Unselfish - Disregarding your own advantages by giving others opportunity.

Deborah Freedman’s birthday is on May 6th.

“My mom used to take my brother and sister and me to the library regularly, where we checked out the same books over and over again.” Deborah’s favorite books were picture books. She was most influenced by the ones her Aunt Mary Ann and Uncle Norma Hoberman wrote and illustrated.

Deborah worked full-time as an architect but after having her children decided to bring her family, art and design together by writing and illustrating picture books. She began by making little hand-made personal books for her girls. Along the way she developed the courage to send her work to publishers. Her second book, The Story of Fish & Snail has received rave reviews and created a good deal of Caldecott buzz. Blue Chicken is also gathering a lot of ALA awards predictions.

Deborah describes her “process” as “a ridiculous amount of time staring into space, chasing an awful lot of ideas to nowhere, and falling in and out of love.” Her usual medium is watercolor and pencil or ink, often with an assist from Photoshop. She threads instances from her own dynamic life into her stories.

Deborah lives in a vibrantly colorful house painted in very bright blocks of blues, yellows, reds, and greens in New Haven, Connecticut with her creative partner, first critic, and husband, Ben.