Children’s Book Illustrator Leo Dillon Dies

Children’s book illustrator Leo Dillon died in Brooklyn last month at the age of 79. Dillon and his wife Diane were longtime artistic collaborators for children’s books. They received two Caldecott Medals for Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears and Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions.

Mr. Dillon was a Brooklyn native. He and his wife changed the complexion of children’s books during the seventies when they began to add skin color to the characters in the stories they illustrated.

Mr. and Mrs. Dillon said their life as an illustrator team began in the sixties when they began to color the children’s skin in the picture books they bought for their son. Click the source link and follow their link to a photo gallery of this couple’s work. Source