Holling C. Holling
Encyclopedia
Holling Clancy Holling was an American author and illustrator, best known for the book Paddle-to-the-Sea
, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1942. Paddle to the Sea won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
in 1962. In 1966, Bill Mason
directed the Oscar-nominated short film Paddle to the Sea, based on Holling's book, for the National Film Board of Canada
.
, Holling graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1923. He worked in a taxidermy department of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and spent time working in anthropology under Dr. Ralph Linton. During this period, he married Lucille Webster and within a year of their marriage accepted a position as art instructor on the first University World Cruise, sponsored by New York University. For many years, Holling dedicated much of his time and interest to making books for children. Much of the material he used was known to him first hand, and his wife Lucille worked with him on many of the illustrations.
Some of his earlier works included:
titled The World Museum
. Each strip included a diorama
which could be cut out and assembled into a 3-D scene of, for example, a buffalo hunt or an undersea panorama.
Paddle to the Sea
Paddle-to-the-Sea is a 1941 children's book, written and illustrated by American author/artist Holling C. Holling. It was recognized as a Caldecott Honor Book in 1942....
, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1942. Paddle to the Sea won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
The Lewis Carroll Shelf Award was started in 1958 by Dr. David C. Davis with the assistance of Prof. Lola Pierstorff, Director Instructional Materials Center, Univ. of Wisconsin and Madeline Allen Davis, WHA Wisconsin Public Radio. Awards were presented annually at the Wisconsin Book Conference...
in 1962. In 1966, Bill Mason
Bill Mason
Bill Mason was an award-winning Canadian naturalist, author, artist, filmmaker, and conservationist, noted primarily for his popular canoeing books, films, and art as well as his documentaries on wolves. Mason was also known for including passages from Christian sermons in his films...
directed the Oscar-nominated short film Paddle to the Sea, based on Holling's book, for the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
.
Life and career
Born in Jackson County, MichiganJackson County, Michigan
As of the census of 2000, there were 158,422 people, 58,168 households, and 40,833 families residing in the county. The population density was 224 people per square mile . There were 62,906 housing units at an average density of 89/sq mi...
, Holling graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1923. He worked in a taxidermy department of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and spent time working in anthropology under Dr. Ralph Linton. During this period, he married Lucille Webster and within a year of their marriage accepted a position as art instructor on the first University World Cruise, sponsored by New York University. For many years, Holling dedicated much of his time and interest to making books for children. Much of the material he used was known to him first hand, and his wife Lucille worked with him on many of the illustrations.
Published works
- Paddle-to-the-Sea [1941] A small canoeCanoeA canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
carved by an IndianFirst NationsFirst Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
boy makes a journey from Lake Superior all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. The book won a Caldecott Honor. - Tree in the Trail [1942] A cottonwood tree watches the pageant of history on the Santa Fe Trail for over two hundred years.
- SeabirdSeabirdSeabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
[1948] A scrimshawScrimshawScrimshaw is the name given to handiwork created by whalers made from the byproducts of harvesting marine mammals. It is most commonly made out of the bones and teeth of sperm whales, the baleen of other whales, and the tusks of walruses...
ivory gull is the mascot for four generations of seafarers aboard a whaler, a clipper ship, a steamer, and an airplane. The book won a Newbery HonorNewbery MedalThe John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
. - Minn of the MississippiMinn of the MississippiMinn of the Mississippi is an illustrated children's book by Holling C. Holling. First published in 1951, it received the Newbery Honor award the next year.The book tells the story of a snapping turtle that hatches along the Mississippi River...
[1951] A snapping turtleSnapping turtleThe common snapping turtle is a large freshwater turtle of the family Chelydridae. Its natural range extends from southeastern Canada, southwest to the edge of the Rocky Mountains, as far east as Nova Scotia and Florida and as far southwest as northeastern Mexico...
hatched at the source of the Mississippi is carried through the heart of America to the Gulf of Mexico. The book won a Newbery HonorNewbery MedalThe John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
. - Pagoo [1957] An intricate study of tide pool life is presented through the story of Pagoo, a hermit crabHermit crabHermit crabs are decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea. Most of the 1100 species possess an asymmetrical abdomen which is concealed in an empty gastropod shell that is carried around by the hermit crab.-Description:...
.
Some of his earlier works included:
- Little Big Bye-and-Bye [1926]
- Claws of the Thunderbird [1928]
- Rocky Billy [1928]
- Choo-Me-Shoo [1928]
- Children of Other Lands [1929]
- Twins Who Flew Around the World [1930]
- Book of Cowboys [1936]
- Book of Indians [1935]
- Little Buffalo Boy [1939]
- "Rum Tum Tummy: The Elephant Who Ate"[ 1936]
The World Museum
Holling wrote and illustrated a full-page Sunday comic stripSunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
titled The World Museum
The World Museum
The World Museum was a full-page illustrated feature in American Sunday newspapers during the 1930s. Devised and drawn by Holling Clancy Holling, it was also known as The World Museum Dioramas....
. Each strip included a diorama
Diorama
The word diorama can either refer to a nineteenth century mobile theatre device, or, in modern usage, a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum...
which could be cut out and assembled into a 3-D scene of, for example, a buffalo hunt or an undersea panorama.