Acclaimed American artist Jerry Pinkney was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 22, 1939. He began drawing as a four-year-old child, studied commercial art at the Dobbins Vocational School, and received a full scholarship to the Philadelphia Museum College of Art. Pinkney is well-known as a childrenamp;#039;s book illustrator and has created the art for over one hundred titles, including Julius Lesteramp;#039;s John Henry, Sam and the Tigers, and The Old African, plus adaptations of Hans Christian Andersenamp;#039;s The Little Match Girl and The Nightingale. He has won five Caldecott Honor Medals, five Coretta Scott King Awards, four Coretta Scott King Honor Awards, four New York Times Best Illustrated Book awards, the Hamilton King Award, and many others. Pinkney was awarded the 2009 Caldecott Medal.