Nonny Hogrogian, beloved children's writer, illustrator and two-time Caldecott Medal recipient, has died of cancer on May 9-two days after her 92nd birthday. Her stories and illustrations often drew from her rich Armenian heritage.
Hogrogian was born in 1932 in New York to Armenian immigrant parents. From them, she learned how to draw and paint as she read poetry and fairytales from her grandfather's books. She studied fine arts at Hunter College in Manhattan, and found a job at the publishing house, Thomas Y. Cromwell. It was there that she illustrated her first children's book, Nicolette Meredith's King of the Kerry Fair (1962).
Originally working in woodcuts, Hogrogian began experimenting with watercolors and chalks when she illustrated Sorche Nic Leodhas' Always Room for One More (1965), based on a Scottish folk song. "Woodcuts, long my favorite medium, were too strong for the gentle folk in the heather. So I pulled out my watercolors and chalks, some ink and a pen, and before long, in an almost effortless way, the drawings seemed to flow." The book earned Hogrogian her first Caldecott Medal. The second came in 1972, for her own book, One Fine Day, inspired by an Armenian folk tale.
Shortly before that, she illustrated the poetry book, Homage to Adana, by fellow Armenian, David Kherdian. They married in 1971, and collaborated on several works afterwards.
She also illustrated a cookbook written by her sister, entitled The Armenian Cookbook.
Hogrogian worked on more than 70 books. Although she claimed to have retired in 1997, she wrote and illustrated The Tiger of Turkestan in 2002, and Cool Cat in 2009. "[Retirement] indicates more a time in my life when I need to live as I really wish to live, and work is a large part of what I take joy in doing."
Remembering Hogrogian, fellow author and illustrator Richard Michelson wrote: "Nonny will be remembered through her art, her books, her cooking (which I was lucky to sample of many occasions), and her kindness."
