Peter Sís

Bridget MaherLizzie BrookJoanna Batt

Early Career…• Peter is an acclaimed illustrator, author and

filmmaker• Born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, 1949.• Attended Academy of Applied Arts in Prague and

Royal College of Art in London.• Won the ‘Golden Bear Award’ at the 1980 Berlin

Film Festival for an animated short• 1982 came to US for film about Olympics, Soviet-

bloc countries withdrew from games.• Collaborated with Bob Dylan on music video to

“You Got To Serve Somebody.” (1983)

Later career…

• Moved to NYC and began his new career in 1984

• American career launched by Maurice Sendak, and illustrated for other children’s book authors.

• 20 books to his credit, and numerous awards • His film is on permanent collection of the MOMA

in NYC, also murals at Lex/86th.• Lives in NYC with his wife and children.

Books• Known for his unique combination of art and prose

that portrays a historical time/figure• Range from carefree picture books to more

mature, at times personal, non-fiction• Writes for both young children and teenagers • Václav Havel, former president of the Czech

Republic:

“Peter Sís’s book is most of all about the will to live one’s life in freedom and should be required reading for all those who take their freedom for granted.”

• Often illustrates for George Shannon and Jack Prelutsky; The Dragons Are Singing Tonight, Still More Stories To Solve

Children’s Books:• Ballerina, Dinosaurs!, Fire Truck• Madlenka, Madlenka’s Dog

4-6/Adolescent Books:• A Small Tale From the Far Far North• Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei• The Three Golden Keys• Tibet Through the Red Box• The Tree of Life• The Wall

The Wall• Most personal work yet, a ‘graphic

memoir’ tackling the politics and struggles of being a teenager behind the Iron Curtain

• Caldecott Honor Book Award, 2007

• “Mr. Sís's account belongs as much in the living room as it does in the nursery.”—The Wall Street Journal

Resources!

Peter Sis’s Homepage: http://www.petersis.com/index2.html

Peter sis on Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sis

Interview with children: http://www.zuzu.org/sisinterview.html

NYT article about non-fiction books (featuring Sis and Simon among others):

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801EFD6103CF935A25751C1A9659C8B63

Teacher Resources: http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/sis.htm