
Gene Barretta is a self-taught illustrator with a BFA in Film Studies from NYU. Before launching his career as an illustrator, he worked for many years in film and television production. He has written, animated, and scored several films for Sesame Street and designed characters for the Jim Henson Company. The pacing and layout of his illustrations reflect a cinematic sensibility inspired by his filmmaking background. His primary goal as an author-illustrator is to make learning enjoyable and revitalizing for kids, and his works often focus on inspiring figures. He loves to explore connections to the past, and the historical origins of modern objects and ideas. Naturally, Gene is his family’s archivist, and has a large collection of movies, toys, and books, featuring his brother, Bill, one of the Muppet performers. He also collects rare Beatles recordings and outtakes. Gene is the author and illustrator of critically acclaimed books, such as Lincoln and Kennedy, Now & Ben, Neo Leo, and Timeless Thomas. He lives outside of Philadelphia with his son.
Awards / Honors
- 2017 – Carolyn W. Field Honor Book Award (PA Library Assoc.) – Lincoln and Kennedy: A Pair to Compare
- 2017 CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People – Lincoln and Kennedy: A Pair to Compare
- 2016 NYPL Best Books for Kids – Lincoln and Kennedy: A Pair to Compare
- 2013 Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book of the Year – Timeless Thomas
- 2013 Now & Ben named one of School Library Journal’s 20 Outstanding Nonfiction Books/Core Essentials
- 2013 Cooks Prize Honor for Timeless Thomas: How Edison Changed Our Lives
- 2012 Kirkus Starred Review for Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives
- 2012 Zoola Palooza (The Bass Plays the Bass) chosen for the 2012 IRA Teacher’s Choice Reading List
- 2011 Zoola Palooza (The Bass Plays the Bass) chosen among Amazon’s Best Books of the Month for June
- 2010 NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12 list for Neo Leo
- 2010 Teacher’s Choice Booklist by The International Reader’s Association for Neo Leo
- 2009 Children’s Book of the Month Club for Neo Leo
- 2009 Scholastic Instructor’s Magazine’s “First-Rate Biographies” for Neo Leo
- 2008 Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts by The National Council of Teachers of English for Dear Deer
- 2007 Carolyn W. Field Award
- 2007 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young Readers by The National Council for Social Studies and the Children’s Book Council for Now & Ben
- 2007 Mom Tested Books of the Year in “Parenting” magazine for Dear Deer
- 2006 Number 3 on The New York Times Best Seller List for Sheetzucacapoopoo: My Kind of Dog