Litty, Julie 1971–

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Litty, Julie 1971–

(Julie Wintz-Litty)

Personal

Born December 27, 1971, in Annecy, France; married; husband a riding instructor; children: three. Education: Kunstakademie Lyon, degree (graphic design); École Emil Cohl (Lyon, France), studied illustration. Hobbies and other interests: Horseback riding.

Addresses

Home and office—31, route royale, 73100 Aix-les-Bains, France. E-mail—julie.litty@wanadoo.fr.

Career

Illustrator and author.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Tyrano et la Cravache magique, translated by Charise Myngheer as Chloe and the Magic Baton, Penguin Young Readers (New York, NY), 2006.

ILLUSTRATOR

(Under name Julie Wintz-Litty) Geraldine Elschner, Mystère et goutte de lait, Nord-Sud (Saint-Germain en Laye, France), 1996.

(Under name Julie Wintz-Litty) Brigitte Weninger, Lumina, Nord-Sud (Saint-Germain en Laye, France), 1997, translated by Anthea Bell as Lumina: A Story for the Dark Time of the Year, North-South Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Jane Goodall, Dr. White, North-South Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Ute Blaich, L'etoile de Noël, Nord-Sud (Saint-Germain en Laye, France), 2001, translated by Sibylle Kazeroid as The Star, North-South Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Sidelights

French-born illustrator Julie Litty studied graphic design at the Kunstakademie Lyon and attended the illustration program at Lyon's École Emil Cohl before embarking on her career as a freelance illustrator. Her first picture-book project was creating art for Geraline Elschener's Mystère et goutte de lait, which was published in 1996. Praising Litty's watercolor-and-ink art, a Publishers Weekly contributor noted that in her illustrations for Jane Goodall's picture book Dr. White her "close-up portraits offer a warm contrast with a full range of human (as well as canine) expressions" Litty's holiday-themed art for both Ute Blaich's The Star and Brigitte Weninger's Lumina: A Story for the Dark Time of the Year also attracted critical praise, Lauren Peterson writing that Litty's "gorgeous, flowing watercolors … nicely complement" Weninger's "happily-ever-after holiday story." The artist's "elegant pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations effectively portray the stark, chilly landscape" in The Star, according to a School Library Journal contributor. In The Star readers are transported via Litty's art to a winter scene on a cold Christmas Eve, as Owl explains to his hungry animal friends that the meaning of Christmas is grounded in love and kindness. Other books featuring Litty's art include Dr. White, an animal-centered tale for young children by noted anthropologist Jane Goodall.

After illustrating several books for other authors, Litty took on the dual role of author/illustrator in Tyrano et la Cravache magique, a book that has been translated into English as Chloe and the Magic Baton. Chloe and the Magic Baton was inspired by its author's love of horseback riding. In fact, Litty is married to a riding teacher, and horseback riding is a favored activity of the Littys as well as their three children. In Chloe and the Magic Baton, a girl credits the luck in the riding crop her uncle brought her from Mexico to her achievement in a series of riding competitions. When the crop disappears prior to the championship event, Chloe must rely on her own talents in curbing the behavior of her temperamental pony.

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 15, 1997, Lauren Peterson, review of Lumina: A Story for the Dark Time of the Year, p. 417; May 1, 1999, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Dr. White, p. 1599.

Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2006, review of Chloe and the Magic Baton, p. 462.

Publishers Weekly, March 1, 1999, review of Dr. White, p. 69.

School Librarian, spring, 1998, review of Lumina, p. 22; winter, 2001, review of The Star, p. 222.

School Library Journal, November, 1997, Mary M. Hopf, review of Lumina, p. 102; March, 1999, Arwen Marshall, review of Dr. White, p. 175; October, 2001, review of The Star, p. 62; August, 2006, Alice DiNizo, review of Chloe and the Magic Baton, p. 91.