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As long as I can remember my self I liked to draw. When I was 14 years old I had to choose my future occupation. My father wanted me to study math but I wanted to draw so I enrolled in to specialized art school. When I have graduated it I was admitted into Ukraine art academy. Even before I have graduated from the academy I have started to work as freelancer for the cartoon magazine name “Perets” (Chili Pepper). After graduation I went to work as cartoonist for “Chili Pepper” full time. In 1979 I unsuccessfully tried to leave USSR and immigrate to US. As the result of it I was fired from “Chili Pepper” and was unable to find work as artist for long time as all jobs in USSR were controlled by government.
So I spend a few years just doing oil paintings in my studio. And slow as time has passed by I realized that I did not wont to go back to do cartoons any more and what I really wanted was to write and to draw children books. I end up making over 40 published books in USSR before I finely immigrated to US after collapse of USSR in 1991. In the 20 plus years that I have been living in US I have made over 50 books.
Up on arrival to the US I have mat with Kent Brown editor in chief of Highlights magazine as well as founder of Boyds Mills Press. After the meeting he called me up and offered me the position of the stuff artist for his publication. I spend 1/5 years working for the Highlights for Children. It was very interesting and unusual period of my life not only because I was trying to adjust to life in America but also because never before in my live have I had 9 to 5 job. While I was working there I managed to establish bunch of freelance jobs. I start contributing my stories for Turtle and Cricket magazines on the regular basis “which I still do it even now”. But after 1/5 years in working for Highlight I was ready to strike on my own. By that time my children were living in NY and I felt that I should be in NY too not just because of my family but also because that’s where the heart of books publishing was.
In NY I met with Marc Cheshire Chief editor for North-South publishing house and he offered me the contracts for few of my books, which led to wonderful collaboration that lasted the next 10 years. Working for North-South I mad many books which were reprinted many times in US and all over the world. The most popular of them was “Nicky and The Big Bad Wolf” and “Little Bunnies Sleepless Night”. At the start of 2000s resection hit the market and North-South went out of business.
Right about that time at the annual Highlight for Children event I was introduce to Patty Gauch publisher and chief editor for Philomel Book. She told me that she was big fan of my works and asked me to do some books for her. Working with Patty Gauch took the next 12-15 years of my life and led to creation and publishing of many for of my books such as “Christopher Counting”, “Red, Red, Red”, “The Big Trip”, “One Rainy Day”, “What’s the Big Idea, Molly?” just to mention a few.
Over the 27 years of my life in the US I end up working for most of big children’s books publishing houses and have created over 60 books and I am sure there will be much more to come soon…
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