McDermott, Gerald (1941-2012), was an American children’s author and illustrator known for his picture books based on folklore and mythology. McDermott won the 1975 Caldecott Medal for Arrow to the Sun: A Pueblo Indian Tale (1974). The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to the best picture book by an American artist. Arrow to the Sun is McDermott’s retelling of a Pueblo religious story. McDermott drew on Native American symbols to illustrate this tale. Like his other books, Arrow to the Sun is noted for the bold colors and stylized designs of its paintings.
McDermott wrote and illustrated folk tales and myths from the traditions of many cultures and lands. They include tales from the Amazon region, the Congo region, Ireland, Japan, and ancient Egypt, Rome, and Mexico.
McDermott made several animated films during the 1960’s and early 1970’s based on stories from folklore and mythology. He adapted several of these films into picture books, beginning with Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti (1972). McDermott wrote and illustrated a number of books about sly characters known as tricksters who appear in many folklore traditions, such as Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa (1992) and Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest (1993). He also wrote and illustrated Creation (2003), which retells the Biblical account of the creation of the world, and also includes references to creation stories from other religious traditions.
McDermott illustrated many books by the American folklorist Marianna Mayer, beginning with Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio (1981). McDermott and Mayer also collaborated on a series of “Brambleberrys” books for young children, such as The Brambleberrys Animal Book of Colors (1991).
Gerald Edward McDermott was born on Jan. 31, 1941, in Detroit. He received a B.F.A. degree from the Pratt Institute of Design in 1964 and began his career producing and directing animated films. In the mid-1960’s, he met Joseph Campbell, an American scholar of mythology, who helped inspire McDermott’s interest in basing films and books on the traditional myths of various cultures. McDermott died on Dec. 26, 2012.
