| Ted Lewin [Author Site] [Resource File] | |
 Ted Lewin grew up in an old frame house in Buffalo, New
York, with two brothers, one sister, two parents, a lion, an iguana, a
chimpanzee, and an assortment of more conventional pets. The lion was given
to his older brother, Don, while he was traveling as a professional wrestler,
and he shipped it home. The family kept Sheba in the basement fruit cellar
until Don returned and their mother convinced him to give it to the Buffalo
zoo.
Ted always knew he wanted to be an illustrator. As a child he copied the work of illustrators and painters he admired, including N. C. Wyeth, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Diego Rodrfguez de Silva Veldzquez, and Francisco Jos6 de Goya y Lucientes. When it came time to go to art school (Pratt), he needed to earn money to finance his education. So, following in his brother's footsteps, he took a summer job as a wrestler-the beginning of a 15-year part-time career that eventually inspired his autobiographical book, I Was a Teenage Professional Wrestler. Ted's career as an artist began with illustrations for adventure magazines, and it's only over the last several years that he has devoted his time to writing and illustrating children's books. "I'm having more fun doing this than anything I've ever done before," he says. He is an avid traveler, and many of his books are inspired by trips to such places as the Amazon River, the Sahara Desert, Botswana, Egypt, Lapland, and India. His Market!, published in 1996, showcases markets around the world, from Uganda to Ireland to Ecuador, and he is currently working on The Storytellers, which is set in Morocco. When not drawing, painting, or traveling, Ted enjoys outdoor life and loves scuba diving, bird watching, and wildlife observation. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, Betsy, who also illustrates children's books. They share their home with their two cats, Slick and Chopper. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
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Gorilla Walk Ted and Betsy Lewin arrive in
the Okavango Delta of Botswana in February--the rainy season. Because there
is always water in the delta, it is rich in animal life: hippos, Cape buffalo,
lions, leopards, wildebeest, lechwe, giraffes, and some seventy thousand
elephants! It is the elephants that Ted and Betsy have especially come
to see. As they make their way through the flooded
grasslands, they encounter impalas, baboons, wild dogs, and a huge crocodile--but
where are the elephants hiding?
In Elephant Quest, Ted's realistic
paintings and Betsy's field sketches illuminate the real-life adventure
story of this exhilarating and often dangerous trip to the Moremi Reserve. |
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Tooth and Claw: Animal Adventures in the Wild (2003)
14 personal encounters, stories, drawings, and photos with animals in the wild Ages 9-12
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