Roger Bradfield

"Jolly" Roger Bradfield (born 1924, White Bear Lake, Minnesota) is a children's book author, illustrator, cartoonist, painter, and world traveller.

Bradfield was born in 1924 in White Bear, Minnesota.

Roger Bradfield won several art contests as a child and had early encouragement from his high school art teacher to pursue a career in the arts. His preferred medium is watercolor although he has also proven himself to be proficient in pencil, pen and ink, and acrylic.

Bradfield worked on the General Mills cereal boxes of the early 1960s. These included children's cereals, such as Kix, Trix, Wheaties and Jets, among other work. He also worked on Mr Bubble and some projects for the Pillsbury Company. In 1964, he did the spot illustrations for the Bisquick Cookbook for the Bisquick baking product. In 1968 Roger created the first Keebler elves for a series of commercials for FILMFAIR, an animation studio, which were commissioned by Chicago ad agency, Leo Burnett.

"Jolly" Roger Bradfield is perhaps best known for his work as a children's book author and illustrator. He began his writing career when he was teaching himself how to type. Bored with the tutorials of his text book, Bradfield chose to practice his typing by writing something fun. Thus, his first book There's an Elephant in the Bathtub was created. Bradfield went on to write and illustrate several other titles including Pickle-Chiffon Pie, Benjamin Dilley's Thirsty Camel, Giants Come in Different Sizes, The Flying Hockey Stick, and Benjamin Dilley's Lavender Lion. The "Jolly" Roger books are known mostly for their colorful illustrations and wildly imaginative stories.

Bradfield illustrated some of the earliest Sesame Street storybooks, including The Together Book, the first Sesame Street book in the popular Little Golden Books line. He also illustrated Bert's Hall of Great Inventions, Big Bird's Birthday Party, and Sherlock Hemlock and the Great Twiddlebug Mystery.

His children's books have found a second life with Purple House Press, since 2004 the small press has reissued four of Bradfield's books and more are planned for 2012.

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