Norman was born in New York on February 3, 1894.  He had one brother named Jarvis.  Norman really liked to paint when he was younger.  Norman liked to listen to stories that  his dad told him and draw them in his head.  He was kind of a clumbsy kid, but he realized that he  was talented in drawing.  At the age of 14, he went to the Art Student League school and stayed there until he was 18.  As a student, Norman was given small illustration jobs, but his major breakthrough came in 1912 with his first book illustration for C.H. Claudy's Tell Me Why: Stories about Mother Nature. By 1913 he was art editor for "Boy's Life" and just 19 years old.
 

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