Ian Falconer, Creator of 'Olivia' Children's Book Series, Dead at 63

The author created a beloved children's franchise with 'Olivia.'

Ian Falconer, the author and illustrator of the popular children's book series Olivia, about an ambitious and intelligent little pig, has passed away at the age of 63.

A cause of death has not been released.

Along with Falconer's successful career as an author, he was also a set and costume designer, working around the world for prestigious theatre and opera companies like Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France, and The Royal Opera in London, England.

He also illustrated covers for The New Yorker, starting in 1996. Through this work, Anne Schwartz, a publisher at Simon & Schuster at the time, found Falconer and requested that he work on a children's book for the company.

In response, Falconer gave Schwartz his draft for the first Olivia book, which was originally created as a gift for the author's niece Olivia.

The first Olivia children's book was published in 2000, followed by seven sequels. The series was a New York Times bestseller and sold more than 10 million copies, according to NPR.

In an interview with NPR, Schwartz revealed her initial reaction to Falconer's draft for the first Olivia book: "You could tell immediately that this was something really, really special. I thought to myself, this is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I've just really gotten lucky here."

In particular, she noted that the drawing and coloring style was completely unique, saying, "One thing that was very special about it is the whole book was in red and black and picture books at that time were full color. To see something so stark and graphically striking was unusual."

She went on, "There was also this amazing character of Olivia that just really jumped off the pages. In every single picture, I knew that kids would be able to connect with her."

Just last year, Falconer wrote and illustrated another children's book called Two Dogs, about two dachshunds who escape their home to go on elaborate adventures for the day.

Falconer is survived by his mother, Sandy, sisters, Tonia and Tory, and nieces and nephews, Olivia, Ian, August, Perry and Will.