Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions

Margaret Musgrove is a children’s book author and teaches at Loyola University in Maryland.

Leo and Diane Dillon are well known and widely acclaimed for their children’s book illustrations. Their many books include Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale, winner of the 1976 Caldecott Medal, and Behind the Back of the Mountain: Black Folktales from Southern  Africa, a 1973 ALA Notable Book, both retold by Verna Aardema. They also illustrated The Ring in The Prairie: A Shawnee Legend, a 1970 Child Study Association Book of the Year.

The Dillons met while in art school and have been working together as one artist since their marriage. Both have attended Parsons School of Design, the AIGA Workshop, and the School of Visual Arts, where they have also taught. Mr. and Mrs. Dillion now live in Brooklyn, New York, with their son, Lee.