Persistence - Continuing in a course of action despite difficulty or opposition; refusing to give up.

Tad Hills’ birthday is on April 1st.

As a child, Tad Hills spent a lot of time with his grandmother, who was also an artist. They made books, drew and painted pictures, visited galleries and museums, and sat in her garden. She encouraged Tad to look at the world from different angles. She was delighted when, instead of seeing a pansy, he saw a monkey’s face, or instead of a puddle of spilled milk, he saw an elephant.

Tad’s family and friends always encouraged his artistic endeavors. The family had a playroom that was buzzing with activity. It was never tidy for long – a reality his mother accepted after weighing the benefits. Tad spent most of his time drawing, painting, and building. Now, as an adult, and with children of his own, Tad makes many of the same things he made as a kid. “There is nothing more exciting to me than building something from nothing, without using a blueprint or directions. I especially like using unlikely – better yet, recycled - materials. I really couldn’t tell you how a car engine worked, but I can make a nice one out of cardboard and toothpicks.”

“I hope kids leave my books with a smile and a question,” Tad says. But what he loves most is when a lower school kid smiles and says proudly, ‘I’m writing a book.’

Tad lives with his wife and two children in New York City.