Bio

Jennifer O'Connell is the author/illustrator of the best-selling picture book,Ten Timid Ghosts. A two-time winner of The Christopher Medal for illustration, Jennifer also wrote and illustrated Ten Timid Ghosts on a Christmas Night which is featured in Merry Christmas: A Storybook Collection and illustrated the popular A Garden of Whales.

"I grew up in Connecticut with an artistic mother and a father who loved to recite poetry and tell stories. He also read to us. I think that those early favorites such as Garth Williams' The Sailor Dog and Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas all influenced me. By the time I went to college, though, I had decided to focus on editorial illustration. Then I attended a lecture by Maurice Sendak and began to fall in love with picture books. It is thrilling to produce a series of images that, together with the text, enable the reader to go to a special place in their imagination."

After obtaining a BFA in Illustration from Philadelphia College of Art (now known as The University of the Arts), Jennifer has produced award-winning designs and illustrations for newspapers, advertisements, educational publishers, food industry companies and associations, but her favorite work will always be creating picture books. "I love working on books for our most important audience and I truly enjoy connecting with children of all ages when I visit schools and libraries. I believe picture books are for everyone. After all, there is a child in each of us!"

Jennifer O'Connell currently lives in Bethesda, Maryland. For more information and to learn about Jennifer's presentations, please go to one of these websites:  

http://www.jenniferoconnellart.com/
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=41135
http://www.childrensbookguild.org/