Ungerer donated many of the manuscripts and artwork for his early children's books to the Children's Literature Research Collection at the Free Library of Philadelphia. He eventually returned to children's literature with Flix in 1998. Maurice Sendak called Moon Man (1966) 'easily one of the best picture books in recent years.' After Allumette: A Fable, subtitled With Due Respect to Hans Christian Andersen, the Grimm Brothers, and the Honorable Ambrose Bierce in 1974, he ceased writing children's books, focusing instead on adult-level books, many of which concern sexuality.

He also did illustration work for publications including The New York Times, Esquire, Life, Harper's Bazaar, The Village Voice, and for television during the 1960s, and began to create posters denouncing the Vietnam War. In 1957, the year after he moved to the U.S., Harper & Row published his first children's book, The Mellops Go Flying, and his second, The Mellops Go Diving for Treasure by the early 1960s he had created at least ten children's picture books with Harper, plus a few others, and had illustrated some books by other writers. Īs a young man, Ungerer was inspired by the illustrations appearing in The New Yorker magazine, particularly the work of Saul Steinberg. Ungerer also lived through the German occupation of Alsace when the family home was requisitioned by the Wehrmacht. The family moved to Logelbach, near Colmar, after the death of Tomi's father, Theodore-an artist, engineer, and astronomical clock manufacturer-in 1936. Ungerer was born in Strasbourg in Alsace, France, the youngest of four children to Alice (Essler) and Theo Ungerer.

Ungerer received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1998 for his 'lasting contribution' as a children's illustrator.

Ungerer is also famous as a cartoonist and designer of political posters and film posters. He was known for sharp social satire and witty aphorisms. He published over 140 books ranging from children's books to adult works and from the fantastic to the autobiographical. Jean-Thomas 'Tomi' Ungerer ( German pronunciation: ( listen) 28 November 1931 – 9 February 2019) was an Alsatian French artist and writer. Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration (1998)

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