Peter Sís facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Peter Sís
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| Born | Peter Sís May 11, 1949 (age 76) Brno, Czechoslovakia |
| Occupation | Illustrator, cartoonist |
| Citizenship | United States (1988) |
| Genre | Children's picture books, editorial cartoons |
| Spouse | Terry Lajtha |
| Children | Madeleine, Matej |
Peter Sís (born Petr Sís on May 11, 1949) is a talented artist. He was born in the Czech Republic but became an American citizen. Peter Sís is famous for illustrating and writing children's books. He is also a cartoonist. His drawings have been in popular magazines like Time and Newsweek. In 2012, he won the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. This award is a very important honor for people who create children's books. It recognized his amazing work as an illustrator.
Contents
Peter Sís's Early Life and Education
Peter Sís was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia in 1949. His father was a filmmaker, and his mother was an artist. He is the oldest of three children. He has a younger sister named Hana and a younger brother named David. David later became a film director, just like their father.
As a teenager, Sís became very interested in Western culture. He liked the poetry of Allen Ginsberg. He also liked men having long hair, blue jeans, and rock and roll music. His favorite bands were The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and The Rolling Stones.
Sís went to art schools to study. He attended The High School of Applied Arts. He also studied at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague. Later, he went to the Royal College of Art in London. There, he learned from a famous illustrator named Quentin Blake. After he finished school, Sís started his career as a filmmaker. He even won a Golden Bear Award for a short animated film called Hlavy in 1980. This award was given at the West Berlin Film Festival.
Moving to the United States
In 1982, Peter Sís traveled to the United States. He planned to make an animated film about Czechoslovakia's part in the upcoming Olympics. These Olympics were going to be held in Los Angeles. However, the Soviet Union decided to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics. Czechoslovakia joined this boycott. Because of this, Sís did not go back home. He stayed in America and was given asylum. This meant he could live safely in the U.S.
Once in the U.S., he started illustrating and writing books. He has also made films sometimes. He produced commercials for Nickelodeon and PBS Kids. He also made short films for Sesame Street. These shorts were based on his own book called Madlenka. Peter Sís became a U.S. citizen in 1988.
Awards and Recognitions
Peter Sís has won many awards for his amazing work. The New York Times Book Review has named his books "Best Illustrated Book of the Year" seven times.
He has also received the American Library Association's Caldecott Honor. This award is for outstanding illustrations in children's books. He won it for:
- Starry Messenger (1996)
- Tibet Through The Red Box (1998)
- The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain (2007)
His book, The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, also won the ALA's 2008 Robert Silbert Medal. This medal is for the best informational book for young readers.
Sís has won the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award four times for his books:
- Komodo (1993)
- A Small Tall Tale From the Far Far North (1994)
- Tibet Through The Red Box (1999)
- The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain (2008)
He also won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for Tibet Through the Red Box. In 2003, he received the MacArthur Fellowship Award. This is a very special award given to talented people.
As a filmmaker, Sís won the Golden Bear Award at the 1980 Berlin International Film Festival. He also won the Grand Prix Toronto and the Cine Golden Eagle Award.
The Hans Christian Andersen Award is given every two years. It is the highest honor for children's book writers or illustrators. Peter Sís received the illustration award in 2012. In 2014, he was also a finalist for the prestigious 2015 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature.
Peter Sís's Books
Peter Sís has written and illustrated many wonderful books. Here are some of them:
- Rainbow Rhino (1987)
- Waving (1988)
- Going Up! (1989)
- Beach Ball (1990)
- Follow the Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus (1991)
- An Ocean World (1992)
- Komodo! (1993)
- A Small Tall Tale from the Far Far North (1993)
- The Three Golden Keys (1994)
- Starry Messenger: ... Galileo Galilei (1996)
- Fire Truck (1998)
- Tibet: Through the Red Box (1998)
- Trucks, Trucks, Trucks (1999)
- Ship Ahoy! (1999)
- Madlenka (2000)
- Dinosaur! (2000)
- Ballerina (2001)
- Madlenka's Dog (2002)
- The Tree of Life: ... Charles Darwin ... (2003)
- The Train of States (2004)
- Play, Mozart, Play (2006)
- The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain (2007)
- Madlenka Soccer Star (2010)
- The Conference of the Birds (2011)
- The Pilot and the Little Prince (2014)
- Ice Cream Summer (2015)
- Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued (2021)
Books Peter Sís Illustrated for Others
Peter Sís has also created illustrations for books written by other authors. Here are some examples:
- Miloš Forman and Peter Shaffer, Amadeus, film poster (1984)
- George Shannon, Stories to Solve: folktales from around the world (1985)
- Sid Fleischman, The Whipping Boy (1986)
- Sid Fleischman, The Scarebird (1987)
- Sid Fleischman, The Midnight Horse (1990)
- George Shannon, More Stories to Solve: fifteen folktales from around the world (1990)
- Jack Prelutsky, The Dragons Are Singing Tonight (1993)
- George Shannon, Still More Stories to Solve: fourteen folktales from around the world (1994)
- Sid Fleischman, The 13th Floor: a ghost story (1995)
- Jacques Taravant, Le marchand d'ailes (1997)
- Jack Prelutsky, The Gargoyle on the Roof (1999)
- Jack Prelutsky, Monday's Troll (1996)
- Jack Prelutsky, Scranimals (2002)
- Jorge Luis Borges, The Book of Imaginary Beings (2006)
- Sid Fleischman, The Dream Stealer (2009)
- Pam Muñoz Ryan, The Dreamer (2010)
- Ada Limón, In Praise of Mystery (2024)
