Jerry Pinkney (born December 22, 1939) is an American illustrator and writer of children's books. He won the 2010 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing The Lion & the Mouse, a wordless version of Aesop's fable. He also has five Caldecott Honors. He has five Coretta Scott King Awards, four New York Times Best Illustrated Awards (most recently in 2006 for Little Red Hen), four Gold, and four Silver medals from the Society of Illustrators, and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award (John Henry, 1994). In 2000, he was given the Virginia Hamilton Literary award from Kent State University and in 2004 the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion for outstanding contributions in the field of children’s literature. In 2016, he received the Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for lifetime achievement.For his contribution as a children's illustrator, Pinkney was U.S. nominee in 1998 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition for creators of children's books.