P. D. Eastman

P. D. Eastman
P. D. Eastman
Born	Philip Dey Eastman; November 25, 1909; Amherst, Massachusetts,U.S.
Died	January 7, 1986(aged 76); Cresskill, New Jersey,U.S.
Occupation	Writer, illustrator, storyboard artist
Genre	Children's literature
Years active	1936–1986
Notable works	Go, Dog. Go!; Are You My Mother?;
Spouse	Mary Louise Whitham
Website
	pdeastmanbooks.com

Philip Dey Eastman(November 25, 1909 – January 7, 1986) was an Americanscreenwriter,children's author,andillustrator.

Early life[edit]

Eastman was born inAmherst, Massachusetts,to Clarence Willis and Ann Hull (Dey) Eastman. After studying atPhillips Academy AndoverandWilliston Academy,he graduated fromAmherst Collegein 1933 and later from theNational Academy of Designin New York City.

Career[edit]

Film and animation[edit]

From 1936 to 1941, Eastman worked atWalt Disney Productionsin assistant animation, story-sketch, and production design. From 1941 to 1942, he worked in the story department ofLeon Schlesinger Productions,Warner Bros.'s cartoon unit, and was a member ofLocal Number Eight Hundred And Thirty-Nine of Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists,the trade union representing cartoonists in the United States.

In 1942, Eastman was drafted by the Army and assigned to theSignal Corpsfilm unit, which was headed by Theodor Geisel, who later became known asDr. Seuss.Here, Eastman conducted picture planning for animated sequences in orientation and training films, and he also wrote scripts and drew storyboards for thePrivate Snafuseries forArmy-Navy Screen Magazine.

From 1945 to 1952, Eastman worked atUnited Productions of America(UPA). He was a writer and storyboard artist for theMr. Magooseries. Eastman andBill Scottco-wrote the screenplay for the animated comedyGerald McBoing-Boing,which won anAcademy AwardforShort Subject, Cartoons,in 1950. Eastman also directed educational films and worked on the Flight Safety series for theUnited States Navy'sBureau of Aeronauticswhile at UPA.^[1]

Author and illustrator[edit]

Eastman, a protégé and colleague ofTheodor Geisel(pen name Dr. Seuss), wrote many books for children in his own distinct style. He worked with the Dr. Seuss brand ofRandom House,many of which were in theBeginner Booksseries. His titles include:

Are You My Mother?(ISBN 0-394-80018-4) (Beginner Book #18) (written and illustrated by)
Go, Dog. Go!(ISBN 0-394-80020-6) (Beginner Book #20)
The Best Nest(ISBN 0-394-80051-6) (Beginner Book #51) (written and illustrated by)
Flap Your Wings(ISBN 0-375-80243-6) (Early Bird Book, later reissued as Random House Pictureback Book formerly and Beginner Book #88 currently)
The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary(ISBN 0-394-81009-0) (Beginner Book)
What Time Is It?(ISBN 0-375-81362-4) (Bright and Early Board Books) - currently only available as an ebook
Sam and the Firefly(ISBN 0-394-80006-0) (Beginner Book #6) (written and illustrated by)
Big Dog...Little Dog(ISBN 0-375-82297-6), 30th anniversary edition with additional story, words and illustrations by Peter Anthony Eastman (Beginner Book #92)
Red, Stop! Green, Go!(ISBN 0-375-82503-7) (Bright and Early Playtime Book)
Sam and Gus Light Up The Night(ISBN 0-375-82926-1) (Bright and Early Playtime Book)
My Nest Is Best(ISBN 0-375-83267-X) (Bright and Early Playtime Book)
The Alphabet Book(ISBN 978-0-553-51111-6) (Random House Pictureback Book, later Bright and Early Book #41 (ISBN 0-375-80603-2) with additional materials by Tony Eastman from the Bright and Early Board Book edition)
Are You My Mother?(ISBN 0-679-89047-5) (Bright and Early Board Book, later reissued as Big Bright and Early Board Book)
Big Dog...Little Dog: A Bedtime Story(ISBN 0-394-83312-0) (Random House Pictureback Book)
Big Dog...Little Dog(ISBN 0-375-87539-5) (Bright and Early Board Book with additional materials by Peter Anthony Eastman)
Aaron is a Good Sport(ISBN 978-0-553-50842-0) (Step into Reading level 1) adapted fromEverything Happens to Aaron in the Spring(Take Along Books)
Aaron Has a Lazy Day(ISBN 978-0-553-50844-4) (Step into Reading level 1) adapted fromEverything Happens to Aaron in the Summer(Take Along Books)
Aaron Loves Apples and Pumpkins(ISBN 978-0-553-51234-2) (Step into Reading level 1) adapted fromEverything Happens to Aaron in the Autumn(Take Along Books)
Aaron is Cool(ISBN 978-0-553-51237-3) (Step into Reading level 1) adapted fromEverything Happens to Aaron in the Winter(Take Along Books)

