Schoenherr, Ian

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Schoenherr, Ian

Personal

Son of John Schoenherr (a children's book illustrator). Education: Cooper Union, B.A. Hobbies and other interests: Researching the life and collecting the works of Howard Pyle.

Addresses

Home and office—Woodside, NY. Agent—c/o Marcia Wernick, Sheldon Fogelman Agency, Inc., 10 E. 40th St., New York, NY 10016. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Children's book illustrator and author. Creator of maps and artwork for book jackets and editorial projects. Exhibitions: Works exhibited in Society of Illustrators annual exhibitions, 1999, 2005.

Awards, Honors

First prize, Marion Vannett Ridgway Award, 1993, for Newf.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Pip & Squeak, Greenwillow Books (New York, NY), 2007.

ILLUSTRATOR; FOR CHILDREN

Marie Killilea, Newf, Philomel Books (New York, NY), 1992.

Jean Karl, America Alive: A History, Philomel Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Cristina Kessler, One Night: A Story from the Desert, Philomel Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Amy Littlesugar, Marie in Fourth Position: The Story of Degas's "The Little Dancer," Philomel Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Amy Littlesugar, Jonkonnu: A Story from the Sketchbook of Winslow Homer, Philomel Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Brian Jacques, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, Philomel Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Miriam Schlein, Little Raccoon's Big Question, Greenwillow Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Sheldon Harnick, Sunrise, Sunset, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.

Lisa Westberg Peters, Sleepyhead Bear, Greenwillow Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Sidelights

An illustrator whose credits include Newf by Marie Killilea and Marie in Fourth Position by Amy Littlesugar, Ian Schoenherr creates detailed images that have been described as "remarkably lifelike" by a Kirkus Reviews critic in an assessment of Schoenherr's artwork for Lisa Westberg Peters' Sleepyhead Bear, The same critic also noted that the artist's talent for creating "spot-on facial expressions make Schoenherr's illustrations shine." Schoenherr's realistic images also capture the gentleness that is present in each story he illustrates. For example, a Publishers Weekly reviewer observed that Schoenherr's paintings for Miriam Schlein's picture book Little Raccoon's Big Question "exude a luxuriant, reassuring feel" and reflect the artist's "wonderful sense of volume and space."

Growing up in New Jersey, Schoenherr was surrounded by an array of animals—including a turtle, birds, cats, and dogs—as well as the never-ending supply of art materials made available by his father, Caldecott award-winning illustrator John Schoenherr. As Ian Schoenherr recalled to Publishers Weekly interviewer Diane Patrick, his father "wouldn't get on my back about appropriating his materials. Every now and then I'd get my own sketchbook, but usually I'd use his, and take it over completely." In addition to following in his father's footsteps, Schoenherr keeps a studio in the same house his great-grandparents bought in 1920. As he mentioned on his home page, his work space "is crowded with books, furniture, costumes, relics, and files"; despite the clutter—or perhaps because of it—he still draws with the same vigor of his childhood days. In 2007 he expanded into writing with the self-illustrated picture book Pip & Squeak, which share with readers a mouse-eye-view of winter. Schoenherr's "briskly succinct text" pairs well with "action-packed" illustrations, according to a Kirkus Reviews writer, the critic adding that the art in Pip & Squeak demonstrates "a nimble handling of color, texture, perspective and momentum."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 1, 2001, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, p. 1271; April 15, 2004, Jennifer Mattson, review of Little Raccoon's Big Question, p. 1449; July, 1995, Janice Del Negro, review of One Night: A Story from the Desert, p. 1882; January 1, 1998, Carolyn Phelan, review of Jonkonnu, p. 824; December 1, 2005, Jennifer Mattson, review of Sunrise, Sunset, p. 50; May 15, 2006, Hazel Rochman, review of Sleepyhead Bear, p. 52.

Horn Book, March, 2001, review of Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, p. 208.

Instructor, April, 1997, Judy Freeman, review of Marie in Fourth Position: The Story of Degas, p. 24.

Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2004, review of Little Raccoon's Big Question, p. 184; September 15, 2005, review of Sunrise, Sunset, p. 1027; April 15, 2006, review of Sleepyhead Bear, p. 413; December 15, 2006, review of Pip & Squeak, p. 1272.

Publishers Weekly, August 17, 1992, review of Newf, p. 498; October 17, 1994, review of America Alive: A History, p. 83; May 1, 1995, review of One Night, p. 58; February 8, 1999, Diane Patrick, "A Living Legacy (Second-Generation Children's Literature Authors and Illustrators)," p. 120; February 23, 2004, review of Little Raccoon's Big Question, p. 75.

School Library Journal, March, 2001, Eva Mitnick, review of Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, p. 250; March, 2004, Grace Oliff, review of Little Raccoon's Big Question, p. 181; October, 2005, Rachel Kamin, review of Sunrise, Sunset, p. 138; May, 2006, Martha Topol, review of Sleepyhead Bear, p. 96.