We here at Calling Caldecott are sad to have read the news about the death of Mordicai Gerstein, who wrote and illustrated children’s books for nearly five decades. I first heard about his death on Tuesday when Richard Michelson of R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton, Massachusetts, shared the news of his passing on social media.

To say that Gerstein, winner of the 2004 Caldecott Medal for The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, had a distinctive artistic style would be a massive understatement. What stands out to me is his especially eloquent, fluid line work. He had a way of drawing in pen and ink that was so … Gerstein-esque. That’s my inelegant way of saying you could spot a Mordicai Gerstein book in no time flat. No one else drew and painted quite like him.

If you aren’t familiar with his work, please jot down some of the books here and explore. I figure, however, that if you’re reading this blog, you’ve read at least some of his titles — because he made an indelible mark in children’s literature. The breathtaking Man Who Walked Between the Towers (who can forget the spine-tingling “Now the towers are gone” spread?) not only won the Caldecott but also won a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, was a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book, and more. You can read further about his honors and accolades here.

Most importantly, however, his books were loved by child readers, even if he once said (see this wonderful video at Michelson's site) that he wrote and illustrated books for “people. They call them ‘children’s books,’ the ones I do, but they’re for people. They’re for everybody.”

At his website, Gerstein — who began his career in animation — wrote: “From the first, I loved the picture book medium. It was film and drawing and theater all in one.” In an interview at my site in 2013, he told me, “I have always had a great love and respect for the art of drawing — and the people who practice it.” We are grateful for his body of work, an impressive bibliography that ran the gamut from mischievous (Tales of Pan) to surreal (Stop Those Pants!) to hushed and reverent (The Night World) to wondrous (his novel The Old Country) to gloriously fantastical yet oh-so practical (How to Bicycle to the Moon to Plant Sunflowers), and that covered such subjects as Greek mythology (I Am Hermes! was released just this year), apples (Eden Ross Lipson’s Applesauce Season, my favorite autumn book), creativity and art (The Sleeping Gypsy; The First Drawing; Jacques Prévert’s How to Paint the Portrait of a Bird), seasons and the passing of time (The Story of May), mysteries (including Elizabeth Levy’s Something Queer Is Going On, which launched him into children’s books), and so, so much more.

Michelson tells us that his gallery will pay tribute to Gerstein at its 30th annual Illustration Celebration on November 10, 2019. Gerstein has been with Michelson’s gallery for over thirty years.

Our condolences to Gerstein’s family. His books will live forever.