A Diverse group of award-winning illustrators & authors creating across many industries.
Frank Morrison

Agent: Lori Nowicki

Frank Morrison started his journey as a graffiti artist in New Jersey, tagging walls with spray paint. It wasn’t until he visited the Louvre Museum in Paris with his dancing group, that he realized painting was his true creative path. His work has been featured at Art Basel, Scope Miami and Red Dot art fairs, and shown at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the Mason Fine Art Gallery in Atlanta, GA. He is the illustrator of over 20 children’s books, including the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award winner Jazzy Miz Mozetta and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor books, Little Melba and her Big Trombone and Let the Children March.  Frank was a Society of Illustrators’ Original Art Silver Medal Honoree two years in a row, for The Roots of Rap and R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

 

Client List

Penguin Books
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Dial
Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Simon & Schuster Books
HarperCollins
Zonderkidz
Hyperion
Lee & Low Books
Tricycle Press
Chronicle Books
Random House
Scholastic
Club House Jr
National Geographics Kids

Awards / Honors

  • 2020 Society of Illustrators Original Art, Silver Medal – R-E-S-P-E-C-T
  • 2019 Golden Kite Honor Book- The Roots of Rap
  • 2019 Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best List- The Roots of Rap
  • 2019 New York Public Library’s Best Books of the Year- The Roots of Rap
  • 2019 Bank Street College’s Best Books of the Year- I Got the Christmas Spirit & Let the Children March & Starstruck: The Cosmic Journey of Neil deGrasse Tyson
  • 2019 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor – Let the Children March
  • 2019 Society of Illustrators Original Art, Silver Medal – The Roots of Rap
  • 2018 Bank Street College’s Best Books of the Year- One Last Word & Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
  • 2018 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
  • 2017 Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books – Clayton Byrd Goes Underground and One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance 
  • 2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work Nomination – Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
  • 2017 NYPL’s Best Books for Kids – One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance 
  • 2015 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor – Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
  • 2005 Coretta Scott King, John Steptoe Award, New Talent – Jazzy Miz Mozetta
  • 2017 Bank Street’s Best Children Books of the Year – The Quickest Kid in Clarksville
  • 2017 CCBC Choices – The Quickest Kid in Clarksville
  • 2017 CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People – The Quickest Kid in Clarksville
  • Spring 2016 Junior Library Guild Selection – The Quickest Kid in Clarksville
  • 2016-17 Nominated for North Carolina’s Children’s Book Award – The Quickest Kid in Clarksville
  • 2016 Bold and Fearless’s 28 Books Every Black Girl Should Read This Black History Month – Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
  • Amazon’s Best Books of the Month: Ages 6-8 for February – The Quickest Kid in Clarksville
  • NYC Reads 365 Recommended Reading List for Grade 4 – Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
  • 2015 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award – Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
  • 2015 NAACP Image Award Nomination, Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
  • 2015 CCBC Choice – Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
  • 2015 CL/R SIG Notable Book for a Global Society – Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
  • 2015 Bank Street College of Education, Best Books of the Year – Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
  • 2015 Bank Street College of Education, Best Books of the Year – I Got the Rhythm
  • 2015 Anti-Defamation League’s February Book of the Month – Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
  • 2015 Books All Georgians Should Read – I Got the Rhythm 
  • 2014 CSMCL Best Multicultural Books – Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
  • 2012-1013 Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee – Play,Louis,Play
  • USA Today 4.5 star review of Stars in the Shadows
  • 2010 NAACP Image Award for Our Children can Soar

Reviews

Praise for The Adventures of Wrong Man and Power Girl!

“Morrison’s colorful artwork nicely mimics the style and feel of a vintage comic book, panels and layering lending the book a dynamic feel. ”

Kirkus
Praise for Let the Children March

“A strong, poetic text...is accompanied by remarkable oil paintings that capture the emotions on the faces of protesters and counter- protesters alike...The art throughout is a vibrant representation of the determination and courage of the civil rights movement. A nuanced account that could inspire the youngest readers to make a big difference.”

Horn Book Magazine
Praise for Let the Children March

“The experiences of segregation are sensitively depicted by Morrison...The defiance, determination, and passion comes through clearly on the faces of the figures.”

SLJ Starred Review
Praise for Let the Children March

“A vibrantly illustrated account of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade through the eyes of a young girl who volunteers to participate...Morrison’s powerful use of perspective makes his beautiful oil paintings even more dynamic and conveys the intensity of the situations depicted. ”

Kirkus Starred Review
Praise for Muhammad Ali: A Champion is Born

“Morrison...gives the art a joyful zing and a serious yet eminently kid-friendly vibe. ”

The New York Times
Praise for Muhammad Ali: A Champion is Born

“Award-winning artist Frank Morrison handles the illustrations with dignity and flare. Working with what are called “dynamic acrylics,” Morrison captures the very essence of what made Cassius “Ali.””

New York Journal of Books
Praise for Muhammad Ali: A Champion is Born

“Working in acrylic, Morrison...creates visceral, dynamic action shots.”

Publishers Weekly
Praise for The Quickest Kid in Clarksville

“Working in watercolor, Morrison…gives the girls abundant personality.”

