Don Freeman was an American painter, printmaker, cartoonist, illustrator, and writer of children's books. He was active from the 1930s to the 1970s and often used Times Square as the backdrop of his memorable works. Throughout Don Freeman's career, he was the writer and illustrator of more than 20 children's books. He is best known for his publication of Corduroy (later became a 1990s animated direct-to-video series and a Canadian-produced television program that premiered on PBS's "Bookworm Bunch" block in 2000).

Source: Wikipedia