Playful - Ability to enjoy lively and creative recreation in a wholesome and carefree manner.

Peter McCarty’s birthday is on October 16th.

Peter was born in Westport, Connecticut. He spent most of his childhood recreating images in his mind of a battle from World War II or running from dinosaurs in prehistoric times. He has developed characters and environments based on worlds he thought of, even at the age of three. His family background includes many artists, and very dear to him his grandmother, Grace Boyd. Even though she died before his birth, his mother kept them surrounded by her fantastic paintings and drawings.

Engineering was Peter’s field of study at the University of Colorado. He enjoyed science and solving math problems, but drawing and creating worlds continued to be his passion. With the support of friends and teachers, he decided to attend and ultimately graduate from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

He was then introduced to an editor at Henry Holt and Company and began his career as an illustrator. One of his illustrations evoked such emotion in his girlfriend that she cried. In due course they married. He has illustrated and written books that have been praised by critics and won awards. Hondo and Fabian won a Caldecott Honor. Little Bunny on the Move won Best Illustrated Book of the Year from the New York Times. Peter notes, “That book established my career and gave me the confidence to continue to write and illustrate the stories from my mind.”

Peter and his wife and two children live in upstate New York.