Kadir nelson childrens books made into movies
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Books on Film: Kadir Nelson on CBS Sunday Morning
The good old CBS Sunday Morning show. Every once in a while, they do a great feature on a children’s book creator.
Last Sunday, they returned to the studio of our current Caldecott Medalist (and my personal all-time favorite Drake album cover artist) Kadir Nelson. During the interview, he talks about a new painting he’s working on, winning the Caldecott (only to have the award ceremony cancelled/postponed), and what’s next for all of us.
It’s good.
Filed under: Authors, Books on Film
About Travis Jonker
Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.
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Kadir Nelson was 3 years old when he started drawing, too young to know he was headed toward a career illustrating children’s books and creating oil paintings that hang in museums.
“I just knew I really loved drawing,” he said.
Now 44, the former San Diegan’s national reputation keeps growing, thanks to a string of memorable art pieces that have been on the covers of CDs (Michael Jackson’s posthumous “Michael,” Drake’s “Nothing Was the Same”) and magazines (The New Yorker), and in books (“We Are the Ship,” “Blue Sky White Stars,” and others).
He’ll be in conversation during the Festival of Books with Steve Breen, the Union-Tribune’s Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist and also a children’s book illustrator.
Nelson’s artistic portfolio is deep and wide, from wall-filling murals to U.S. postage stamps. He’s been working professionally ever since he graduated fr
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In an interview with Reading Rockets, Kadir Nelson described his decision to change his major from architecture to art this way: “I decided, even if I had to starve I would become an artist and do what I really love to do.” Well, good news—Kadir Nelson didn’t starve. In fact, after graduating from Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, his career took off immediately. He credits this to his college work ethic, which helped him build a solid relationship of trust with his professors. Nelson also recalled that his mother encouraged him to tap into the power of visualization. Ever since his first job as a visual development artist for the movie Amistad, the trajectory of his career soared.
Before entering the world of children’s literature, Nelson was a well-known and respected artist. His foray into children’s literature produced more accolades and awards for books he both illustrated and authored. One of the first books he illustrated was Jerdine Nolen’s Big Jabe. Other authors that he ha