Benny and Penny in Just Pretend

Geoffrey Hayes was born in Pasadena, California on December 3, 1947. He studied at Hunter College, the Art Students League, and the School of Visual Arts. Before becoming a children's author and illustrator, he worked in the art department at an advertising firm and in the interior design department at an architectural firm. In 1974, he brought a portfolio of his artwork to Harper and Row. His first picture book, Bear by Himself, was published in 1976. He created more than 50 books for children including the Otto and Uncle Tooth early reader series, Benny and Penny in Just Pretend, and Benny and Penny in the Big No-No!, which won the 2010 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. He also illustrated several works by other authors including When the Wind Blew by Margaret Wise Brown, which was selected as a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year. He died on June 2, 2017 at the age of 69.

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