Eileen Christelow facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eileen Christelow
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| Born | April 22, 1943 Washington, DC, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author, illustrator |
| Genre | Juvenile fiction |
| Notable works | Five Little Monkeys series |
Eileen Christelow, born on April 22, 1943, is an American author and artist. She writes and draws pictures for children's books. She is famous for her "Five Little Monkeys" book series. This series began with her version of the well-known nursery rhyme, "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." She also wrote stories about her home state, Vermont. Another popular character is Emma the Desperate Dog. Eileen also wrote a non-fiction book called Vote!, which explains how voting works.
Contents
About Eileen Christelow
Early Life and Education
Eileen Christelow was born in Washington, DC. Her father, Allan Christelow, was a historian and business leader. Her mother, Dorothy Christelow, was an economist. Eileen grew up in Washington, DC, and New Canaan, Connecticut.
When she was 14, her family moved to Japan for a year because of her father's job. She attended the American School in Japan in Tokyo for her first year of high school. Eileen finished high school at Abbot Academy. In 1965, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. There, she studied architecture. This helped her learn about design, which was useful in her later work.
Family and Home
Eileen met her husband, Ahren Ahrenholz, in Philadelphia. They got married in 1965. For the next six years, Eileen worked as a photographer. She took pictures of buildings, city life, schools, and political events in the 1960s. Her photos appeared in magazines and textbooks.
In 1971, Eileen and Ahren moved to Cornwall, England, for a year. Their daughter, Heather, was born there in March 1972. In 1972, the family returned to the United States. They settled in Kensington, California. Ahrenholz opened his pottery business there. In 1981, they moved back east to Vermont. Eileen had spent summers on her grandparents' farm in Vermont as a child. Today, they live in East Dummerston, Vermont, in a house her husband designed and built.
Eileen Christelow's Career
Becoming a Children's Author
Before writing children's books, Eileen Christelow worked as a photographer and graphic designer. She started working on book ideas while her daughter, Heather, was at day care. She created sample books and sent them to many publishers.
She took a class called "Writing for Children" at the University of California. The teacher, Betty Bacon, helped Eileen improve two of her book ideas. Betty Bacon suggested Eileen show her books to Jim Giblin at Clarion Books. In August 1981, Giblin bought both books. Henry and the Red Stripes was published in 1982. Mr. Murphy’s Marvelous Invention came out in 1983. Eileen wrote more than 30 books with Jim Giblin as her editor until he passed away in 2016.
Popular Books and Series
Eileen Christelow is most famous for her "Five Little Monkeys" series. These books are based on the classic nursery rhyme. Besides the monkeys, she also wrote stories inspired by her dog, Emma. These include Letters from a Desperate Dog and The Desperate Dog Writes Again.
Other stories, like The Five-Dog Night and The Great Pig Escape, were inspired by real events. These books show the culture and beautiful scenery of Vermont, Eileen's home state. She has also written non-fiction books such as What Do Authors Do?, What Do Illustrators Do?, and Vote!.
Some of the "Monkey" books have been translated into Spanish and Chinese. They are available in books that have both English and Spanish. In 1988, her book The Robbery at the Diamond Dog Diner was made into an episode for the PBS children's TV show Reading Rainbow. The actor Peter Falk narrated it.
