DyAnne DiSalvo (DiSalvo-Ryan) is an American artist and author of children's literature, best known for her string of books that focus on building better communities, including City Green (
HarperCollins, 1994) and Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen (
HarperCollins, 1991). DiSalvo is the illustrator of more than 50 books for children.
Early life and career
DiSalvo was born and raised in
Brooklyn, New York.[1] She attended
Fontbonne Hall Academy for Girls in Brooklyn and studied art at the
School of Visual Arts in New York City. Before illustrating children's books, DiSalvo worked as an artist for
Hallmark Cards.
In 1982, she met then-Senior Editor Jane Feder[2] at
Harper and Row, now
HarperCollins. Feder opened her own eponymous agency representing children's book illustrators, and DiSalvo was her first client.
DiSalvo has traveled to schools around the world with her artist/author presentation, which is targeted for students K through 8, and focuses on the art of writing rough drafts and what it really takes to be a working artist.[3] In the fall of 2010, DiSalvo presented at the
United Nations International School of Hanoi in
Vietnam.[4]
Books written and illustrated by DiSalvo
Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen (1991)
Inspired by her experience as a volunteer at Chips Soup Kitchen[5] in Brooklyn, DiSalvo wrote and illustrated Uncle Willie and The Soup Kitchen[6] (1991), which was later awarded the 1991 Children's Book of the Year/The Child Study Association of America Book Committee, and Notable 1991 Children's Book
National Council for the Social Studies / Children's Book Council United. The book was featured on the children's television show Reading Rainbow in 1996, and in 2000, it was adapted into a children's play at
Puttin' on The Ritz Theatre in
Oaklyn, New Jersey.[7]
City Green (1994)
In 1994, DiSalvo published City Green,[8] a story about a little girl who helps turn a city lot into a city garden. In 2009, the illustrations in City Green were reconstructed in the form of a children's playground and featured at the
Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden's Storybook Playhouse competition.[9][10] The book was also turned into a musical and produced in
Berkeley, California by Stagebridge Theater Company.[11] In 2019, HarperCollins issued a 25th anniversary edition of City Green, honoring the book as a modern-day classic in children's literature.
February 1993 Philadelphia Children's Reading Round Table Book of the Month[52]
Personal life
DiSalvo played rhythm guitar and vocal harmonies for the power-pop rock and roll band
Smash Palace from 1999 - 2012. Signed by Zip Records[53] in 1999, the band has toured the US and the UK and was listed on the BBC Liverpool's Best Top Ten Live Acts, 2006.[54]
DiSalvo lives in Princeton, New Jersey.[55] She is the mother of two adult children, the educator and entrepreneur John E. Zangari-Ryan and the screenwriter
Marja-Lewis Ryan.[56]
^Tin Tun UNIS Hanoi Weekly Newsletter
"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from
the original(PDF) on November 28, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-08.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link) Oct 29, 2010, Volume 17; Number 10
^Hubbard, Jim (April 24, 1997). Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen (Reading Rainbow Book) (9780688152857): Dyanne Disalvo-Ryan: Books. Harper Collins.
ISBN0688152856.
^Official Website
"Archived copy". Archived from
the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved 2010-12-08.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link) Retrieved Dec. 8, 2010
^Osborne, Mary Pope (October 1987). Mo to the Rescue (Easy-to-Read Books) (9780803704404): Mary Pope Osborne: Books. Penguin Publishing.
ISBN0803704402.
^Osborne, Mary Pope (1996). Mo and His Friends (Easy-to-Read, Puffin) (9780140362022): Mary Pope Osborne: Books. Puffin Books.
ISBN0140362029.
^Cleary, Beverly (September 20, 1996). Two Dog Biscuits (9780688147358): Beverly Cleary, Dyanne Disalvo-ryan, Mary Stevens: Books. Harper Collins.
ISBN0688147356.
^Cleary, Beverly (March 29, 1996). The Real Hole (9780688147419): Beverly Cleary, Dyanne Disalvo-ryan, Mary Stevens: Books. HarperCollins.
ISBN0688147410.
^Mayer, Mercer (September 1984). That New Baby (Golden Storytime Book) (9780307119896): Patricia Relf, DyAnne DiSalvo: Books. Golden Press.
ISBN0307119890.
^Relf, Patricia (1981). First Day of School (Golden Storytime Book) (9780307619570): Patricia Relf, Dyanne Disalvo-Ryan: Books. Golden Press.
ISBN0307619575.
^
abFritz, Jean (1992). George Washington's Mother (All-Aboard Reading, Level 3) (9780448403847): Jean Fritz: Books. Penguin Young Readers.
ISBN0448403846.
^Official Website
"Archived copy". Archived from
the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved 2010-12-08.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link) Retained Dec 8, 2010
^Adelson, Fred B.
"ART; Children's Page Turners to Linger Over", The New York Times, January 9, 2000. Accessed November 18, 2013. "DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan of Haddon Heights wants children to see themselves in her illustrations, which include a diverse group of ethnic types."