German-born Kurt Wiese lived on a farm in Frenchtown, New Jersey. He wrote and illustrated over 20 childrens books, and illustrated over 300 books by other authors. Wiese was awarded many honors during his career including the New York Herald Tribune Children's Spring Book Festival Award in 1941 for Captain Kid's Cow, in 1942 for Lions on the Hunt and in 1945 for The Wizard and His Magic Powder. He received the Caldecott Honor Book Award in 1946 for You Can Write Chinese and in 1948 for Fish in the Air. He also won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1959 for The Five Chinese Brothers, in 1965 for The Story About Ping, and in 1970 for Honk, The Moose.
Wiese worked primarily in full-color, and also did mural work painting the animals in murals in the Union Hotel in Flemington. Significant pieces of this art still remain on display in the dining room. He was a noted Hunterdon County childrens book illustrator, and donated a collection of his original drawings to the Flemington Public Library.
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