Ryan T. Higgins

Ryan T. Higgins is an American author and illustrator of children's books. He is best known for his Mother Bruce and Penelope Rex series, both of which have had a book on The New York Times Best Seller List^[1][2] and have won the E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Books.^[3][4]

Ryan T. Higgins
Occupation	Author and illustrator
Genre	Children's books
Notable awards	The E.B. White Read Aloud Award (2016, 2019)
Website
ryanthiggins.com

Biography

Higgins graduated from the College of the Atlantic in 2006.^[5] He is married and has three children.^[6] As of 2021, he lives in Maine.^[7]

Influences

Higgins was greatly inspired by Calvin and Hobbes comics when he was younger and initially wanted to become a comic writer; however, after seeing Mo Willems's Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! at a friend's home, he became intrigued by the genre.^[6] He was inspired to write We Don't Eat Our Classmates when his son was preparing for kindergarten.^[6]

Awards and honors

Mother Bruce was a New York Times bestseller.^[1] Kirkus Reviews included it on their list of the best children's books of 2015.^[1]

We Don't Eat Our Classmates was a New York Times and IndieBound bestseller.^[2] Kirkus Reviews included it on their list of the best children's books of 2018.^[2]

What About Worms?! was a 2021 ALSC Notable Children's Book for Younger Readers.^[8][9]

Awards

Year	Title	Award	Result	Ref.
2016	Mother Bruce	E.B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Books	Winner	[3][10]
		Ezra Jack Keats Book Award for Illustrator	Honoree	[11]
2017	Be Quiet!	Goodreads Choice Award for Best Picture Books	Nominee	[12]
2018	We Don't Eat Our Classmates	Goodreads Choice Award for Best Picture Books	Nominee	[13]
2018–2019	Mother Bruce	California Young Reader Medal for Primary	Nominee	[14]
2019	We Don't Eat Our Classmates	Bank Street College of Education Cook Prize	Honoree	[15]
		Charlotte Zolotow Award	Commended	[16]
		E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Books	Winner	[4][17]
		Irma Black Award	Finalist	[18][19]
2020	We Will Rock Our Classmates	Goodreads Choice Award for Best Picture Books	Nominee	[20]
2021	What About Worms?!	Geisel Award	Honoree	[21][22][23]
2023	Hey, Bruce!: An Interactive Book	Eisner Award for Best Publication for Early Readers	Nominee	[24]
	We Don't Eat Our Classmates	California Young Reader Medal for Primary	Winner	[25]

Publications

Mother Bruce series

• Mother Bruce (2015)
• Hotel Bruce (2016)
• Bruce's Big Move (2017)
• Santa Bruce (2018)
• 1 Grumpy Bruce (2019)
• Bruce's Big Fun Day (2019)
• Bruce's Big Storm (2019)
• Peek-a-Bruce (2019)
• The Bruce Swap (2021)
• Thanks for Nothing (2021)
• Spring Stinks (2021)
• Ballet Bruce (2022)
• Hey, Bruce!: An Interactive Book (2022)

Penelope Rex series

• We Don't Eat Our Classmates (2018)
• We Will Rock Our Classmates (2020)
• We Don't Lose Our Class Goldfish (2023)
• Penelope Rex and the Problem with Pets (2024)

Stand alone books

• Twaddleton's Cheese (2008)
• Roger Goes Up (2012)
• Wilfred (2013)
• This Book Does Not Have Words (2014)
• Be Quiet! (2017)
• What About Worms!? (2020)
• Norman Didn't Do It! (Yes He Did) (2021)

References

1. "Mother Bruce". Kirkus Reviews. 2015-08-25. Archived from the original on 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
2. "We Don't Eat Our Classmates". Kirkus Reviews. 2018-05-13. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
3. Jarrard, Sydney (2016-04-13). "2018 Indies Choice and E.B. White Read-Aloud Award Winners Announced". American Booksellers Association. Archived from the original on 2018-05-14. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
4. Button, Liz (2019-05-01). "2019 Indies Choice and E.B. White Read-Aloud Award Winners Announced". American Booksellers Association. Archived from the original on 2022-12-26. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
5. "COA Alumni: Ryan T. Higgins". College of the Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2021-11-29. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
6. "T. Rex Problems: Spotlight on Ryan T. Higgins". Publishers Weekly. 2018-06-15. Archived from the original on 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
7. Morse, Libby (2021-09-02). "Four Questions for Ryan T. Higgins". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
8. "2021 Notable Children's Books". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). 2022-01-25. Archived from the original on 2022-03-13. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
9. Schulte-Cooper, Laura (2021-03-30). "ALSC names 2021 Notable Children's Books". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
10. "ABA Names Indies Choice, E.B. White Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2016-04-14. Archived from the original on 2022-12-16. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
11. "2016 Ezra Jack Keats Award Winners". The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
12. "Be Quiet!". Goodreads. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
13. "We Don't Eat Our Classmates (Penelope Rex, #1)". Goodreads. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
14. "Nominees". California Young Reader Medal. Archived from the original on 2023-04-10. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
15. Yorio, Kara (2019-04-22). "Cook Prize and Irma Black Award Announced". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
16. "Booklists". Cooperative Children's Book Center. University of Wisconsin-Madison. Archived from the original on 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
17. "Awards: Indies Choice Book & E.B. White Read-Aloud". Shelf Awareness. 2019-05-07. Archived from the original on 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
18. "Awards: Irma Black Finalist". Shelf Awareness. 2019-02-28. Archived from the original on 2023-02-24. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
19. Burnett, Matia (2019-05-21). "Honoring Excellence at Bank Street: The 2019 Cook Prize and Irma S. and James H. Black Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-08-11. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
20. "We Will Rock Our Classmates". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 2022-05-10. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
21. Morales, Macey (2021-01-25). "David LaRochelle, Mike Wohnoutka win Geisel Award for 'See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog'". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
22. "2021 Youth Media Awards". School Library Journal. Archived from the original on 2023-04-13. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
23. Roback, Diane; Kantor, Emma (2021-01-25). "Keller, Goade, Nayeri Win Newbery, Caldecott, Printz Awards". PublishersWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-16. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
24. "Eisner Awards Current Info". Comic-Con International: San Diego. 2014-12-17. Archived from the original on 2017-06-07. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
25. "CYRM Winners, Complete List" (PDF). California Young Reader Medal. Retrieved 2024-09-27.

External links

• Ryan T. Higgins Talks with Roger (2017 Horn Book interview)
• Q & A with Ryan T. Higgins (2018 Publishers Weekly interview)
• Close-Up on: Ryan T. Higgins (2022 Publishers Weekly interview)