Arnold (Stark) Lobel 1933-1987

1. Arnold (Stark) Lobel1933-1987 Author/Illustrator

2. At a Glance • Born May 22, 1933 in Los Angeles, CA • Married Anita Kempler on April, 1955 (also a writer & illustrator of children's books) • 2 children: Adrianne & Adam • Education: Pratt Institute, B.F.A., 1955 • Wrote & Illustrated over 25 of his own books • Illustrated over 70 for other authors • Died of cardiac arrest, 1987

3. Frog and Toad Are Friends (1970) • American Library Association Notable Book, 1970 • Caldecott Honor Book, 1971 • National Book Award finalist, 1971

4. Early Career • Began his career at Harper Row in 1961, illustrating over 20 books for other authors during this early period of his career. • In 1962, A Zoo for Mister Muster, written and illustrated by Lobel, was published by Harper and began his career as an author as well as illustrator.

5. Early Work Red Tag Comes Back By Fred Phleger 1961 Greg's Microscope By Millicent Ellis Selsam 1963 The Quarreling Book By Charlotte Zolotow 1963

6. Frog and Toad: Early Readers in the 1970s

7. Image source: Fun with Dick and Jane: A Commemorative Collection of Stories. San Francisco: Collins Publishers, 1996. http://faculty.valpo.edu/bflak/dickjane/spot.html Early Readers:1930s-1960s Dick and Jane

9. Early Readers: A New Standard • Dr. Seuss and Bennett Cerf • ”Beginner Books” • Dolch list but with a great deal of imagination and humor • Arnold Lobel and Harper Row Publishers • “I Can Read Books” • Ignored Dolch list but used short sentences and repeated words

10. Early Readers by Lobel • Short chapters • Controlled vocabulary • Repetition • Interesting stories and characters (emotion, humor, warmth) • Appeal to children • Classroom applications (reading, math, science, etc.)

11. “I Can Read” Frog and Toad Series • Frog and Toad Are Friends-1970 • Frog and Toad Together-1972 • Frog and Toad all Year-1976 • Days with Frog and Toad-1979

12. “I Can Read”Additional Titles • Mouse Soup 1977 • Grasshopper on the Road 1978 • Owl at Home 1975 • Uncle Elephant 1981

13. Excerpt from, Frog and Toad

14. Excerpt from, Uncle Elephant

15. Excerpt from, Owl at Home

16. Excerpt from, Grasshopper on the Road

17. Why It Works • A timeless mood is created by setting characters in gentle, pastoral scenes with out any modern trappings and by often dressing characters in formal Victorian attire. • By making his characters animals he could push their humanistic personality quirks to extremes and be humorous yet not off-putting. • Themes of friendship, acceptance, reliability and safety • Idyllic world without adult intrusions-characters are child-like and naïve but are independent and must often make important decisions concerning their world/lives. • Universal appeal of animal characters (lack of social status and ethnicity) • Text and illustrations are unified due to the varying compositional arrangements on the page and the limited use of color. A simple base of watercolor is accented with a few details using pen and ink.

18. Awards and Honors • Someday -One of the National Education Association's and American Library Association's Outstanding Children's Books (1964-65) • Benny's Animals and How He Put Them in Order-Boys' Club Award Certificate (1966-67) • On the Day Peter Stuyvesant Sailed into Town-American Library Association Notable Book (1971), Christopher Award (1973) • Frog and Toad Together-American Library Association Notable Book (1972), Book World Spring Book Festival Award for Picture Books (1972), Library Journal's Book List (1972), Newbery Honor Book (1972), American Library Association (1973), Brooklyn Art Books for Children citation (1973) • Hildilid's Night-Caldecott Honor Book (1972) • Mouse Tales-Irma Simonton Black Award, Bank Street College of Education (1973) • Frog and Toad All Year-Christopher Award (1977) • Dinosaur Time-Garden State American Book Award, New Jersey Library Association (1977)

