CEDAR FALLS - Somewhere inside E.B. Lewis is a third-grader filled with nervous energy.

The award-winning illustrator works on three to five children's picture books each year. He paints fine art sold in galleries under his given name, Earl. He treks to 60 or 70 schools annually to talk about the importance of art, passion, work ethics and persistence, including recent visits to Cedar Falls' Lincoln Elementary and Kittrell Elementary in Waterloo. The Philadelphia native also recently purchased a restaurant and bed-and-breakfast inn in Kentucky.

As a child, all that energy was nearly disastrous.

"I was a troubled child, a disciplinary problem. I had so much energy to quell. I was in the third grade and already headed down the wrong road," he recalls, smiling. "My parents and teachers were at their wits' end. My uncle rescued me. I'd always had artistic talent, but he gave me direction and sent me down a different path."

Coincidentally, his uncle ran the Temple University School Art League. Under the tutelage of Clarence Wood, Lewis began his formal art training and eventually enrolled in the Temple University Tyler School of Art. He majored in graphic design, illustration and art education. After graduation, he taught and freelanced in graphic design, while completing a body of work that sold out at his first gallery exhibition. Lewis' work continues to sell out at prestigious galleries throughout the United States.

Currently he teaches illustration at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and his work is featured in the nationally touring "Picture Stories: A Celebration of African-American Illustrators." The exhibition is on display through March 4 at the Hearst Center for the Arts.

By any measure, Lewis' career has been a resounding success. His illustration portfolio is filled with awards, accolades and artwork created for such popular picture book titles as "Talkin' About Bessie," the story of Elizabeth "Bessie" Coleman, the first black female navigator, "Promise Me the Moon" and "Joe-Joe's First Flight." Lewis won the prestigious Caldecott award in 2005 for "Coming on Home Soon," and the Coretta Scott King award in 2003.

Critics describe his work as warm and imaginative, and Lewis himself is thrilled when illustration stories with strong human interest and plenty of heart.

But when he was initially approached to illustrate a children's picture book, Lewis wasn't interested.

"Then I discovered some of the best artists in the country have done children's books. The artwork is incredible, and the poetry of the words is incisive and beautiful, and that inspires me. Picture books are visual books, and I realized that the work marries both of my passions - art and literature. The older I get, the wiser I get, and I realize that adults like picture books, too. There are childrens' picture books I've illustrated all over my place, and when friends come over, I notice they pick them up and are immediately captivated," he explains.

Lewis is happy to be part of an artistic community that shows African-American children in a positive and inspiring light.

"It's a void that needed to be filled. So many African-American artists came before me and opened those doors. I remember reading a picture book with a group of kindergartners one day, showing them this wonderful book, when one of the children came up to me and asked, 'Mr. Lewis, am I black?' That's why the work is so important."

Contact Melody Parker at (319) 291-1429 or melody.parker@wcfcourier.com.

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Go & Do

- Darwin Turner Action Theatre, 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 18

Local children, led by Terry Stevens, will perform a theatrical version of a "Picture Stories" book, followed by a performance by the Darwin Turner Action Theatre inspired by the exhibit. Free and open to the public.

- Celebrate Kuumba family activities, 1:30 to 3 p.m. Saturdays through March 3.

Gallery hours

Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 a.m.; Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. The "Picture Stories" exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information, call (319) 273-8641 or visit www.hearstartcenter.com.