The Books and Illustrations of Hudson Talbott

HUDSON TALBOTT

Travel is one of my greatest joys- whether its by land, sea, air - or cyberspace. The passport on my homepage has been all over the world with me, and the icons you see surrounding it represent the projects I've created from my travel experiences. Last year, for example, I found myself in Amsterdam, Holland, at the Institute of War Documentation, the place where they keep the few records that the Nazis didn't burn. I needed to go there for research on my book Forging Freedom. From there I flew to Wales for a conference about King Arthur and the Holy Grail, research for my King Arthur series. It was great fun to be with a group of Arthurian scholars, in Arthur's homeland. From there I crossed the Irish Sea to Dublin, where I directed a wonderful cast of Irish actors in a taped dramatization of my book O'Sullivan Stew.

One of my journeys took me to Kenya, in east Africa, to visit Dr. Jan Grootenhuis, a wildlife expert I had met in India last year. When he invited me to work on a book together with him about the wildlife of Africa how could I say no? I sent email reports back to several schools in the States when we were on safari. It was wild to be sharing my safari experiences as they were happening! In fact, I think the thing I love most about travel is sharing it with others- through a book, a recording, an email report, or a website. Have a good time on your own travels around my website. And don't forget to write me an email!

A Brief History of Hudson

Hudson Talbott was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, the youngest of four children. From the time he could pick up a pencil, he has been interested in drawing and creative expression, and he considers himself extremely fortunate to have had family and teachers who encouraged his talents.

After graduating from the Tyler School of Art in Rome, Hudson remained in Europe, first staying in Italy, and then living for two years in Amsterdam. He then worked in Hong Kong and traveled throughout southeast Asia for a year before moving to New York, where he has lived and worked since 1974. In his ten years as a freelance illustrator, his work was commissioned by such clients as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bloomingdale's, and New York Magazine. Hudson's first book for young readers, called How to Show Grown-ups the Museum, was commissioned by New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1985. Since then he has written and illustrated more than twelve books for the child in all of us.

Hudson's interest in other cultures and his genuine appreciation for all types of people have contributed enormously to the development of his work as both artist and story-teller.

Hudson has written and illustrated many books including River of Dream, United Tweets of America: 50 State Birds, Their Stories, Their Glories, Show Way (Newbery Honor Book), Leonardo's Horse, and Safari Journal: The Adventures in Africa of Carey Monroe (Aspca Henry Bergh Children's Book Awards (Awards).

He lives in New York City and Leeds, New York, in the Hudson Valley.