Anita Lobel
| Anita Lobel | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anita Kempler June 2, 1934 Krakow, Poland |
| Occupation | Illustrator |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Polish-American |
| Education | Pratt Institute |
| Genre | Children's picture books |
| Notable works |
|
| Spouse | Arnold Lobel |
| Children | Adrianne Lobel, Adam Lobel |
| Website | |
| anita-lobel |
|
Anita Lobel (née Kempler; born June 2, 1934) is a Polish-American illustrator of children's books, including On Market Street, written by her husband Arnold Lobel and a Caldecott Honor Book for illustration, A New Coat for Anna, Alison's Zinnia, and This Quiet Lady. One Lighthouse, One Moon, one of three books she created about her cat, Nini, is a New York Times Best Illustrated Book. Her childhood memoir, No Pretty Pictures, was a finalist for the National Book Award.
She was born in Krakow, Poland, to a merchant family. When she was five years old, World War II began and she, her brother and their nanny, whom they called Niania, were forced into hiding for the next four and a half years, first in the countryside, then in a ghetto, and finally in a convent, where the Nazis caught them. She and her brother were then sent to a concentration camp in Germany. They were rescued in 1945 by the Swedish Red Cross and reunited with their parents in 1947. Though she could read and write, Lobel did not begin school until age 13. In 1952, her family moved from Sweden to New York City where she graduated from Washington Irving High School and earned a B.F.A. in fine arts from Pratt Institute. While taking part in a school play at Pratt, she met her future husband, Arnold Lobel, who was the play's director.
After graduation, she worked for several years as a textile designer until Susan Hirschman asked her to make a book. Published in 1965, Sven's Bridge was the first book she wrote and illustrated. The illustrations include examples of Swedish folk designs from the author's childhood. Her third book, Potatoes, Potatoes, is based partly on her childhood in Poland, and her fourth book, The Troll Music, "was mainly inspired by the bottom parts of medieval tapestries with all the vegetation and little animals running around."
For many years, she worked with her husband, writer-illustrator Arnold Lobel. They had two children – daughter Adrianne, who was married to actor Mark Linn-Baker, and son Adam – and three grandchildren. Their first and second collaborations were How the Rooster Saved the Day and A Treeful of Pigs. She received a Caldecott Honor in 1982 for another, On Market Street.
...
Wikipedia