Uri Shulevitz, one of children's literature's premier authors and illustrators, celebrates his birthday on February 27th. Uri and his family fled wartime Poland in 1939, when Uri was just four years old. The family settled in Paris and then Israel, which became home for ten years. Shulevitz moved to New York in 1959 and attended the Brooklyn Museum of Art School. He created his first picture book, The Moon in My Room, in 1963. Shulevitz has since illustrated dozens of award-winning books including Rain, Rain Rivers and Dawn. He received a Caldecott Medal in 1969 for The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, a Russian folktale retold by Arthur Ransome. Snow was awarded a Caldecott Honor in 1999. Look for The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela and How I Learned Geography, Mr Shulevitz's most recent work. Shulevitz lives and works in New York City.

His textbook, Writing With Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children's Books is an invaluable resource covering the technical aspects of creating a picture book. Shulevitz expounds on his philosophies of "writing a story with pictures" giving clear, concise examples—a Must for anyone working and teaching with children"s books.