(CNN) Mordicai Gerstein, a beloved children's book author and illustrator, has died at the age of 83.

Gerstein was the master behind such books like "The Night World," "The Sleeping Gypsy," and "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers," which won him the Caldecott Award for distinguished American children's picture books in 2004.

He died on September 24 at his home in Westhampton, Massachusetts, the New York Times reported . His wife, artist Susan Yard Harris, told the Times that he died of metastatic esophageal cancer.

Gerstein had always been an artist, attending art school in his native Los Angeles and moving to New York shortly after. He made a living painting and designing animated TV commercials and kid's shows but all that changed in 1970, when he met author Elizabeth Levy.

Levy, a young author at the time, had written a mystery book for children and asked Gerstein to illustrate it. He did, launching a long career that spanned decades.

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