Anne Rockwell

Anne Rockwell, beloved author and illustrator of nearly 200 books for children, died of natural causes on April 10, 2018 in Stamford, CT during a brief hospital stay. She was residing in Stamford at the time, and had lived and raised a family in Old Greenwich, CT for nearly 40 years. Anne Rockwell was born in 1934 in Memphis, TN to Francis Howard and Hazel Edmunds Howard. She was later adopted by Emerson and Sabina Foote. As a young child, Anne lived in various parts of the south, midwest, and southwestern United States. At 18, she settled in New York City to live and work, taking classes at Pratt and The Sculpture Center. She married her husband and future collaborator, Harlow Rockwell in 1955. Her first book, Paul and Arthur Search for the Egg, was published in 1964. Anne Rockwell went on to create award-winning picture books on subjects ranging from butterflies to the Buddha. She is best known for her non-fiction books for the very young, such as her popular series on vehicles, that includes Boats, Big Wheels and Things that Go and her many books on natural science including Our Earth. She also created original stories like The Awful Mess and Hugo at the Window, biographical picture books like Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth, and numerous folktale and mythology collections, including The Three Bears and Fifteen Other Stories. Children's book editor Christy Ottaviano described Anne Rockwell as "one of a kind - such a visionary in her ability to reach young children through her thoughtful, clever, and wide-reaching books. She had such a keen understanding of the picture book form and how it could open up a child's world." Anne Rockwell herself said, "I feel fortunate to have retained a sense of how young children see the world which enables me to do books for them." Though influenced by Persian miniatures, Florentine frescoes, the paintings of Henri Matisse, and the picture books she had devoured as a child, Anne's illustration style was never derivative, but always uniquely her own. In reviewing Games and How to Play Them, in the New York Times in 1973, George A. Woods wrote, "Playmate Rockwell is more than a master of gamesmanship; she has a seemingly bottomless talent for artistic interpretation and caricature in watercolor and ink." Her writing style is direct yet poetic. The opening lines of her iconic, Boats read like this: "Boats float. They float on quiet ponds, and busy rivers, and the wide blue sea." Anne and Harlow raised a family in Old Greenwich, CT during some of her most productive years, and her children often served as inspiration and muse. Hannah, Lizzy and Oliver were sometimes the models for characters, and sometimes helped vet texts. They followed the directions with neighborhood friends for Games and How to Play them, they helped pull taffy for The Mother Goose Cookie Candy Book. They traveled with their parents during research trips to Florence, Italy for Filippo's Dome, and Normandy, France for The Wolf Who Had a Wonderful Dream, and they traipsed along the hikes in the Connecticut woods that inspired Olly's Polliwogs and Toad. Later, Grannie Annie, as she was known, would be endlessly fascinated and inspired by her five grandchildren. Along with writing and illustrating her own books, Anne Rockwell collaborated with other authors and illustrators. Her most prolific collaboration was as author with her husband, Harlow Rockwell (AKA Rocky), an illustrator and advertising art director. Together they created numerous iconic books including, Sally's Caterpillar, The Toolbox, My Doctor, and Toad. These books were notable for the symbiotic pairing of simple words and images on clean white backgrounds that depicted a child's real world. Anne wrote this on her website, "In doing books for the very youngest children I always remind myself that the familiar world that we might find mundane, is new and exciting to them." After Rocky's death in 1988, while continuing to write and illustrate her own work, including The Robber Baby: Stories from the Greek Myths and Welcome to Kindergarten Anne began a 30-year collaboration with her daughter Lizzy Rockwell. Anne and Lizzy's books focused on social relationships within the family and community of school, as in Career Day from the popular School Days Series and most recently, Zoo Day from the First Experience series. Other illustrators, including Paul Meisel, R. Gregory Christie, Megan Halsey and Melissa Iwai have brought unique interpretations to Anne Rockwell texts. In her texts for other illustrators she explored topics as wide ranging as global warming, the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Ouverture, and a trip to the hardware store. Anne Rockwell is survived by her children, Hannah Brion, Elizabeth Rockwell Alcorn (AKA Lizzy Rockwell), Oliver Rockwell; her sons-in-law, David Brion and Kenneth Alcorn, and her daughter-in-law Keiko Wong Rockwell. Her beloved grandchildren are Julianna Joy Brion, Christian Rockwell Brion, Nicholas Harlow Alcorn, Nigel John Alcorn, and Sullivan Wong Rockwell. She is predeceased by her husband, Harlow L. Rockwell. The family would like to express gratitude to Eveline Lauture, Anne's caregiver and friend. Anne will be dearly missed by many friends and relatives. Her progeny, readers, teachers, parents and librarians will continue to cherish her legacy of books for many years to come. Details for a memorial service will be announced. Memorial contributions may be made to Reading is Fundamental at https://www.rif.org or the charity of your choice.