Ian Woodward Falconer was an American author and illustrator of children's books, and a designer of sets and costumes for the theater who is best known as the Creator of Olivia, the Energetic Piglet a character in his Children's book that hit the best-seller list in 2000. Falconer studied art history at New York University for two years, then studied painting at the Parsons School of Design before switching to the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. The book Olivia was initially made as a Christ... moreIan Woodward Falconer was an American author and illustrator of children's books, and a designer of sets and costumes for the theater who is best known as the Creator of Olivia, the Energetic Piglet a character in his Children's book that hit the best-seller list in 2000. Falconer studied art history at New York University for two years, then studied painting at the Parsons School of Design before switching to the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. The book Olivia was initially made as a Christmas present for his niece but the book blew up and became a bestseller, it was even made into an animated television series by Nickelodeon in 2009. Falconer designed sets and costumes for theatre productions like Tristan Und Isolde, Turandot, Die Frau ohne Schatten, The Santaland Diaries and Firebird just to mention a few. Falconer created 30 covers for The New Yorker as well as other publications and authored 13 children's books. He was a recipient of numerous awards through out his career including Caldecott Honor for Olivia and Child's Best Book in 2000 and 2001 respectively.
