Education
Born in New York, she studied art at the Cooper Union School of Art, where she received a certificate in advertising art in 1950.
Born in New York, she studied art at the Cooper Union School of Art, where she received a certificate in advertising art in 1950.
She worked for several years in advertising and display, then taught art and design at the High School of Fashion Industries before leaving to become a full-time illustrator and author Grifalconi is the author of several books for children, including The Village of Round and Square Houses (a runner-up for the 1987 Caldecott Medal for illustration, her work) and Ain"t Nobody a Stranger to Maine (illustrated by Jerry Pinkney). As an illustrator she has worked with authors including Elizabeth Bishop, Lucille Clifton, and Walter Dean Myers.
She shared a Coretta Scott King Award with Clifton for Everrett Anderson"s Goodbye.
The Jazz Manitoba, which she illustrated for Mary Hays Weik, was a 1967 Newbery Honor book and an American Library Association Notable book Grifalconi lives in New York City.
