Johnson, Layne

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Johnson, Layne

Personal

Married; children: one son. Education: University of Houston, B.F.A. Hobbies and other interests: Working in his grape vineyard, playing racquetball, landscape painting, traveling.

Addresses

Home and office—Houston, TX. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Illustrator. Worked previously as a graphic designer and gallery artist.

Member

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Awards, Honors

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, 2000, for Brian's Bird; KIND Children's Honor Book, National Association for Humane and Environmental Education, 2004, for Where Horses Run Free; Book Sense 76 honor, 2003, for Christmas for a Kitten.

Illustrator

Dean Hughes, Brad and Butter Play Ball, Random House (New York, NY), 1998.

Janice Levy, Abuelito Eats with His Fingers, Eakin Press (Austin, TX), 1998.

Eric J. Adams and Kathleen Adams, On the Day His Daddy Left, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2000.

Patricia A. Davis, Brian's Bird, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2000.

David Gifaldi, Ben, King of the River, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2001.

Joy Cowley, Where Horses Run Free: A Dream for the American Mustang, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2003.

Robin Pulver, Christmas for a Kitten, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2003.

John Micklos, Jr., Grandparent Poems, Wordsong (Honesdale, PA), 2004.

Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton, A Young Man's Dance, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2006.

Uma Krishnaswami, Remembering Grandpa, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2007.

Peggy Thomas, Farmer George Plants a Nation, Calkins Creek (Honesdale, PA), 2008.

Sidelights

As an illustrator, Layne Johnson takes great pride in his work. He noted on his home page that he enjoys illustrating children's books because deep down he is "still a kid at heart." Johnson does more than just create pictures for children's books, however: he "bring[s] books to life" by adding to the perspective of the book and detailing what is said beyond the text.

Among the children's books that feature Johnson's vivid art is A Young Man's Dance by Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton. Published in 2006, A Young Man's Dance centers on a young boy coping with a grandmother who has Alzheimer's. Kirsten Cutler, reviewing the book for School Library Journal, remarked in particular on Johnson's use of a varied palette of colors that is balanced by bright and muted tones. Cutler also noted the illustrator's ability to portray characters in "oil paintings [that] reveal clear, expressive faces on soft, fluid backgrounds that breathe action."

Another multigenerational picture book that features Johnson's art, Uma Krishnaswami's Remembering Grandpa follows its protagonist Daysha as she helps her grandmother remember her recently deceased husbands in a happy way. Daysha takes a wagon and collects all the things that remind her of her grandfather, including a button from his coat, feathers, stones, and flowers. A Kirkus Reviews critic noted Johnson's unique use of movement within his illustrations and wrote that the artist "uses unusual perspectives to show actions" in a way that "invite[s] the viewer to become part of the story." Critics have also acknowledged Johnson's use of

gold-tinted tones in capturing Krishnaswami's story of remembrance. For instance, in her Booklist review of Remembering Grandmpa, Ilene Cooper remarked that the illustrator's "attractive artwork … sparkles with sunlight and glows at sunset."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2000, Ilene Cooper, review of Brian's Bird, p. 1117; November 15, 2000, Ellen Mandel, review of On the Day His Daddy Left, p. 645; March 1, 2001, Lauren Peterson, review of Ben, King of the River, p. 1286; September 15, 2003, Ilene Cooper, review of Christmas for a Kitten, p. 248; May 1, 2007, Ilene Cooper, review of Remembering Grandpa, p. 98.

Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2003, review of Christmas for a Kitten, p. 1319; March 15, 2004, review of Young Patriots: Inspiring Stories of the American Revolution, p. 265; February 15, 2007, review of Remembering Grandpa.

School Library Journal, June, 1998, Barb Lawler, review of Brad and Butter Play Ball, p. 109; September, 1999, Ruth Semrau, review of Abuelito Eats with His Fingers, p. 192; May, 2000, Margaret C. Howell, review of Brian's Bird, p. 133; December, 2000, Susan Marie, review of On the Day His Daddy Left, p. 94; June, 2001, Margaret C. Howell, review of Ben, King of the River, p. 114; October, 2003, Eva Mitnick, review of Christmas for a Kitten, p. 67; December, 2003, John Sigwald, review of Where Horses Run Free: A Dream for the American Mustang, p. 112; March, 2004, Sally R. Dow, review of Grandparent Poems, p. 197; June, 2004, Coop Renner, review of Young Patriots: Inspiring Stories of the American Revolution, p. 135; April, 2006, Kirsten Cutler, review of A Young Man's Dance, p. 110; April, 2007, Laura Scott, review of Remembering Grandpa, p. 110.