besides books, Pat Cummings also 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 talk show about children's books and the people who create them.

Today, Pat is very involved in helping other authors and illustrators. She serves as the National Secretary for The Authors Guild. She is also on the boards of several important organizations. These include The Authors Guild Foundation and The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She also helps at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.

Pat teaches children's book illustration at Pratt and Parsons, the New School for Design. Her goal is to help her students become successful in creating children's books. Some of her former students have become well-known authors and illustrators themselves. One example is David Ezra Stein, who won a Caldecott Honor Award in 2011. Pat Cummings lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband.

Books Written and Illustrated

• Jimmy Lee Did It, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1985.
• C.L.O.U.D.S., Lothrop (New York, NY), 1986. (Coretta Scott King Award Illustrator Honor 1987)
• Clean Your Room, Harvey Moon, Bradbury (New York, NY), 1991.
• Petey Moroni's Camp Runamok Diary, Bradbury (New York, NY), 1992.
• Purr, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1999.
• Angel Baby, Harper (New York, NY), 2000.
• Ananse and the Lizard, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2002.
• Harvey Moon, Museum Boy, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2008.
• Trace, HarperCollins (New York), 2019.

Books Illustrated by Pat Cummings

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