It is with great sadness that NYRB marks the passing of the gifted illustrator Marc Simont.
Born in Paris, Simont studied drawing with his father (also an illustrator) and at schools in France and the United States. Over the course of his illustrious career he worked on over 100 children’s books, including The Backward Day, The Wonderful O, and The 13 Clocks (all available from The New York Review Children’s Collection).
He was the recipient of a Caldecott Medal (for A Tree is Nice), two Caldecott Honors (The Happy Day and The Stray Dog), and—in recognition of his work as an occasional political cartoonist—the Grambs Aronson Award for Cartooning With a Conscience.
Margalit Fox of The New York Times described his work as “embodying both airy lightness and crackling energy.” We will miss that lightness and energy—and return to his work for its vivacity, intimacy, and charm.