Stéphane Jorisch

Stéphane Jorisch is a Canadian children’s book illustrator. He has written and illustrated more than 80 children’s books in English and French. In addition to his books for young people, Jorisch does editorial illustration work for magazines and has created designs for the Cirque de Soleil.

Stéphane has been illustrating for over twenty years “because,” he says, “he could not do much else besides draw—images for museums, magazines, and books. All sorts of books.” He started drawing very young because his dad drew a lot and this motivated him to continue. At school he, of course, drew in the margins of his notebooks, and his friends kept wanting to see more.

Stéphane prefers to draw from memory, putting away the reference materials once he starts to draw. He finds the work more fluid when not constantly looking over to images and other visual sources. He started his career doing renderings for architects but the use of rulers and T-squares drove him nuts, and there was little room for imagination.

In his studio in Montreal, Stéphane works with pen and ink watercolor, goauche and, of course, the computer with Photoshop. He has won many prizes with his illustrations, including the Governor General of Canada Award and the Alcuin Book design Award, among others.

Books by Stéphane Jorisch

The Riddlemaster, written by Kevin Crossley-Holland (Tradewind Books)

What Does It Mean To Be Kind?, written by Rana DiOrio (Little Pickle Press)

Betty Bunny Loves Easter, written by Michael Kaplan (Dial)

A Gift for Sophie, written by Gilles Vigneault (The Secret Mountain)

Oma’s Quilt (Kids Can Press)

Suki’s Kimono (Kids Can Press)

Jabberwocky (Kids Can Press)

Footwork: The Story of Fred and Adele Astaire (Candlewick Press)

Granddad’s Fishing Buddy (Penguin)

The Owl and the Pussycat (Kids Can Press)