Who Is Lois Ehlert?
Childhood
Lois Ehlert was born on November 9, 1934 in Beaver Dam Wisconsin. She grew up in a happy home as the child of Harry and Gladys Ehlert. Her father did woodworking and her mother sewed. Her artistic creativity was encouraged from an early age by her parents. Her mother used to give her scraps of cloth from her sewing and her father used to give her scraps of wood. She has been quoted as saying that construction paper was rather wimpy in color. Ehlert preferred the bright colors of the fabric compared to the pale colors of the construction paper. Her parents encouraged her by providing a card table in a small room for her to work at. She still has that very card table to work at today and adapts it for each project. With her parent's encouragement she began to make art out of found objects. She would often make things from objects people would throw away. Ehlert continued to develop her craft through high school doing several projects which led to her receiving a scholarship to the Layton school of Art.
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Education
After attending high school Ehlert received a scholarship to the Layton School of Art which she attended and graduated from in 1957. After publishing Growing Vegetable Soup she took a class at the University of Wisconsin which taught her new ways to construct books such as: die cut holes in the pages and using combinations of light and dark colors. These educational experiences combined with her rich artful upbringing helped to model a style that she would continue to use her books and illustrations for years to come. Her books present illustrations using found objects, fabrics and cut outs that are dynamic and unique to Ehlert.
Career
Upon conclusion of her education at Layton Ehlert began to work in children's book publishing as a graphic designer and illustrator but she did not like it at that point because she did not approve of the final colors when the books went to the printers. After that experience she began to work solely in graphic design. after some time she began to see an emphasis on graphics in children's books and with some encouragement from friends she decided to return to the world of children's book publishing. She worked for a number of years as a freelance graphic designer illustrating children's books and then released her first book Growing Vegetable Soup . It was a well reviewed book that was applauded for using pictures and words to show the steps in cultivating a garden. She followed Growing Vegetable Soup by publishing another book called Planting a Rainbow. Both books were revered for their use of bold colors and being vibrant pieces of artwork. Planting a Rainbow received a Caldecott honor.
After her success with both of those books she tried a new technique she learned at the University of Wisconsin. She published a book called Color Zoo which used her bold colors in combination with die cut pages. The book was a great success and received a Caldecott honor. She repeated the same successful techniques when creating the book Color Farm.
For her next book, Feathers for Lunch, Ehlert created a series of collages created of colored paper to create the story of a cat and its misadventures chasing almost a dozen birds. Ehlert was insistent that the colors of the birds be accurate and meticulously compared the colors of the paper to the skins of birds kept at the Chicago Field Museum. Her eye for detail and accuracy made the book a real success and created a book that children could not only be entertained by but learn from. She followed the learning experiences in Feathers for Lunch with Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On which included patterns and shapes of seas creatures to teach children arithmetic. Fish Eyes was acclaimed by the New York Times Book Review for being able to hold a child's attention and was complex enough to sustain re-reading.
Her eye for animals continued in her books Circus, Nuts to You!, Top Cat, and Waiting for Wings. Circus displayed her use of bright colors and black pages was signature of her style. Nuts to You! provided a story of a squirrel who was curious and cleverly designed in brilliant illustrations in colors true to real wildlife. Top Cat provided us with brilliant illustrations as well as a story children could learn from about rivalry and acceptance. Waiting for Wings was another story illustrated with brilliant colors that presents the life cycle of a butterfly. She presented a scientific process in such a way it engaged children and made them curious about the world around them.
Her next books were not only wonderfully illustrated but also made use of other materials than paper which she has used in her previous works. In Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf and Snowballs she used found objects like seeds, ribbon, bottle caps and twigs. Her illustrations brought new life to topics like building a snowman as is the topic of Snowballs. Her talent for re-telling stories did not end there. She retold to folktales from different cultures keeping her artwork true to the cultures from which they came. She first told a Mexican folktale called Cuckoo which she enhanced her artwork by giving a more southwest style. In the second book Moon Rope: a Peruvian Folktale she kept true to styles and designs of the Peruvian culture and reflected their patterns and colors in her artwork. The third folktale she re-told was a Native American story called Mole's Hill. In this story her artwork is a tribute to the Seneca Indian from which the tale comes. Her use of color and illustrations of flowers accurately depict the foliage of Wisconsin.
Ehlert's Book Hands seemed to be a tribute to her parents. In the story a child watches his father create things in his workshop, much as Ehlert watched her parents. For this book she again used die cut pages and her illustrations using found objects. She repeated the die cut pages and use of shapes that she had used in Color Zoo and Color Farm introducing simple shapes and bright colors once again in her book In My World. The book was said to be inspirational to children and yet another educational experience for children teaching them to overlay patterns to make a picture. She followed In My World with another book that taught children about the seasons and harvesting in Pie in the Sky. Ehlert used bright colors and a plethora of animals to tell a wonderful story about how a pie comes to be.
As she always has a knack of collecting things Ehlert claims she could never pass up a leaf she thought was pretty. She described this as a life long habit. She used these leafs and other found objects to make Leaf Man. She took the leaves and materials and made leaf collages which made this work quite different than any others. She continued her use of found objects in Wag a Tail where she made a a group of dogs who graduates of Bow Wow School out of scraps of fabric and buttons. She did the same kind of work in Boo to You using seeds, fruit, string and paper. Rrralph used the same techniques but also gave a dog use of vocabulary and a narrative from his owner which creates a story that draws children in.
She made a return to her signature collage and paper style when creating Oodles of Animals. She created animals using different shapes. She continued this work when creating Lots of Spots. This was another bright educational book in which she showed children the spots and patterns that occur in nature.
