Jon Klassen
Joshua White
Jon Klassen Miniature Biography
Jon Klassen was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, on November 29, 1981. He grew up in the same place with two younger brothers, Will and Justin. As a child, Jon enjoyed reading books written by P.D. Eastman, such as Go, Dog. Go! and Sam the Firefly. He also read Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel.
Jon Klassen received his education at Sheridan College. He moved to Los Angeles, California, and began a career as an author/illustrator. To create his pictures, Klassen uses Gouache, a form of watercolor paint, along with inks and acrylics, and digitally alters them later. Jon Klassen is married to Moranne Keeler. He has no children.
During his career as an author/illustrator, Jon Klassen has received a 2013 Caldecott award for This is Not My Hat, as well as having won the Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book Award for I Want My Hat Back. He has also written and/or illustrated many stories, including: I want My Hat Back, This is Not My Hat, The Dark (which he worked on with Lemony Snicket), Extra Yarn, and Cat’s Night Out.
Ever since his first art project in the second grade, Jon Klassen has been destined for a career in art.