Korean illustrator creates one of NYT’s best children’s books of the year

November 2, 2015
JooHee Yoon

JooHee Yoon

JooHee Yoon, an illustrator and printmaker whose work has appeared in international publications like the New Yorker, saw an effort of hers — “The Tiger Who Would Be King,” written by James Thurber — ranked by the New York Times as one of the best illustrated children’s books of the year last week.

The book is based on a 1956 comic fable by Thurber.

“Each page teems with evocative images of animal life,” the New York Times says of her work. “The effort is ferocious and ravishing, capturing the beastliness of war along with emotions that include pride, boredom, shock and sorrow.”

“Tiger” is her third illustrated book, following “Beastly Verse” and “Living Things.”

Earlier this year, Yoon was one of 19 recipients of the ADC Young Guns 13 award, a prestigious honor bestowed on creatives under age 30.

Yoon is a printmaking professor and graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. Her drawings have been seen in widely circulated publications like the New York Times, the Washington Post, Le Monde, Nautilus Magazine and National Public Radio.