Biography
Steven Kellogg was born in Norwalk, Connecticut in 1941. He fell in love with writing and
drawing as a very young child, and was especially drawn to the illustrations and stories of
Beatrix Potter and N.C. Wyeth. Kellogg had wonderful reading role models as a child: a
grandmother who read books like Gone with the Wind through a magnifying glass, and an aunt
who always gave books as gifts on Christmas and for birthdays. He also shared a fun tradition
with his two younger sisters, an activity they called "telling stories on paper." Kellogg would sit
between them with a stack of paper on his lap and a pencil in his hand, making up fanciful stories
and creating quick illustrations one after another to accompany the tales.
Kellogg went on to study illustration at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design where he
had the chance to learn about the art and design of picture books. After graduation, Kellogg
began submitting picture book ideas to publishers and after his first acceptance has never looked
back. For years, Kellogg lived and worked in an old farmhouse in the hills of Connecticut with
his wife and six stepchildren, who he has dedicated many of his books to. Kellogg now works
out of an old yellow barn overlooking by the shore of Lake Champlain, where he surrounds
himself with story ideas and his artist's tools. Research is an important part of Kellogg's process,
and he considers research to be an adventure as exciting as space travel! So is figuring out the
magical interplay between text and images (he likens it to filmmaking and the creation of
"moving pictures") where each contributes to the pacing, pleasure, and meaning of the story.
Kellogg is a devoted animal lover and he has always enjoyed putting animals in his books. The
famous Pinkerton series is based on Kellogg's family dog, the real Pinkerton. Kellogg says, "It
was the spirit of his personality and obstreperous imaginative mischief gave rise to my
imaginative concoctions that evolved into plots for the Pinkerton books."