Peter Sís

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• Solitary beginnings (1:00)

  Peter Sís realizes that his books and characters often reflected the sense of loneliness he experienced as a solitary illustrator who arrived from a continent to which he could not return

• From The Three Musketeers to Britney Spears (3:00)

  Peter Sís believes that he was lucky to be so successful as an author/illustrator for American children. Having grown up in Czechoslovakia, he was unfamiliar with cartoons, peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, and baseball. Once Sís became the father of two children in the United States, he created books according to their interests – until it was time to write about Britney Spears.

• The first Czech in Tibet (1:30)

  As a young filmmaker in communist Czechoslovakia, Peter Sís’s father was sent to Tibet to train Chinese filmmakers. He left when Peter was four and returned 19 months later with stories of gold, Buddhism, and the young Dalai Lama. Coming full circle forty-five years later, Sís presented the first copy of Tibet Through the Red Box, inspired by his father’s diary, to the Dalai Lama in person.

• Not a big deal (1:30)

  Sís considers himself an illustrator more than a writer. And as an illustrator, he purposefully reveals his imperfections to kids. We asked him about whether he writes a story first, paints first, or does them simultaneously.

• For the love of reading (1:00)

  Peter Sís doesn’t believe in pressuring his son to read better, even if he’s not as fast as other seven year-olds. And he doesn’t push his published books on his own children either.

• New-found responsibility (3:00)

  Sís tells a funny tale about his book presentation to children in the Chicago Public Library. Upon learning of the impact he had on one particular child, S&1acute;s realized that he has a great responsibility as a children’s book author.

• Career coincidence (1:00)

  Sís reflects on his opportunity as an artist to add to a child’s life.

• From Bob Dylan to Amadeus to The Big Apple (4:00)

  Peter Sís recounts the winding path that led him to New York City. After winning awards as a filmmaker, Sís was sent from communist Czechoslovakia to Los Angeles to produce a film for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles...