The Life and Art of Pat Cummings

Children's literature writer and artist Pat Cummings, whose stories and art have made a great impact on the children's literature world, had her artistic beginnings all over the world. Her father, Arthur Cummings, was an Army professional and the family was shuttled off from base to base all over the globe. Cummings' exposure to the art and cultures of many different nations is quite visible in her artwork. Every new school was an invitation for Pat to use her artwork as an ice-breaker and business venture. In fifth grade she, "...did a healthy business selling ballerina drawings during recess." From that point on she realized that she could become an artist and still make a living. She graduated from Pratt Institute in the mid-seventies and hasn't stopped working as an artist since. Her early art career was mainly as a graphic artist, working with the Billie Holiday Theater in New York, painting and designing theater posters. She worked on a freelance basis for many other theaters, including Broadway shows, and all types of advertising campaigns.

She is renowned as an illustrator or other authors and a writer of her own stories. She has won the Coretta Scott King, Orbis Pictus and the Boston Globe-Horn Book awards. In addition, Cummings has written and edited four volumes of non-fiction works, Talking With Artists, Volumes I-III and Talking With Adventurers, all four filled with stories and interviews with writers and artists. A majority of her writing work is based on her family and, in particular, on the exploits of her brother Artie (whose name is changed from story to story in order to "avoid legal action"). As a child, Cummings does not remember ever having a book that starred an African-American child. Although perfectly normal to her at the time, African-American children just were not commonly depicted in children's literature. It has been her goal to, "insure that children who read her books will find a bit of themselves, their world, and their stories reflected in the pages." The natural solution to that is the continuing adventures of her brother Artie, under a pack of different names.