19. Awards and Honors- Cont. • Owl at Home-Garden State American Book Award, New Jersey Library Association (1978) • How the Rooster Saved the Day-One of School Library Journal's Best Books for Spring (1977) • “Frog and Toad” books-Recognition of Merit Award, George G. Stone Center for Children's Books (1978) • Frog and Toad Are Friends (paperback edition)-American Book Award finalist (1980) • Fables-Caldecott Medal (1981) • Grasshopper on the Road-Garden State American Book Award, New Jersey Library Association (1981) • Uncle Elephant-Irma Simonton Black Honor Award (1982) • Ming Lo Moves the Mountain-Parents' Choice Award for Illustration, Parents' Choice Foundation (1982) • On Market Street-American Book Award nomination (1982)

20. Quotes from Arnold Lobel • “I cannot think of any work that could be more agreeable and fun than making books for children.” • “I know I know how do draw pictures. With writing, I don’t really know what I’m doing. It’s very intuitive. • "Somehow in the writing of the manuscript for Frog and Toad I was, for the first time, able to write about myself. Frog and Toad are really two aspects of myself. Everyone can relate to Frog and Toad because they don't exist in this world,” • “I never like to use the same illustrative technique over and over, but rather to use a repertory of styles as they suit the mood of the manuscript.”

21. Notable Books: Written and Illustrated by Lobel Parents' Choice Award for Illustration, Parents' Choice Foundation-1982

22. Notable Books: Illustrated by Lobel Garden State American Book Award, New Jersey Library Association-1977

23. Notable Books: Illustrated by Lobel

24. Notable Books: Written and Illustrated by Lobel Caldecott Medal Award 1981 “Knowledge will not always take the place of simple observation.” -From, The Elephant and His Son

25. Quotes about Arnold Lobel • Bernice E. Cullinan, Mary K. Karrer, and Arlene M. Pillar, summarized the importance of Lobel's work: "Lobel made beginning reading more fun when he created Frog and Toad and, in doing so, loosened the restrictions of the easy-to-read form.” • Critics Eliot Fremont-Smith and Swan, compared Lobel's work to that of Winnie-the-Pooh's creator, A. A. Milne. "The order of Frog and Toad's friendship, is elementary-rather vague, gentle, undemanding, supportive (Pooh and Piglet come to mind, though their adventures are more complex and passionate)-but in its very modesty it is both appealing and very comforting to young children." • Margery Fisher found his realistic portrayal of the animals to be similar to the art of the British author and illustrator, Beatrix Potter. "Like Beatrix Potter, Arnold Lobel delineates his characters with a naturalist's care. His use of limited color--green and brown with black ink lines and shading-is extended by his strong sense of design and his selected use of detail.” • "As both author and illustrator, Arnold Lobel's importance is undeniable," wrote Dictionary of Literary Biography contributor Jacqueline Gmuca. "The various awards that his books have received underscore this evaluation, but even more importantly, the prominent qualities of his works-their warmth and humor, social commentary, and basic truth-make Arnold Lobel an important figure in contemporary children's literature."

26. Media Adaptations: Lobel Lives On • Many of Lobel's books are available with audio cassette adaptations • Numerous filmstrip adaptations of Lobel's books have been released, based on Frog and Toad Together and Whiskers and Rhymes • Videocassette adaptations of Lobel's books are available: Fables, Arnold Lobel Showcase and On Market Street • A Year with Frog and Toad was adapted as a stage musical by Robert and Willie Reale and premiere at the Cort Theater in New York as a production of the Children's Theater Company directed by David Petrarca in 2003

27. Sources • www.carolhurst.com/authors/alobel.html • www.harpercollinschildrens.com/HarperChildrens/Kids/AuthorsAndIllustrators • http://coe.west.asu.edu/students/dcorley/authors/Lobbooks.html • Contemporary Authors Online, Arnold Lobel. Gale, 2004. • Commire, Anne. ed. Something About the Author. V 55. Detroit: Gale Research Inc. 1989. Pages 89-107. • Rockman, Connie C. ed. Ninth Book of Junior Authors and Illustrators. New York: The H. W. Wilson Co. 2004. Page 316-21. • Silvey, Anita. ed. The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co. 2002. Page 270-71. • Zipes, Jack. ed. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. V. 2. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. 2006. Pages 416-26.