Lois Ehlert's work with other authors has created some of the most cherished books of all time. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Chicka Chicka 1, 2,3 have become two of the most loved and well read picture books of all time. Ten Hungry Caterpillars that she made with Bill Martin Jr. has creative illustrations and poetic words create yet another timeless story. She has won a number of awards for her work, far to many to mention here. Her work has inspired many and has been innovative in children's book publishing. Lois Ehlert has a style that is singularly her own and will continue to delight generations for years to come.
Ehlert, lois 1934-. In (2012). Something about the author (Vol. 237, pp. 31-39). Detroit, MI: Gale Research. Retrieved from http://0- galenet.galegroup.com.www.whitelib.emporia.edu/servlet/SATA_Online?dd=0&locID=empsu_main&d1=SATA_237_0019&srchtp=b&c=1&typ=All&docNum=BH2178375019&b0=lois ehlert&vrsn=1.0&srs=ALL&b1=KE&ste=10&d4=0.25&dc=tiPG&stp=DateDescend&n=10&tiPG=0
After her success with both of those books she tried a new technique she learned at the University of Wisconsin. She published a book called Color Zoo which used her bold colors in combination with die cut pages. The book was a great success and received a Caldecott honor. She repeated the same successful techniques when creating the book Color Farm.
For her next book, Feathers for Lunch, Ehlert created a series of collages created of colored paper to create the story of a cat and its misadventures chasing almost a dozen birds. Ehlert was insistent that the colors of the birds be accurate and meticulously compared the colors of the paper to the skins of birds kept at the Chicago Field Museum. Her eye for detail and accuracy made the book a real success and created a book that children could not only be entertained by but learn from. She followed the learning experiences in Feathers for Lunch with Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On which included patterns and shapes of seas creatures to teach children arithmetic. Fish Eyes was acclaimed by the New York Times Book Review for being able to hold a child's attention and was complex enough to sustain re-reading.
Her eye for animals continued in her books Circus, Nuts to You!, Top Cat, and Waiting for Wings. Circus displayed her use of bright colors and black pages was signature of her style. Nuts to You! provided a story of a squirrel who was curious and cleverly designed in brilliant illustrations in colors true to real wildlife. Top Cat provided us with brilliant illustrations as well as a story children could learn from about rivalry and acceptance. Waiting for Wings was another story illustrated with brilliant colors that presents the life cycle of a butterfly. She presented a scientific process in such a way it engaged children and made them curious about the world around them.
Her next books were not only wonderfully illustrated but also made use of other materials than paper which she has used in her previous works. In Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf and Snowballs she used found objects like seeds, ribbon, bottle caps and twigs. Her illustrations brought new life to topics like building a snowman as is the topic of Snowballs. Her talent for re-telling stories did not end there. She retold to folktales from different cultures keeping her artwork true to the cultures from which they came. She first told a Mexican folktale called Cuckoo which she enhanced her artwork by giving a more southwest style. In the second book Moon Rope: a Peruvian Folktale she kept true to styles and designs of the Peruvian culture and reflected their patterns and colors in her artwork. The third folktale she re-told was a Native American story called Mole's Hill. In this story her artwork is a tribute to the Seneca Indian from which the tale comes. Her use of color and illustrations of flowers accurately depict the foliage of Wisconsin.
Ehlert's Book Hands seemed to be a tribute to her parents. In the story a child watches his father create things in his workshop, much as Ehlert watched her parents. For this book she again used die cut pages and her illustrations using found objects. She repeated the die cut pages and use of shapes that she had used in Color Zoo and Color Farm introducing simple shapes and bright colors once again in her book In My World. The book was said to be inspirational to children and yet another educational experience for children teaching them to overlay patterns to make a picture. She followed In My World with another book that taught children about the seasons and harvesting in Pie in the Sky. Ehlert used bright colors and a plethora of animals to tell a wonderful story about how a pie comes to be.
As she always has a knack of collecting things Ehlert claims she could never pass up a leaf she thought was pretty. She described this as a life long habit. She used these leafs and other found objects to make Leaf Man. She took the leaves and materials and made leaf collages which made this work quite different than any others. She continued her use of found objects in Wag a Tail where she made a a group of dogs who graduates of Bow Wow School out of scraps of fabric and buttons. She did the same kind of work in Boo to You using seeds, fruit, string and paper. Rrralph used the same techniques but also gave a dog use of vocabulary and a narrative from his owner which creates a story that draws children in.
She made a return to her signature collage and paper style when creating Oodles of Animals. She created animals using different shapes. She continued this work when creating Lots of Spots. This was another bright educational book in which she showed children the spots and patterns that occur in nature.
Lois Ehlert's work with other authors has created some of the most cherished books of all time. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Chicka Chicka 1, 2,3 have become two of the most loved and well read picture books of all time. Ten Hungry Caterpillars that she made with Bill Martin Jr. has creative illustrations and poetic words create yet another timeless story. She has won a number of awards for her work, far to many to mention here. Her work has inspired many and has been innovative in children's book publishing. Lois Ehlert has a style that is singularly her own and will continue to delight generations for years to come.
Ehlert, lois 1934-. In (2012). Something about the author (Vol. 237, pp. 31-39). Detroit, MI: Gale Research. Retrieved from http://0- galenet.galegroup.com.www.whitelib.emporia.edu/servlet/SATA_Online?dd=0&locID=empsu_main&d1=SATA_237_0019&srchtp=b&c=1&typ=All&docNum=BH2178375019&b0=lois ehlert&vrsn=1.0&srs=ALL&b1=KE&ste=10&d4=0.25&dc=tiPG&stp=DateDescend&n=10&tiPG=0