Edwin Tunis


Edwin Burdette Tunis was an American painter, mural artist, book illustrator, radio announcer, actor, theater set designer and author.
As a children's writer, Tunis earned a Newbery Honor in 1962 for his book Frontier Living, and was a finalist for National [Book Award for Young People's Literature] in 1971 for The Young [United States, 1783–1830]. He also won the Thomas A. Edison Foundation Children's Book Award for special excellence in portraying America's past.
He wrote and illustrated several books, including: Oars, Sails, and Steam: A Picture Book of Ships; Weapons; Wheels; Colonial Living; and Indians.

Early life

Tunis was born in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, on December 8, 1897. He grew up moving a lot because his father's job was installing steam engines at factories all over the country.
As an adult he lived most of his life in Maryland.

Works

His books include:
  • Oars, Sails & Steam: A Picture Book of Ships
  • Weapons: A Pictorial History
  • Wheels: A Pictorial History
  • Indians: A Pictorial Recreation of American Indian Life Before the Arrival of the White Man
  • Frontier Living
  • Shaw's Fortune: The Picture Story of a Colonial Plantation
  • Chipmunks on the Doorstep
  • The Tavern at the Ferry
  • Colonial Craftsmen and the Beginnings of American Industry
  • The Young United States, 1783-1830: A Time of Change and Growth, a Time of Learning Democracy, a Time of New Ways of Living, Thinking, and Doing
  • ''Colonial Living''