Charles Santore is a renowned children s book illustrator whose work has been widely exhibited in museums and celebrated with recognitions such as the prestigious Hamilton King Award, the Society of Illustrators Award of Excellence, and the Original Art 2000 Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators. Santore is best known for his luminous interpretations of classic children s stories such as The Little Mermaid, Snow White, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow s Paul Revere s Ride, which was named 2004 Children s Book of the Year for Poetry by the Bank Street College Children s Book Committee. His paintings for The Wizard of Oz, featured in the edition that is widely considered to be the quintessential illustrated version, were used as the scenic backdrops for a major television performance of the work. Charles Santore lives and works in Philadelphia.