About Ashley Bryan
Ashley Frederick Bryan was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Most of his subjects are from the African-American experience. He was a U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2006 and he won the Children's Literature Legacy Award for his contribution to American children's literature in 2009. His picture book Freedom Over Me was short-listed for the 2016 Kirkus Prize and received a Newbery Honor. His father worked as a printer of greeting cards and loved birds, and Bryan remembered their apartment as full of a hundred birds. Bryan recalled his childhood in New York City during the 1930s as an idyllic time, full of art and music. With books he checked out from the library, Bryan made his own, temporary collection at home.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.