Meet the Wonderful Children's Literature Author and Illustrator, Ed Young!
An Author Study by Joanna
Ed Young was born on November 28th, 1931 in Tientsin/Tianjin China. The Young family lived in Tianjin until Ed was three years old (around 1934). The Young family moved to Shanghai and lived in Shanghai until Ed was ready to begin high school (around 1947). Ed attended high school in Hong Kong. When Ed Young finished high school he had the opportunity to go to the United States on a student visa for college (around 1951 at the age of 20).
What was going on in China during the years Ed grew up?
1937-1945
The Second Sino-Japanese War: A misunderstanding led to a Chinese soldiers firing on Japanese soldiers stationed at the Marco Polo Bridge; this began a sequence of battles between China and Japan that ended with Japan in control of Tianjin, Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai. The war was fought guerilla warfare style, but China did not have enough military power to keep Japan from entering and taking over some of their territory.
1939-1945
WWII began in 1939. China declared war on Japan, Germany, and Italy after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor also brought the United States into WWII. There was tension in China between the Communist and the Nationalist. The U.S sent an atomic bomb into Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan. Japan had been weakened to the point of surrendering. Shortly after WWII had ended, Japan was no longer in control of the major Chinese territories, the British forces returned to Hong Kong, and the friction between the Communist and Nationalist increased.
1949
The Communist defeats the Nationalist and the People’s Republic of China was founded.
1950-1953
The Korean War: Korea was spilt into North and South Korea. China agreed to back the Soviet North (communist). The U.N along with the U.S did not want Korea to become communist so they backed South Korea. This caused tension between the United States and China. Vietnam followed the end of the Korean War beginning in 1955 and did not end until 1975.
What was it like for Ed Young when he moved to the United States?
Ed Young attended the City College of San Francisco for one year majoring in architecture. He continued his college career at the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana Campus) as an art student. He graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles in 1957. He attended Grad school at the Pratt Institute. He then worked at a New York advertising agency and continued to draw during his free time. An editor, Ursala Nordstrom, recognized Ed’s sketches and asked if he would be interested in illustrating Children’s Literature. Ed had taken a chance and found that he had a real passion, as well as talent, for illustrating picture books. Ed Young’s first illustrated works published was in 1962. Ed Young worked as an art instructor/teacher, as an instructor/director at a Tai Chi school, as well as an illustrator. Ed had not spoken to his family back in China due to China’s closed door policy during the war. When he told his family about his accomplishments they were very proud of him. In 1978 Ed had published his first work as an author/illustrator. To this day he is still writing/illustrating picture books, and he and his family live in Westchester, New York.
What kind of stories does Ed Young write?
Ed Young has retold many folktales and fables from different cultures. He is a very expressive and creative person and I find his works to be extremely poetic. He has written personal works that were impacted by his own life experiences, and all of his works teaches a lesson to his readers. When Ed Young begins a project he makes an emotional/physical connection with his works before he mentally commits to it. When he commits to a piece of work he makes sure that he researches his topic to gain accuracy in order to teach his readers properly.
What kinds of illustrations does Ed Young create?
Ed uses many types of media: pencil, marker, oil pastels, water colors, as well as raw materials in his collage work (actual branches etc.). I observed that his illustrations overlap or are layered and that Young will use contrast colors like bright vivid colors surrounded by darkness. Ed seems to be inspired by nature. His works are expressive or symbolic and lend themselves to deeper meaning. His work truly creates a mood that can be felt without the assistance of words.
See link below for list of Ed Young’s work:
See link below for list of awards granted to Ed Young:
My Rational for choosing Ed Young for my author study:
I chose Ed Young because I find him intriguing. When I read his stories and look at his illustrations I feel moved. There is always one thing that just tugs at my heart strings so to speak when I look at his work. Sometimes it is the dedications that get me, or a phrase found in the story, or the moral of his work combined with the emotions of his art work. I did not know much about Ed Young, but the more research I performed the more endearing I found him to be. I find his philosophies on life to be realistic and inspiring at the same time. It is important to find authors who inspire us. Now I wish I were able to conduct an actual interview with Ed Young because I truly find him to be an amazing person! As for my favorites… add Ed Young’s collection of works to the list! A few of my favorite things… more like a ton!
Websites to look at:
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