He was the illustrator for:

A Fish Out of Wateradapted byHelen Palmer Geisel(ISBN 0-394-80023-0) (Beginner Book #23)
Robert the Rose Horseby Joan Heilbroner (ISBN 0-394-80025-7) (Beginner Book #25)
I'll Teach My Dog 100 WordsbyMichael K. Frith(ISBN 0-394-82692-2) (Bright and Early Book #17, later reissued as Beginner Book in the United Kingdom)
Go, Dog. Go!: P.D. Eastman's Book of Things That Go(ISBN 0-679-88629-X) (Bright and Early Board Books, later reissued as Big Bright and Early Board Book)
I'll Teach My Dog a Lot of Wordsby Michael K. Frith (ISBN 0-375-80099-9) (Bright and Early Board Book)

He wrote but Eastman did not illustrate:

Snowillustrated byRoy McKie(ISBN 0-394-80027-3) (Beginner Book #27)

His work is included in:

The Big Red Book of Beginner Books(ISBN 978-0-375-86531-2) (I Want to Be Somebody New!: A Sequel to Put Me in the Zoo,Sam and the Firefly,Stop That Ball!, Robert the Rose Horse, The Very Bad Bunny, andThe Digging-est Dog(1995, reprinted in 2010)
The Big Blue Book of Beginner Books(ISBN 978-0-375-85552-8) (Put Me in the Zoo, A Fly Went By,Are You My Mother?,Go, Dog. Go!,The Best Nest andIt's Not Easy Being a Bunny) (1994, reprinted in 2008)
The Big Purple Book of Beginner Books(ISBN 978-0-307-97587-4) (A Fish Out of Water,Snow, I'll Teach My Dog 100 Words, Flap Your Wings, Big Dog...Little Dog and Fred and Ted Go Camping (2012) (his last work after his death in early 1986)

Other affiliations[edit]

Eastman was a member of theAmerican Civil Liberties Union,Westport Artists, theScreen Cartoonists Guild,and theAudubon Society.

Family[edit]

In 1941 Eastman married Mary Louise Whitham ofGlendale,California.He had two sons, Alan Eastman and Peter Anthony (Tony) Eastman, an animator, who himself directed video adaptations ofRichard Scarry's children's books. Peter has also written and illustratedFred and Ted Go Camping(2005),Fred and Ted Like to Fly(2007), andFred and Ted's Road Trip(2011), and contributed new illustrations to several reissues of his father's books,The Alphabet Book(2000),Big Dog... Little Dog(2003),Red Stop! Green Go!(2004), andThe Cat in the HatBeginner Book Dictionary(2007).

References[edit]

^von Schmidt, Caitlin."P.D. Eastman".P.D. Eastman Books.Retrieved10 March2018.

External links[edit]

Phil EastmanatIMDb
P. D. EastmanatLibrary of Congress,with 40 library catalog records

[1] von Schmidt, Caitlin."P.D. Eastman".P.D. Eastman Books.Retrieved10 March2018.

[1]

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