Holling C. Holling

Holling Clancy Holling (born Holling Allison Clancy, August 2, 1900 – September 7, 1973) 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.

Life and career

Born in Jackson County, Michigan, 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

• Little Big Bye-and-Bye [1926]
• Rum Tum Tummy: The Elephant Who Ate [1927]
• 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]
• Paddle-to-the-Sea [1941] A small canoe carved by an Indian 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.
• Seabird [1948] A scrimshaw 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 Honor.
• Minn of the Mississippi [1951] A snapping turtle hatched at the source of the Mississippi is carried through the heart of America to the Gulf of Mexico. The book won a Newbery Honor.
• Pagoo [1957] An intricate study of tide pool life is presented through the story of Pagoo, a hermit crab.

The World Museum

Holling wrote and illustrated a full-page Sunday comic strip 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.

External links

• Guide to the Holling Clancy Holling papers at the University of Oregon
• Guide to the Holling Clancy Holling papers at the University of California Los Angeles