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Donald Cook is a Children's Book Illustrator, Painter and Educator from Greenwich, New York.

A Philosophy of Illustration

Illustrating for children is both an expression of love and a performance of magic.

Children uncritically accept the words and images offered to them; when offered with love by writers and artists who understand and respect children, these inspired words and images will nourish and sustain a child's spirit

For a child, a book is a doorway into another world, and into the hidden, inner Self. If I do my work well, my illustrations can magically transport a child through that doorway. As an artist, my contribution to children's literature is to visualize characters and worlds which speak to a child's imagination.

A book which is well and thoughtfully illustrated provides a richer experience for a child by supporting the words of the printed text with concrete images which communicate action, express emotion, and satisfy a child's need to engage his / her senses. With love and magic, an illustration transforms a story into a living, tangible world which a child can explore and revisit as often as he or she wishes.

Donald Cook's Best Known Titles

The True Story of Balto | Abe Lincoln's Hat | The Headless Horsman | Pirates

Nationally, Donald Cook's illustrations have been published by Random House, Harper Collins, Putnam Grosset, Houghton Mifflin, Scholastic, The Ginn Reading Series, Scott Foresman, Addison Wesley among others.