The Magic of Ezra Jack Keats

When I was updating "The Magic of Ezra Jack Keats," my article about the storyteller and artist, I found a helpful new resource. It's the official Ezra Jack Keats website. In case you aren't aware of Keats and his books, particularly his Caldecott Medal winner, The Snowy Day, you will want to check out Keats's Neighborhood, a collection of his popular stories for young children, illustrated with his unique artwork, a blending of gouache with collage.

As his online biography recounts, "Long before multicultural characters and themes were fashionable, Ezra Jack Keats crossed social boundaries by being the first American picture-book maker to give the black child a central place in children’s literature."

The Ezra Jack Keats website includes not only an excellent, illustrated biography of Keats, who died in 1983, it also includes cover art and summaries of a great many of his picture books; examples of his artwork; information about his awards and honors; a section on Keats' characters; tips for parents; and more. The site is a part of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, established by Keats "for the support of programs judged to be helpful to humanity." The Foundation supports a number of programs that promote literacy and a love of reading.recall recall