P.J. Lynch

Illustrator P.J. Lynch began to draw when he was very young. “My mama says that while everyone else was off playing football, I was always drawing,” he says. “I got a lot of encouragement to continue with it. I’m not sure which came first–the encouragement or my showing any talent. But because I was encouraged, I kept at it, practiced, and improved.” P.J. Lynch does more now than merely practice. Well known in publishing for the research he devotes to his exquisite and detailed illustrations, he has won the Kate Greenaway Medal for outstanding illustration in children’s books twice and is a three-time recipient of the Christopher Medal, which is awarded to works that “affirm the highest dignity of the human spirit.” Among his Christopher Medal-winning books is Susan Wojciechowski’s “The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey”, a tale of a woodcarver whose grieving heart is healed by a gentle request. “I hope my work never settles into a recognizable style,” says P.J. Lynch, who now lives in Dublin, Ireland, with his family. “So long as I am learning, my work will always be changing.”