Stephen Gammell (1943) — American children’s book illustrator known for his distinctive, surreal, and often haunting visual style.
Gammell grew up in Iowa, where his father worked as an art director for a major magazine and encouraged his son’s artistic curiosity from an early age. Though he never received formal art training, Gammell began publishing his work in the early 1970s. His first illustrated book, A Nutty Business (1973) by Ida Chittum, told the story of a farmer’s whimsical “war” with squirrels. That same year, he illustrated The Search by Sara Newton Carroll, a depiction of Leo Tolstoy’s youth.
Over the decades, Gammell has illustrated more than fifty books, ranging from playful picture stories to deeply atmospheric works. His surreal, expressive imagery reached legendary status in Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series, whose unsettling drawings both fascinated and frightened generations of young readers.
In 1989, Gammell received the prestigious Caldecott Medal for Song and Dance Man, written by Karen Ackerman — a tender, nostalgic story celebrating family, memory, and performance.
Amazon | Stephen Gammell
Stephen Gammell is one of the most recognized masters of visual horror. His most famous work in this genre remains the series of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz. These collections were published over the course of a decade, until Schwartz’s death in 1992. Decades later, […]
