Ezra Jack Keats Foundation

The Ezra Jack Keats Collection

The de Grummond Collection is the home of the Ezra Jack Keats Archive, the sole repository of Keats’ manuscripts, typescripts, sketches, dummies, illustrations and proofs for 37 books he wrote and/or illustrated.

The mission of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation is to

• Bring the multicultural, creative spirit of Keats into children's lives and literature;

• Support arts and literacy programs in public schools and libraries across the country;

• Celebrate new writers and illustrators of exceptional picture books for a diverse audience of children; and

Jacob Ezra Katz’s artistic talent was recognized when he was a young boy. Born in 1916 in Brooklyn, New York, he was the third child of a Jewish family who journeyed to the United States to escape vicious antisemitism in Poland. Growing up during the Great Depression, he was unable to attend art school after high school and instead took various commercial art jobs wherever he could find them. Keats was lucky to get a job helping paint murals for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and went on to illustrate backgrounds for Marvel comics. He joined the United States Army in 1943 and designed camouflage patterns, a service that helped save lives. In 1947, having experienced severe antisemitism, he changed his name to Ezra Jack Keats to get work as an artist. His illustrations began to appear in well-known publications and galleries, and eventually he was hired to illustrate children’s books authored by others.

• Preserve Keats' work and extend his legacy.

“I was like a child playing, and I was in a world with no rules.” Keats experimented with techniques that were completely new to him—combining collage, handmade stamps, and spattering ink—creating the striking illustrations for which The Snowy Day is now famous.

The Ezra Jack Keats (EJK) Foundation was established in 1964, with Keats serving as president and his lifelong friend, Martin Pope, as secretary. Upon his passing in 1983, Keats’ will directed the Foundation to use the royalties from his books for social good. Martin Pope and his wife Lillie designed the EJK Foundation to realize his wishes.

C.E. & S. Foundation

The Tasha Tudor Collection

Tasha Tudor was an author/illustrator of children’s literature whose work has brought joy to generations of readers. She wrote and illustrated more than two dozen published texts during her lifetime. Recognized worldwide for the expressive nature of her watercolors and pencil drawings, her artwork has now appeared in over 100 titles and on innumerable greeting cards.

Before legally changing her name, Tasha Tudor was born Starling Burgess on August 28, 1915, in Boston, Mass. She studied at the Boston Museum School and began illustrating children’s book in 1938. Over the years, she enjoyed writing and illustrating fairy tales, nursery rhymes and stories of holiday celebrations and farm life. Her illustration style has been frequently characterized as “romantically old-fashioned, Victorian and nineteenth-century.” In addition to numerous other awards and honors, two of her works, Mother Goose and 1 Is One , were named Caldecott Honor Books.

Housed within de Grummond, the Tasha Tudor Collection contains material for her books, a collection of her favorite Christmas cards, as well as many other illustrations, letters and original art.

It wasn’t until the early 1960s that Keats was invited to write and illustrate the book that became The Snowy Day, which was published in 1962. The following year, Keats was awarded the Caldecott Medal, the most prestigious children’s book award. During his acceptance speech, he described his thoughts while creating the picture book:

Since 1985, the EJK Foundation has contributed over $565,000 through the USM Foundation for awards, promotions, activities and development of the Ezra Jack Keats Archive and the Ezra Jack Keats Award. Annually, the EJK Foundation contributes $36,000 in support with supplemental gifts made periodically.

Each year during the Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival, the de Grummond Collection and the EJK Foundation present the Ezra Jack Keats Award, which honors early career writers and illustrators of outstanding children’s books that reflect our diverse population.

“It’s an honor to work with Ellen Ruffin, curator of the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection, whose stewardship has been instrumental in helping the national renown of the EJK Award flourish,” said Deborah Pope, executive director of the EJK Foundation. “During our partnership, the EJK Award has jump started the careers of such star authors and illustrators as Meg Medina, Christian Robinson, Oge Mora, Micha Archer and Derrick Barnes. It’s a joy to know that de Grummond is not only one of the foremost collections of children’s literature in the United States, it is also a force that fosters the creation of wonderful books for today, as well as future generations of our multicultural communities.”

For Tasha Tudor’s Favorite Christmas Carols, the Collection contains a typescript, two galleys, illustration proofs, color separations, layouts and blueprints.

“Tasha Tudor is a household name in children’s literature,” Ruffin said. “Her work speaks to individuals of all ages and evokes pleasant memories with her depictions of idyllic times. Her scenes present children, animals and festivities, and she expresses her love of gardens in the florals used in her picture books.”

The C.E. and S. Foundation has donated more than $693,000 through the USM Foundation, including $200,000 in 2022 for the acquisition of the Tasha Tudor Christmas and Greeting Card Collection.

Ruffin exudes, “We are humbled by the extensive support of the C.E. and S. Foundation, which has assisted us in becoming the place for Tasha Tudor research, allowing us to expand our reach and impact to disciplines from English, library science and creative writing to graphic design, digital humanities and history.”

The de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection—a treasure trove of materials from Savery, Keats, Tudor and

Located in Louisville, Ky., the C.E. and S. Foundation is an organization that works to better the communities it serves. The Foundation invests in five areas of focus essential to educational achievement:

• Caregiver Engagement

• Social Emotional Support (Birth through Grade 12)

• Academic Support (Kindergarten through Grade 12)

• Family and Household Stability

• Postsecondary Education Success so many others—would not be the extensive collection it is without the generosity of our donors and partners. Their generosity in time, monetary support and physical materials has an invaluable impact on the Collection and the future of children’s literature research.