Jeanette Winter author page

Jeanette Winter biography

Jeanette Winter (born 1938) is an American author-illustrator celebrated for her picture books, especially those spotlighting individuals in history, activism, science and the arts.

She was born in Chicago, Illinois, and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago before pursuing further fine arts training. Over her career, she has written and illustrated dozens of titles in children’s literature, frequently working with biographical or real-life narratives.

Winter’s books include The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq, Mama: A True Story, Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan, Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia, Malala, a Brave Girl from Pakistan (also paired with Iqbal, a Brave Boy), Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa, and The World Is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid. She has also illustrated several books by her son, Jonah Winter, including Diego, The Secret Project, Oil, The Little Owl & the Big Tree: A Christmas Story and The Snow Man.

Her style is characterised by simple forms, flat planes of colour and uncluttered compositions, often compared to the folk art tradition. Among her honours: her book Diego, illustrated by her, won the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book Award in 1991; Nasreen’s Secret School received the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award (Younger Children) in 2010; Mama was honoured with a Boston Globe-Horn Picture Book Honor.

A notable recent work is Our House Is on Fire: Greta Thunberg’s Call to Save the Planet, which has been translated into twenty-one languages.