David Wiesner has had a vivid imagination his entire life. The flights of fantasy in his work as a children's book author-illustrator have garnered him the most prestigious awards in the country.

As a child, David loved to draw pictures, read comic books, and watch monster movies. The fusion of these interests led to his passion to use pictures to tell stories. While attending The Rhode Island School of Design, his growing focus on visual storytelling led David to investigate the idea of wordless picture books. The result of this exploration was a nine foot long painting, which was the genesis of what eventually became his first wordless book, and the first book authored by David himself, Free Fall.

During David’s senior year at RISD, he met with Trina Schart Hyman, which led to his first illustrating job, a full color cover for "Cricket Magazine." Ten years later, a second cover for "Cricket" became the origin for his book Tuesday. In this picture book, humor, surreal imagery, and comic book storytelling techniques came together to answer the tantalizing question "What if…?"

David’s books all begin with the ordinary: a storm, falling asleep, a school trip, a frog on a lily pad. But with a slight shift in perspective, the ordinary becomes extraordinary as his imagination takes flight.

In recognition of the distinctive quality of his work, David has received two Caldecott Honor Book designations and two Caldecott Medals. In 1989, Free Fall was chosen as a Caldecott Honor Book. In 1992, David was awarded the Caldecott Medal for Tuesday. Sector 7 was named a Caldecott Honor Book in 2000, and in 2002, David was awarded a second Caldecott medal for The Three Pigs.