Hurd, Thacher

John Thacher Hurd was born in 1949 in Burlington, Vermont, son of the children's book illustrator, Clement Hurd, and children's book author, Edith Thacher Hurd. His youth was spent in rural Vermont where he often watched his father work in his studio and where he learned about children's books. At the age of 16 he collaborated with his parents on Little Dog Dreaming He attended the California College of Arts and Crafts and later taught writing and illustrating for children, but wanted to become a serious artist. He didn't intend to become a children's author and illustrator, but soon realized that "the little doodles and fanciful drawings" he was doing on the side were expressing a deeper part of himself. His first solo effort was The Quiet Evening in 1978. He continues to write and illustrate children's books and also co-owns the Peaceable Children's Press with his wife, Olivia Hurd. Biographical source: Something About the Author, vol. 94, p. 113-117.