William Pène du Bois

William Sherman Pène du Bois (1916-1993) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books, born in Nutley, New Jersey to a family of artists including his father Guy Pène du Bois, a noted painter and critic. NY Times Obituary. He gained fame for his Newbery Medal-winning novel The Twenty-One Balloons (1947) and received two Caldecott Honors for Bear Party (1951) and Lion (1956), while also serving as art editor for The Paris Review. After early education in France, he published his first book at 19 and continued creating whimsical tales blending adventure and fantasy until his death in Nice, France. NYPL Archives.