Beginner Books Books

Robert Lopshire wrote and illustrated the Beginner Books Put Me in the Zoo, I Want to Be Somebody New!, and New Tracks I Can Do! He died in 2002.

THEODOR SEUSS GEISEL–aka Dr. Seuss–is one of the most beloved children’s book authors of all time. From The Cat in the Hat to Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, his iconic characters, stories, and art style have been a lasting influence on generations of children and adults. The books he wrote and illustrated under the name Dr. Seuss (and others that he wrote but did not illustrate, including some under the pseudonyms Theo. LeSieg and Rosetta Stone) have been translated into thirty languages. Hundreds of millions of copies have found their way into homes and hearts around the world. Dr. Seuss’s long list of awards includes Caldecott Honors for McElligot’s Pool, If I Ran the Zoo, and Bartholomew and the Oobleck, the Pulitzer Prize, and eight honorary doctorates. Works based on his original stories have won three Oscars, three Emmys, three Grammys, and a Peabody.

Joan Heilbroner is best known for her first book, Robert the Rose Horse, which was published in 1961. Acquired by Dr. Seuss when he was editor of Beginner Books, it has been in print for more than 50 years. Her inspiration to write A Pet Named Sneaker came from her grandchildren, Quentin and Katrina, and their talented pet snake, Plato. A graduate of Columbia University, Ms. Heilbroner worked as a school librarian until her retirement.

Marilyn Sadler has written more than 35 books and has won 12 awards. She received 1 Emmy nomination for her animated series, Handy Manny (which averaged around 2 million viewers a week!). She is the author of the P. J. Funnybunny books and the books about Alistair. Marilyn lives in Ohio with her cat, Alice, who’s shaped like a half sphere when she is sleeping and who acts like a princess when she’s awake. Marilyn is 1/2 of the team that created the world of Charlie Piechart. Visit her online at www.marilynsadler.net.

Established in July 2013 in a merger between Penguin and Random House, Penguin Random House, with nearly 250 independent imprints and brands on five continents, more than 15,000 new titles published each year, and close to 800 million print, audio, and eBooks sold annually, is the world’s leading trade book publisher. Like its predecessor companies, Penguin Random House is committed to publishing adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction print editions and is a pioneer in digital publishing. Its publishing lists include more than 60 Nobel Prize laureates and hundreds of the world’s most widely read authors.

Bob Staake has written and/or illustrated more than fifty books, including The Red Lemon, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year. His work has graced the cover of The New Yorker more than a dozen times, and his November 17, 2008, Barack Obama victory cover was named the Best Magazine Cover of the Year by Time magazine. He lives on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts.

Fritz Siebel was born in Vienna and now lives in New York City with his family. He is well known for his pictures in Cat and Dog; David and the Giant; and Tell Me Some More . . ., all Harper I Can Read Books. Among the other books he has illustrated are A Fly Went By and Who Took the Farmer’s Hat?

Nicola’s style is very character heavy, colourful and playful. She takes influence from old Disney concept art, mid-century modern style and nature. On her desk Nicola keeps a mechanical pencil, soft drawing pencils in Ink blue, Ivory black and Chocolate, a nib pen, Indian ink and stacks of cartridge paper. She sketches, scans her drawings into Photoshop where she colours and manipulates them using her Wacom tablet. (Bio via childrensillustrators.com/nslater/about)