About Gerald R. McDermott
Gerald McDermott, a Caldecott
Medalist, has received international recognition for his illustrated books and
animated films. He is highly regarded for his culturally diverse works inspired
by traditional African and Japanese folktales, hero tales of the Pueblos, and
the archetypal mythology of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. He was awarded a National
Scholastic Scholarship to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn while he attended high
school in Detroit. Once in New York, he began to produce and direct a series of
animated films on mythology in consultation with renowned mythologist Joseph
Campbell, and these films became the basis for McDermott’s first picture books.
In addition to his books and films, he is primary education program director
for the Joseph Campbell Foundation.