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Thacher Hurd, born in Vermont in 1949, is the son of the late Edith Thacher Hurd and Clement Hurd, well known children’s book creators. His family first lived in rural Vermont, and then moved to Mill Valley, California, when he was five. After four years of high school in Vermont at the Putney School, Thacher returned to California to attend the University of California at Berkeley.
After one semester at the University, Thacher had found his calling, having fallen in love with painting. He transferred to the California College of Arts and Crafts, where he graduated with a BFA in painting. There, he met his wife, Olivia, a fellow painting student. While in school, Thacher was interested in painting and classical drawing. However, after graduating from art school he grew less interested in traditional painting, and more interested in creating children’s books. His first attempts were rejected by several publishers, but he persevered and eventually found his own voice.
He has written and illustrated more than twenty-five children’s books, including a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winner, Mama Don’t Allow, and a New York Times Best Illustrated Book, Zoom City. He published Bad Frogs with Candlewick, and is presently working on a middle-grade novel.
For many years, Thacher and his wife, Olivia, owned and operated the Peaceable Kingdom Press, a greeting card company named for the family farm in Vermont, publishing the illustrations of children’s books as greeting cards, posters, invitations, and calendars. They have two sons, Manton and Nicholas, and live in Berkeley, California.
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