1. Author Study: Ezra Jack Keats

2. Keats was born on March 11, 1916 in New York City. His parents were from Poland

3. His first name was Jacob, but he changed it to Jack, which is why he is Ezra Jack Keats As early as Age 8, Keats was an artist. He used to paint signs for businesses. Keat’s family was very poor. Many people didn’t think Jacob could make money as an artist. But he kept following his dream.

4. Keats didn’t have enough money to go to college. He took some art classes at night. In 1937 he started making murals around the city. In 1942 he began to work as a comic book illustrator. In 1943 he started designing uniforms for soldiers in the army.

5. Keats started getting jobs doing famous magazine covers. And finally his dreams came through and Keats became an author. One of the things that was really special about Keats was that he was the first author to make black, Latino, and Asian kids the main characters in books!