Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the most famous and accomplished basketball players in U.S. history. Since retiring from the sport, he has committed himself to bringing history and social studies to young people and has written seven books, including the New York Times bestseller On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance, co-authored by Raymond Obstfeld. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar lives in California.
Raymond Obstfeld is the author of more than forty books of fiction and nonfiction and is a professor of creative writing. He lives in California.
Ben Boos (1971-2011) is the author-illustrator of Swords: An Artist’s Devotion and Fantasy: An Artist’s Realm. He lives California.
A. G. Ford is the illustrator of Goal! by Mina Javaherbin and the New York Times bestseller Barack by Jonah Winter, among other titles. A. G. Ford lives in Texas.
Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the most accomplished basketball players in U.S. history. He is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and a New York Times best-selling author who has written seven books. Since retiring from basketball he has been busy writing books, making films, and speaking around the world about how different cultures can learn from one another.
He is dedicated to bringing history and social studies to children across the globe, using basketball as the language that unites them. What Color Is My World? is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s second book with co-author Raymond Obstfeld. He lives in California.
I grew up in Dallas, Texas, with two sisters and a brother. I had an active and creative mind-set from the very beginning. My hands were on everything from pencils, dirt, toys, basketballs, and bikes to whatever else I could find and explore. Busy my mind was, and still is. I honestly don’t think I ever had a choice to be an artist or an analytical thinker. My brain had already decided. I am sure to ponder the creative world endlessly.
My work usually involves people; drawing the figure is something that I enjoy very much. Some slight distortion is applied, only to set myself apart in terms of creating a style for myself. But my style evolves from project to project. My technique starts with acrylics to lay down dark and mid values. Then I lay oils on top to help create my lights. Oils can be vibrant with only one layer and dry true to their color, so I use this to my advantage when trying to work quickly. I paint on illustration board.
Three Things You Might Not Know About Me:
1. I’m a gym rat and I love to work out, go running, and be outdoors.
2. I love to cook, and I try a new recipe every Wednesday.
3. When I was little, I used to draw Ninja Turtles almost every day.
The son of an artist, Ben Boos was born in San Jose, California in 1971—into a world filled with paint and art. From the earliest years, Ben’s imagination was fueled by a love of history and fantasy, swords and adventure. He compulsively doodled his way through elementary school, high school, and seven years of study at San Jose State University. During all these years, he enjoyed many worldwide wanderings and adventures, and the resulting exposure to fine art was to have lasting effects on his style.
Ben Boos grew up surrounded by computers and electronic games, so it was a natural fit that he wound up making computer games. Working for Blizzard North as a senior artist, he had the opportunity to paint and create for an audience of millions. (The Diablo series sold more than 17 million units worldwide.) “Working on the Diablo franchise for all those years was a delight. It allowed me to have fun and to illustrate in an eclectic, old-fashioned style.” He said, “It also taught me a lot, and braced me for what I wanted to tackle next . . . books.”
After eight years of creating swords, monsters, and elaborate scroll-work for several award-winning and top-selling digital games, he made a switch to writing and illustrating his own books. He took his love of old-fashioned ornament, arms, armor, and whimsical illustration, and turned it into a ninety-six-page book entitled Swords: An Artist’s Devotion and later Fantasy: An Artist’s Realm. “The making of this book,” he says, “was a childhood dream come true.”
Ben Boos passed away in 2011 and is survived by his wife and four young children.
