Joey Runs Away

Author Bio: Jack Kent

John Wellington Kent, (1920–1985) better known by his signature Jack Kent, was an American cartoonist and prolific author-illustrator of forty children’s books. He is perhaps best known as the creator of King Aroo, a comic strip often compared to Walt Kelly’s Pogo. In addition to his own books, he also illustrated twenty-two books by other authors. Born in Burlington, Iowa, Kent dropped out of high school at the age of fifteen and began a career as a freelance commercial artist, working in that field until he joined the US Army in 1941. He began writing and illustrating children’s books in 1968, which he continued doing until his death.