Demi (author)


Demi is a children’s book author and illustrator. During her career she has published over 300 titles.

Biography

Early life and education

Demi was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the great-grand daughter of the American painter William Morris Hunt, and the great-grand niece of architect Richard Morris Hunt. Demi earned her nickname as a young child when her father started calling her "demi" because she was half the size of her sister.
She studied art at Instituto Allende, Mexico, and with Sister Corita at the Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles. She was a Fulbright scholar at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India where she received her master's degree.

Career

Demi is known for her biographies for spiritual figures including Mahavira, Buddha, Krishna, Lao Tzu, Jesus, Mary, Muhammad, Rumi, Francis of Assisi, Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama.

Awards and honors

The Empty Pot was selected by former First Lady Barbara Bush in 1990 as one of the books to be read on the ABC Radio Network Program Mrs. Bush's Story Time. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association named The Empty Pot one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children." Gandhi was awarded the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award, while Muhammad was named a New York Times Best Illustrated Book.
Master of Zen: Extraordinary Teachings from Hui Neng’s Altar Sutra, illustrated by Demi and translated and adapted by her husband Tze-si Huang, won a 2012 USA Best Book Award.
In 1990, Demi and her husband Tze-si “Jesse” Huang represented the United States at the First Children’s International Book Conference in Beijing.

Select bibliography