Simms Taback seemed to burst onto the children's picture book scene in 1998 with his first Caldecott honor medal for There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. In reality, he has worked in the field of illustration for over forty years as a designer and artist with more than 68 books to his credit. After graduating from New York City's High School of Music and Art, Simms studied fine art and graphic design at New York's famous Cooper Union. In 1956, following his service in the Korean War, Simms began his career in art. Among other assignments, Simms designed the first Happy Meal box for McDonald's, album covers for Columbia records, and posters for Scholastic's Let's Find Out magazine and Sesame Street Magazine. In fact, he was one of the original artists to work on Sesame Street Magazine. He also became a founding member of the Graphic Artists Guild and received their first Lifetime Achievement Award in 1976.
Simms feels he does not draw well so in creating his books he thinks about shapes. "It's the shape itself in an abstract sense that interests me. I work very flat. I love flat, wonderful shapes sitting in space."[1] Many of his earlier books such as Who Said Moo? and When I First Came to This Land were illustrated for other writers (these two are by Harriet Ziefert), however Simms prefers to control every element of the book including layout and typography. He reports his style has been influenced by children's art as well as naïve art, the folk art of painters like the Reverend Harold Finster. He has also "been inspired by Paul Klee, Saul Steinberg, early animated films and the circus figures of Alexander Calder."[2]
His folk art style is eminently suited to the subjects he picks but his unique imagination lends vitality and verve to the simple songs and rhymes that he chooses.
Both Joseph Had a Little Overcoat and There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly are classified as novelty book because of their die-cut pages, a technique perfectly suited to these two stories. Taback had explored this technique in many previous forms including a 1997 colored pencil version of "Joseph" and a line of greeting cards for "Cardtricks," a business he and partner Reynold Ruffins (also a well known illustrator) started in 1987. With There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly he adds to his watercolor and colored pencil on kraft paper, building up layers to resemble gouache or tempera paintings. In Joseph Had a Little Overcoat he added a collage technique, cutting up old catalogs, Yiddish newspapers and family photographs to create a virtual encyclopedia of "yiddishkayt" (Jewish world-view). These small details add many layers to his simple folksong and delights audiences of all ages.
The 2000 Caldecott medal for Joseph Had a Little Overcoat cemented his rightful place as a top illustrator of children's picture books. Before winning the Caldecott medals Simms did not feel he was able to earn a living from creating picture books alone. Now he feels able to devote more of his time to book illustration. The medals have led to his signing of "open contracts" with two publishers, which means he is free to select the stories and has the freedom to write, illustrate and design his books. The first of these new books, This Is the House that Jack Built reverberates with an imaginative energy that promises even more fun for the future.
[1] Susan E. Davis. "Cross Over Appeal" Step by Step Graphics. July August, 1999. 34-45 [2] Connie C. Rockman, Eighth Book of Junior Authors and Illustrators. 510-512
