Although unimpressive-looking, the medal meant a great deal to him, and he kept it his entire life. He received a medal for drawing on graduating from Junior High School 149. With little encouragement at home, Keats sought validation for his skills at school and learned about art at the public library. Nevertheless, he sometimes brought home tubes of paint, claiming, 'A starving artist swapped this for a bowl of soup.' Benjamin Katz, who worked as a waiter, tried to discourage his son, insisting that artists lived terrible, impoverished lives. Jack, as he was known, was artistic from an early age, and joyfully made pictures out of whatever scraps of wood, cloth and paper that he could collect. Jack Keats was born Jacob Ezra Katz on March 11, 1916, in East New York, Brooklyn, the third child of Polish-Jewish immigrants Benjamin Katz and Augusta Podgainy. He was one of the first children's book authors to use an urban setting for his stories and he developed the use of collage as a medium for illustration.

Keats is best known for introducing multiculturalism into mainstream American children's literature.

It is considered one of the most important American books of the 20th century. Keats wrote A Letter to Amy and Hi, Cat! but he was most famous for The Snowy Day. He won the 1963 Caldecott Medal for illustrating The Snowy Day, which he also wrote. Ezra Jack Keats’ legacy lives on in the popularity of his most famous character, Peter-the star of The Snowy Day, Whistle for Willie, Peter's Chair, A Letter to Amy, Goggles, and others.Ezra Jack Keats (né Jacob Ezra Katz MaMay 6, 1983) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Since its initial publication, The Snowy Day has come to be regarded as both a children’s classic and one of the most important picture books ever written/illustrated. 'A master of ingenious collages, Keats has made brilliant variegated pictures.'- The Horn BookĮzra Jack Keats (1916-1983) was the beloved author and/or illustrator of more than eighty-five books for children.Įzra Jack Keats (1916–1983) is the Caldecott Medal winning author of The Snowy Day, which broke ground in 1962 as one of the first picture books for young children to portray a realistic, multi-cultural urban setting.

Now, for the first time, Peter's Chair, A Letter to Amy, and Goggles! are available in paperback exclusively from Puffin.

Generations of children have read, re-read, and loved Ezra Jack Keats's award-winning, classic stories about Peter and his neighborhood friends. South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands (USD $)

A letter to amy by ezra jack keats