Emberley, Ed (1931-…), is an American illustrator and author of children’s books. He won the 1968 Caldecott Medal for his illustrations for Drummer Hoff (1967), which was written by his wife and frequent collaborator, Barbara Emberley. The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to the best picture book by an American. Drummer Hoff tells the story of a group of soldiers who build, and ultimately explode, a large cannon. Emberley illustrated the book with dramatic and humorous colored woodcuts.
Emberley uses woodcuts, pen-and-ink, pencil, and computer-generated art to create vibrant illustrations. Many of his works aim to teach children how to identify and draw shapes. He has written and illustrated two popular series of books for children designed to instruct youngsters in how to draw a wide variety of objects. The “Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book” series began with Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Animals (1970) and includes such books as Ed Emberley’s Halloween Drawing Book (1980) and Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Trucks and Trains (2002). The “Ed Emberley’s Little Drawing Book” series includes books on birds (1973), horses (1990), and fish (1990), among other topics.
Emberley collaborated with his wife on Night’s Nice (1963), The Story of Paul Bunyan (1963), One Wide River to Cross (1966), and Simon’s Song (1969). His other notable books as a writer and illustrator include Punch and Judy: A Play for Puppets (1965), Ed Emberley’s ABC (1978), Go Away, Big Green Monster! (1992), and Thanks Mom! (2003). Ed and Barbara Emberley have illustrated several science books for children written by the American author Seymour Simon, such as Meet the Computer and How to Talk to Your Computer (both 1985).
Edward Randolph Emberley was born on Oct. 19, 1931, in Malden, Massachusetts. He studied art at Massachusetts College of Art and at Rhode Island School of Art (now Rhode Island School of Design). He earned a B.F.A. degree in 1954 at Massachusetts College of Art, where he met his future wife, Barbara A. Collins, a student of fashion design. The couple married in 1955. Emberley began his career as a commercial artist and became interested in children’s literature in the late 1950’s.
Emberley’s first book as an illustrator was The Wing on a Flea: A Book About Shapes (1961, revised 2001). He also wrote the book. His son, Michael, and daughter, Rebecca, are children’s authors and illustrators. Emberley and his daughter collaborated on Chicken Little (2009), The Red Hen (2010), The Crocodile and the Scorpion (2013), and Spare Parts (2015). Emberley and his two children jointly produced Three: An Emberley Family Sketchbook (1998), which contains illustrations, stories, and poems from all three contributors.
