Peter Spier (June 6, 1927 – April 27, 2017) was a Dutch-American illustrator and writer who created more than thirty children's books.

Biographical information

Spier was born in Amsterdam, North Holland, and grew up in Broek in Waterland, the son of Jo Spier, a popular artist and illustrator, and Tineke van Raalte. Jo Spier was Jewish, and, during the Second World War, Peter and his father were two of nine prisoners of Villa Bouchina and were later imprisoned in Theresienstadt. After the war he studied at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam and joined the Royal Netherlands Navy for four years. The entire Spier family emigrated to the United States in 1950. Spier started his career as a commercial artist for advertising agencies and only later focused on writing and illustrating children's books. He died on April 27, 2017, in Port Jefferson, New York.

Medium and artistic style

Like other children's illustrators such as Beatrix Potter or Christopher Wormell, Peter Spier demonstrates his talent and skills as an artist/illustrator using pen, ink and watercolour on paper. Many of Spier's illustrations are extremely detailed and historically accurate. Close examination will often yield a humorous scene not readily apparent at first glance the finding of which often delights readers of all ages.

Copyrights

Spier reserved all rights and retained the copyrights to his works. In correspondence he noted that many of the original publishing plates used to reproduce his work were not available though the original works were thought to survive.

Publishers

The Doubleday & Company, Inc., of Garden City, New York, originally published many of Spier's works including The Mother Goose Library Series: "London Bridge Is Falling Down!". More recent publications can be found under the labels Doubleday Books For Young Readers, Dragonfly Books and Random House.

Awards

Noah's Ark (1977) won the annual Caldecott Medal from the American Library Association, recognizing the illustrator of the year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". In its first paperback edition, it won a 1982 National Book Award in category Picture Books. The book was named to the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award list in 1978. People (1980) won a Christopher Award and was one of five finalists for the 1981 National Book Award in category Children's Nonfiction. It was also adapted into a 1995 animated television special that soon aired on Disney Channel. The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night (1961) was named a Caldecott Honor Book by the American Library Association in 1962.

Works

As illustrator