Zemach, Margot, << ZEH mahk, MAHR goh >> (1931-1989), was an outstanding American illustrator of children’s books. She became known for illustrating folk tales, many adapted by her husband, the children’s author Harve Zemach (the pen name of Harvey Fischtrom). Margot won the 1974 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations for Duffy and the Devil: A Cornish Tale (1973), an adaptation of a folk tale by her husband. Zemach also illustrated her own adaptations of folk tales. Her water-color paintings and pen-and-ink drawings were known for their humor and sense of movement.
Zemach illustrated many works by the Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer. They include Mazel and Shlimazel; or, The Milk of a Lioness (1967), When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw & Other Stories (1968), Alone in the Wild Forest (1971), and Naftali the Storyteller and His Horse, Sus, and Other Stories (1976).
Zemach was born on Nov. 30, 1931, in Los Angeles. Her maiden name was Margot Dailey. In the late 1940’s and the 1950’s, she studied at a number of art schools, including the Los Angeles County Art Institute and the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in Italy. She married Harvey Fischtrom, who wrote under the name Harve Zemach, in 1957. Her first book as an illustrator was A Small Boy Is Listening (1959), written by her husband.
Zemach’s other notable books as an illustrator include Mommy, Buy Me a China Doll (1966), The Judge: An Untrue Tale (1969), A Penny a Look: An Old Story (1971), and Simon Boom Gives a Wedding (1972). She wrote and illustrated such books as It Could Always Be Worse (1976) and Hush Little Baby (1976). She also wrote an autobiography, Self Portrait: Margot Zemach (1978). She died on May 21, 1989.