Publishers Weekly
Praise for The Quickest Kid in Clarksville

“Morrison’s bold, expressive watercolors capture the flavor of the era (1960s) with a contemporary tone that will make this story feel strikingly current.”

Booklist
Praise for Little Melba and Her Big Trombone

“Morrison’s art is so dynamic. Limber bodies sway to the beat, round smiling brown cheeks, energetic musicians and Melba, the star, takes full control of that huge yellow trombone. His oil paintings embody jazz. ”

The Read It Real Good Blog
Praise for Little Melba and Her Big Trombone

“Morrison’s sinuous, exaggerated lines are the perfect match for Melba’s story; she puts her entire body into her playing, the exaggerated arch of her back and thrust of her shoulders mirroring the curves of her instrument. In one thrilling spread, the evening gown–clad instrumentalist stands over the male musicians, her slide crossing the gutter while the back bow disappears off the page to the left. ”

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Little Melba and Her Big Trombone

“Morrison's distinctive illustrations, stretched out like a slide trombone, draw the eye across each spread to the page turn.”

Starred Review, School Library Journal
Praise for Little Melba and Her Big Trombone

“Morrison's oil paintings practically sway with a jazz beat, though somber moments crop up, too: the shadows on Liston's face signify the trials of life on the road. A final image showing long-limbed Liston in profile as she plays under the glow of stage lights is exquisite.”

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
Praise for I Got the Rhythm

“Morrison’s oil-on-canvas illustrations take their lead from the energetic text but form the core of the story with expansive spreads crackling with movement. A rich, color palette helps the action jump off the page...”

School Library Journal
Praise for I Got the Rhythm

“The bright palette and vibrant tones of Morrison’s loosely painted illustrations echo the energy of the text nicely . . . the book begs readers to sing and move along with this little dancer.”

Booklist
Praise for Jazzy Miz Mozetta

“Morrison captures the exuberant spirit of Miz Mozetta with a colorful jumple of exaggeratedly long, skinny limbs in dynamic illustrations that dance to the beat of a fresh, rhythmic story.”

Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Queen of the Scene

“Taking things up a notch, Morrison's bold signature acrylics, which place the exaggerated protagonist front-and-center in every spread, capture the rhythm of the text and the energy of the action.”

Publishers Weekly
Praise for Little Melba and Her Big Trombione

“Morrison’s oil paintings, in his trademark elongated, angular style, perfectly convey the jazz scene and, of course, Melba’s amazing horn.”

Horn Book
Praise for Little Melba and Her Big Trombone

“Morrison also knows how to add soul-soothing rhythm to the page: take that cover with young Melba barely grown enough to hold that instrument, then compare it to the final double-page spread in which an adult Melba takes the same leaned-waaay-back, feel-the-stirring-sounds stance decades later and wows a sold-out audience of thousands.”

Smithsonian BookDragon
Praise for Little Melba and Her Big Trombone

“Morrison’s art beautifully captures the life of Liston on the page. His paintings are done in rich colors, filled with angles of elbows, horns and music, they leap on the page. They evoke the time period and the sense of music and jazz. ”

Waking Brain Cells
Praise for Starstruck

“Morrison's illustrations show Neil's "starstruck" wonder, as well as his energy and enthusiasm. Spreads that feature Neil and the night sky showcase him in the perfect setting.”

School Library Journal

Featured Portfolio

Illustrated Books

R-E-S-P-E-C-T (Simon & Schuster)
The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver (Katherine Tegen Books)
The Roots of Rap (Little Bee Books)
Starstruck (Crown Books for Young Readers)
Let the Children March (HMH Books for Young Readers)
How Sweet the Sound: The Story of Amazing Grace (Atheneum)
The Adventures of Wrong Man and Powergirl! (Philomel Books)
March Forward, Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine (HMH Books for Young Readers)
Clayton Byrd Goes Underground (Amistad)
Muhammad Ali: A Champion is Born (Katherine Tegen Books)
The Quickest Kid in Clarksville (Chronicle Books)
Little Melba and her Big Trombone (Lee & Low Books)
I Got the Christmas Spirit (Bloomsbury)
I Got the Rhythm (Bloomsbury USA)
P.S. Be Eleven (HarperCollins)
The Laura Line (Harper Collins)
Stars in the Shadows (Atheneum Books)
Jazzy Miz Mozetta (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
For the Love of Soccer (Hyperion Books for Children)
Sweet Music in Harlem (Lee & Low Books)
Our Children Can Soar (Bloomsbury USA)
Shoebox Sam (Zonderkidz)
Queen of the Scene (HarperCollins)
Quacky Baseball (Harper Collins)
Play, Louis, Play! (Bloomsbury USA)
My Feet Are Laughing (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Long Shot (Simon & Schuster)
Keena Ford (Penguin Group)
Goal Line Series (Simon & Schuster)
George Crum and the Saratoga Chip (Lee & Low Books)
The Hat That Wore Clara B. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Children of God (Zonderkidz)
Out of the Ballpark (HarperCollins)
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