Gail Gibbons is an American writer and illustrator of children's books, most of which are non-fiction. She started her career as a graphic artist for television, but transitioned to writing and designing children's books in the 1970s.
Early Life
Gibbons was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1944, and she was described as exhibiting "artistic talents at an early age." She gained a reputation in school as an artist, eventually creating her own small books that she personally described as "writing and drawing pictures of what I loved and where I wanted to be." She often visited the Chicago Art Institute nearby which likely fueled her passion for art. She studied graphic design at the University of Illinois. Gibbons herself quoted in the Something about the Author Autobiography Series, "I consider myself quite fortunate because I never had to debate with myself as to what I wanted to do with my life. The answer was always there. I wanted to be a writer and artist." Gibbons was inspired by one of her professors at the University of Illinois who was a professional children's book illustrator. When she was 21, she married Glenn Gibbons, and started her first job with a television station in Champaign, Illinois. She worked on children's show designing on-air graphics and set design. Later, the couple moved to Chicago, and Gibbons continued her work with the TV station, WMAQ-TV while also picking up jobs in advertising. In 1969, she moved to New York City, worked for WNBC-TV, and ended up designing a few graphics for Saturday Night Live. In 1971, she became the graphic designer for Take a Giant Step, a children's television program on NBC. In 1972, Gail Gibbon's husband, Glenn, died in a car accident, which inevitably sparked her career. She submitted her first portfolio to an agent, who encouraged her to pursue a career in children's literature.
Career
Gail Gibbons first book was Willy and His Wheel Wagon, a 32-page self-illustrated picture book published by Prentice-Hall. By 1978, Gibbons had published 5 children's books, including Things to Make and Do for Halloween and Salvador and Mister Sam: A Guide to Parakeet Care. By 1979, Gibbons was pushed to publish solely non-fiction children's books, and she released Clocks and How They Go, which exhibits a more direct teaching style in writing. Gibbons continued with this style of writing, growing into a prolific non-fiction children's book author and illustrator. Some of her books were even chosen as Reading Rainbow selections. Her most recent book was Planes, published in January 2019.
Awards
Source: City Art Director Club award, 1979, for The Missing Maple Syrup Sap Mystery
