Illustrator Spotlight: Eric Rohmann
I came to know Eric Rohmann’s work because he illustrated the book I’m currently reading: The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman. It turns out that Rohmann is an author himself; he doesn’t only illustrate book covers but has written and illustrated several picture books of his own. Rohmann was not a reader when growing up. He much preferred pictures, and began drawing all the time. Learning how to draw by copying, his early models were Charles M. Shulz, of Peanuts fame, Pogo, and Krazy Kat. Later, he started copying DC-Comic-Book heroes like Superman. One of his favorite authors and illustrators from this period was Maurice Sendak, who wrote and illustrated Where the Wild Things Are. Other favorite authors during his teen years were Madeleine L’Engle (A Wrinkle In Time), and Jules Verne (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea). In addition to doing the cover illustration for Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, he did the cover for Bless This Mouse by Lois Lowry. Perhaps most impressively, two of his own books have been recognized by the Caldecott-Medal committee: My Friend Rabbit, for which he won the award in 2003; and Time Flies, which was an Caldecott Honor Book in 1999. The latter, Eric’s first book, is remarkable for being wordless and for its novel premise, that birds evolved from dinosaurs. Eric’s website is well designed and fun to visit. There you can information about his books—including reviews—and links to interviews he’s done.
Happy reading!
