Udovic, David 1950–

Personal

Born 1950; married; wife's name Susan (a counselor). Education: University of Cincinnati, B.F.A. (painting).

Addresses

Home—Navesink, NJ. E-mail—david.udovic@verizon.net; udovic@att.net.

Career

Commercial and fine artist; illustrator. Creator of mural installations, including "Utah Harvest" at Utah State Capitol, 1991.

Awards, Honors

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Don Freeman Memorial grant, 2002.

Illustrator

Brian Cleary, Eight Wild Nights: A Family Hanukkah Tale, Kar-Ben Publishers (Minneapolis, MN), 2006.

James Otis Thach, A Child's Guide to Common Household Monsters, Front Street Books (Asheville, NC), 2007.

Contributor of illustrations to periodicals, including Ladybug, Hopscotch, and Spider.

Sidelights

David Udovic is a muralist and painter who has also channeled his creativity into publishing via his work for children's book. After earning his B.F.A. in painting at the University of Cincinnati, Udovic worked as a commercial artist for over three decades, creating industrial art, sculpture, and murals in addition to his oil and acrylic paintings. His illustrations first began appearing in children's magazines such as Hopscotch, Ladybug, and Spider. Udovic's picture-book credits include Brian Cleary's Eight Wild Nights: A Family Hanukkah Tale and James Otis Thach's A Child's Guide to Common Household Monsters.

In Eight Wild Nights Cleary describes the way an energetic and somewhat unusual family celebrates the traditional Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. In his art, Udovic captures interesting characters "whose antics are illustrated on crowded spreads rich in color," according to School Library Journal contributor Teri Markson. A Publishers Weekly critic also reviewed the book, noting the artist's inclusion of "affectionately observed details of domestic life."

A girl meets up with the many monsters that secretly share her family's home in A Child's Guide to Common Household Monsters, which combines Thach's "rhyming text" and Udovic's "attractive" pastel art, in the opinion of a Kirkus Reviews writer. According to Booklist contributor Hazel Rochman, the book will not scare away the timid; Udovic's "reassuring and deliciously creepy" illustrations feature monsters that are more endearing than terrifying, but he keeps "spooky details lurking in the shadows." In School Library Journal Mary Hazelton wrote that the "funny and reassuring" picture book serves as a "guide to all the nocturnal household monsters that create children's irrational fears." "Udovic's use of changing page layouts is very effective in maintaining readers' interaction with the story," Hazelton added, recommending A Child's Guide to Common Household Monsters as compelling story-hour entertainment.

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August, 2007, Hazel Rochman, review of A Child's Guide to Common Household Monsters, p. 81.

Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2007, review of A Child's Guide to Common Household Monsters.

Publishers Weekly, September 25, 2006, review of Eight Wild Nights: A Family Hanukkah Tale, p. 68.

School Library Journal, October, 2006, Teri Markson, review of Eight Wild Nights, p. 95; August, 2007, Mary Hazelton, review of A Child's Guide to Common Household Monsters, p. 94.

ONLINE

David Udovic Home Page,http://davidudovic.home.att.net (May 5, 2008).