Derek signing an autograph for a fan at the
NAEYC conference in Anaheim, California
Everything You Need to Know:
Meet David Hochman
(Author of The Potty Train)
Meet Cynthia Lord
(Author of Hot Rod Hamster)
Meet Judy Sierra
(Author of Ballyhoo Bay)
Meet Lauren Thompson
(Author of Little Quack)
Derek (far right) with some ducky friends from the neighborhood
Author/Illustrator Derek Anderson drew the very first picture he can ever remember drawing when he was in kindergarten. It was a picture of the Easter Bunny. When he finished it, Derek gave it to the principal of his school who hung it on the wall of his office for the rest of the school year. Derek's fate was sealed. From then on, he knew he was going to be an artist.
When he reached second grade, Derek wrote his very first story and he's never stopped writing or drawing since.
Derek illustrated Ready?Set.Raymond! by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and Little Quack by Lauren Thompson, for which he received recognition as a Publishers Weekly Flying Start. Little Quack quickly became a New York Times bestseller and has gone on to great acclaim winning such awards as the ALA/CBC Children's Choice Award and the National Parenting Publication Gold Award. Derek also illustrated Little Quack's Hide and Seek, Little Quack's Bedtime, Little Quack's New Friend, Over the River: A Turkey's Tale, The Potty Train, Ballyhoo Bay by Judy Sierra, which was named to the "Best Books of the Year" list by Bank Street College of Education and Hot Rod Hamster by Cynthia Lord which appeared on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list, was on Bank Street College of Education's "Best Books of the Year" list for 2011, received a Parents' Choice Award, and was a finalist for the Children's Book Council's Children's Choice Award in the Picture Book category. Derek has authored a number of books as well including Gladys Goes Out to Lunch, Blue Burt and Wiggles, How the Easter Bunny Saved Christmas, Romeo and Lou Blast Off, which was named one of the best books of 2007 by Parent & Child Magazine, and Story County: Here We Come! about five friends (Farmer, Dog, Pig, Chicken and Miss Cow) who set out to make a farm.
Derek's newest book, Happy Birthday, Hamster (written by Cynthia Lord) is the follow-up to the very popular award winning picture book Hot Rod Hamster. You can find much more about Hamster and all of Derek's books on the pages of this site.
Much more of Derek's art can be seen in the Cyber Cheese and Gallery pages of this site.