Experts

David Small

Graphic Novelist

The author and illustrator gets “infected” by his parents’ worries, but once he does fall asleep, finds that “dreams become good metaphors.” Read More

David Small doesn’t care if you call his “Stitches” a “comic book,” but his inspiration lies with the likes of Tolstoy and Flaubert. Read More

How David Small’s experience with therapy in adolescence inspired the cathartic self-analysis of his memoir, “Stitches.” Read More

Since he first began doodling with crayons on yellow X-ray paper, illustrator David Small has loved art. But it wasn't his first career choice. Read More

You’ll need a serious technical grounding in art, but more importantly, an instinct for avoiding “over-sophistication.” Read More

A conversation with the illustrator and author of “Stitches.” Read More

“Stitches” is only the second graphic novel ever to be nominated for a National Book Award. The author discusses what the honor meant to him and why his dark memoir was not miscategorized as “Young People’s Literature.” Read More

About David Small

David Small

David Small is an award-winning American author and illustrator of over 40 books for children. A Detroit, Michigan native, he graduated with an MFA from the Yale School of Art and published his first illustrated book in 1981. His illustrations for "The Gardener" (written by his wife, Sarah Stewart) received a Caldecott Honor in 1997, while his work on “So, You Want To Be President?” (by Judith St. George) earned him the coveted Caldecott Medal for children's illustration in 2001. His widely acclaimed 2009 memoir, "Stitches," was nominated for a National Book Award in Young People's Literature. Small's work has also appeared regularly in The New Yorker and The New York Times, among other publications. He and his wife live in southwest Michigan.

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