William Steig

For more than seven decades, William Steig excelled in his dual career of cartoonist and children's book author.

Born in 1907 in Brooklyn, Steig was the child of Austrian immigrants who dabbled in the fine arts. His brother, a professional artist, gave him his first painting lessons. In high school he began drawing cartoons for the school newspaper when he wasn't playing sports.

Steig began illustrating for The New Yorker in 1930 as a way to support his family which had gone broke during the Great Depression. In 1968, he launched his career as a children's book author, bringing to them a dark humor. His third book won a Caldecott medal and his other works have won a Christopher and Newbery Honor.

His children's novel Shrek was recently made into a major motion picture. Steig died in 2003.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

-- B. Redman