PETER LIPPMAN

LIPPMAN--Peter J. Children's book author and illustrator, on November 9, 2022 at age 86. His many friends will remember his deeply inquisitive mind, his sense of humor, contagious laugh and love of the outdoors. Lippman grew up in New York City and split his time between the city and his home in Roxbury, NY in the Catskill Mountains. Taking advantage of the natural wonders the Catskills offer, Lippman was a white water kayaker, a skier, and an avid bird-watcher and hiker. He attended Columbia University, where he received Bachelor and Master degrees in Architecture. While embarking on what was to become a successful career as a graphics artist, his illustrations began to appear in and on the covers of a large number of magazines and newspapers including Holiday, The Saturday Evening Post, Publishers Weekly, Harper's and The New York Times. At that time he also became involved in the world of children's books both as a writer and as an lllustrator. His first book, Plunkety Plunk, was selected by The New York Times as one of the best illustrated children's books of the year. More than fifty of his books have been published since then, including the classic The Great Escape or The Sewer Story. In the 1990's, he invented and was granted a patent for a new three-dimensional format where the book, when closed, is a free-standing sculpture in the shape of a building such as a castle or barn, and when open is a board book. It is the basis of a line of 14 titles in the Mini-House and Mini- Wheels series designed and illustrated by Lippman and published by Workman Publishing. Still in print after more than twenty years since the advent of the first Mini-House book, they have sold more than three million copies. At the same time that Lippman was engaged in magazine illustration and children's books, he created numerous paintings and sculptures which he showed occasionally at New York galleries. An artist who worked primarily in water colors and later in acrylics, he also utilized other diverse materials such as bronze and Styrofoam. He was still actively working and creating until the time of his death. He is survived by his wife of many years, Anne Phalon, and his cat, Terrance, as well as myriads of loving cousins and friends. A remembrance of his life will be announced at a later date.