Floyd Cooper

Floyd Cooper (1956–2021) was an acclaimed American author and illustrator of children's picture books, renowned for his distinctive subtractive painting technique and works exploring the African American experience. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he illustrated over 100 titles, collaborating with authors like Eloise Greenfield, Nikki Grimes, and Joyce Carol Thomas, and earned multiple Coretta Scott King Illustrator Awards (2009, 2022), Honors, and a Caldecott Honor (2022). After studying at the University of Oklahoma and working at Hallmark, he moved to New York City in 1984 to pursue children's book illustration.