Eric A. Kimmel

Eric A. Kimmel is the author of over 150 books for children, including the classics Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock and the 1990 Caldecott Award Honor Book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins. Eric is a five time winner of the National Jewish Book Award. He has been awarded the Sydney Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of Jewish Libraries for his work. Eric says, “I’ve always loved hearing stories from different places. Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, I could hear five different languages walking down my block. I’m fortunate in having had the chance to visit so many of the places where those stories came from and getting a sense of the people and cultures that created them.” Eric’s last trip was this past February when he and his wife Doris traveled to Borneo in Malaysia. He writes, “We were in the mountains, the rain forest, on rivers. We saw monkeys, orangutans, and fabulous birds including all eight species of hornbill that live in Sabah. Our next trip will be to Iceland, a place I’ve always wanted to visit. I’m looking forward to getting familiar with Viking sagas as well as lots of birds.” Eric’s latest achievement is earning his scuba diving certification. He says, “I can’t wait to get back to Hawaii to go diving again on those spectacular reefs with all the friends I made there.”