Tom Pohrt (1953-) Biography

Born 1953, in Flint, MI. Education: Attended University of Michigan, Flint.

Addresses

Agent—Candlewick Press, 2067 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140.

Career

Illustrator and author of children's books. Formerly worked in automobile factories and in small-press publishing.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

(Reteller) Coyote Goes Walking, (retelling), Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1995.

Having a Wonderful Time, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1999.

ILLUSTRATOR

Howard Norman, Who Met the Ice Lynx?, Grey Wolf Press, 1978.

Jim Henen, The Man Who Kept Cigars in His Cap, Grey Wolf Press, 1978.

Barry Lopez, Crow and Weasel, North Point Press, 1992.

Bruce Donehower, Miko, Little Hunter of the North, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1990.

Elizabeth Hauge and Victoria Glournoy McCarthy, editors, A Child's Anthology of Poetry, Ecco Press (Hopewell, NJ), 1995.

Tony Johnston, An Old Shell: Poems of the Galapagos, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1999.

Howard Norman, Trickster and the Fainting Birds, Harcourt Brace (San Diego, CA), 1999.

John Frank, The Tomb of the Boy King: A True Story in Verse, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 2000.

Jim Harrison, The Boy Who Ran to the Woods, Atlantic Monthly Press (New York, NY), 2000.

Stephen Mitchell, The Wishing Bone and Other Poems, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2003.

Sidelights

Illustrator and children's author Tom Pohrt grew up in the automobile-manufacturing town of Flint, Michigan. A self-taught artist whose love of animals is evident in

Tom Pohrt's ink-and-watercolor drawings illustrate the playful poems in The Wishing Bone and Other Poems, written by Stephen Mitchell.

his artwork, Pohrt has been interested in writing and drawing ever since he was a little boy. As he commented on PippinProperties.com, "When I look back, my grade school years could have been the most important time; I began developing my creative skills, though no one encouraged me to do so, and I was too young to know better." Despite his lack of guidance as a youngster, Pohrt went on to become a well-established illustrator, and has also penned the text for two books featuring his own illustrations.

In Coyote Goes Walking Pohrt retells four Native American trickster tales, bringing his animal characters to life in what a Publishers Weekly contributor described as "warm, earth-toned watercolors" that contain a "subtle humor." Described by a Publishers Weekly contributor as "one off-beat destination that's definitely worth a visit," Pohrt's quirky picture book Having a Wonderful Time finds a girl and a talking cat on a vacation where unexpected animal-sightings abound. The reviewer had special praise for Pohrt's "confidently deadpan" text with its "dry, understated humor," but also commended the author's characteristic detailed penand-ink drawings.

Praising Pohrt's contribution to John Frank's The Tomb of the Boy King: A True Story in Verse, School Library Journal contributor Barbara Buckley noted that "Pohrt's informative pen-and-watercolor paintings … will be a real draw" for young readers. Additional praise was accorded Pohrt's illustrations for Howard Norman's Trickster and the Fainting Birds, a Publishers Weekly reviewer praising the artist's renderings of the book's animal characters as "meticulously executed" and "precise, delicate" pen drawings.

The Wishing Bone and Other Poems written by Stephen Mitchell, and published by Candlewick Press in 2003, exemplifies Pohrt' skill as an illustrator. This collection of nine poems delves into the mysteries of life as seen through the eyes of a child. The poems describe fantastical images of owls holding court and what could happen if you make a wish on a wishing bone, among other fanciful themes. Pohrt's illustrations allow readers to truly visualize the imaginings of the children in the poems through his ability to maintain a balance between thorough detail and a playfulness reflective of the poems themselves. Ilene Cooper, in Booklist, expressed her delight by stating "Here's a lovely piece of book-making that combines poems that are both whimsical and thought-provoking with delightful ink-andwatercolor pictures that spill across the pages." A Kirkus Reviews contributor agreed, calling The Wishing Bone and Other Poems "A handsomely packaged, nicely diverse gathering of words and art."