Died today at the age of 83. I grew up with him, and I’d put him in the top echelon of children’s authors along with Dr Seuss and he was matchless as an illustrator. The first thing I did when I knew our daughter was coming was get The Nutshell Library. My favorite of his was actually the Little Bear stories, which he only illustrated, but the illustrations were some of the best pen-and-ink ever. He was a great interview, too – he had characteristics of a teddy bear and curmudgeon at the same time, with a touch of holocaust survivor.
The world is a less wild place in his absence.