Sheboygan Childrens Book Festival

Henry Cole grew up on a dairy farm outside Purcellville, Virginia. Always interested in art and science, he studied forestry at Virginia Tech. He is a self-taught artist, although his mother was a professional illustrator and gave him many pointers along the way. His education required him to study nature closely, and his observation of such details helped him with his drawing.

He worked in a number of jobs, including magazine illustration, and for sixteen years taught elementary grade science classes and he says, “As an elementary teacher, I saw many authors and illustrators come to our school and talk about their work. Each time they came I would say to myself, ‘Self, this is just the thing you’d like to do!’ Eventually I got the opportunity to try my hand at being a book illustrator.”

Mr. Cole’s books include the illustrated novel, A Nest for Celeste, and picture books Trudy and Jack’s Garden.  As an illustrator, he has collaborated with many authors, including Margie Palatini (Bad Boys Get Cookie!), Pamela Duncan Edwards (Some Smug Slug), and Julie Andrews (Little Bo).

He now lives in Washington D.C., and on the island of Aruba.

Read more about Henry Cole at Mr. Cole's Web site.