HOLLING CLANCY HOLLING

Holling Clancy Holling, the author and illustrator, was born on August 2, 1900.  His work has had a tremendous impact on me.  I first discovered him as a child, when I began reading his books:  Seabird.  Paddle-To-The-Sea.  Minn of the Mississippi.  I kept reading his books as a teenager.  And as an adult.  I still pore over them.  

It's not that he directly influenced my style---my work has always been very different from his.  What has struck me, at every age, are certain qualities of Holling's work:  His meticulous and unerringly accurate research that informs every page with fascinating pieces of information, clothed in enticing  images and stories.  

His passion for his work, a passion which sparkles, glows, leaps out at the reader, from every illustration and every sentence.  His love for his subject matter, his media, the composition of the page.  His belief that books for children are of the utmost importance, deserving of one's very best life-work.  

As an illustrator or author for children, one could do no better than to adopt Holling's philosophy and devotion to his work.