Emilie Boon facts for kids

Emilie Boon is a talented Dutch-American children's author and illustrator. She was born in the Netherlands and studied art at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.

Emilie Boon is known for creating many wonderful children's books. Some of her popular works include Belinda's Balloon and the "Peterkin" series. The first book in this series, Peterkin Meets a Star, was even turned into an iPad and iPhone app! Her books have been published by many different companies and are available in 8 languages around the world. Emilie has also worked with children's author Harriet Ziefert on many books, including the "Little Hippo" series. She has also helped Houghton Mifflin create online reading materials that teach kids to read and learn new things. Today, Emilie Boon teaches others how to illustrate children's books at the Rhode Island School of Design.

About Emilie Boon

Emilie Boon was born in the Netherlands. When she was young, her family moved a lot. She grew up living in many different countries, including Mexico, where she lived for ten years. She later went to the Royal Academy of Art. There, she studied graphic design, which is about creating visual ideas and layouts.

Emilie Boon is married and has two children. She lives in Newton, Massachusetts, in the United States.

Creating Children's Books

After finishing art school, Emilie Boon moved to London. This is where she started writing and illustrating books for children. Her very first book, Peterkin Meets a Star, was published in England in 1983. It was then published in North America a year later.

Emilie has written seven books of her own. After that, she mostly focused on illustrating books for other authors. She often works with the author Harriet Ziefert.

When Emilie creates her beautiful illustrations, she uses a special method. She combines watercolors with a crayon resist technique. This technique helps create interesting textures and effects in her artwork.

Working with Harriet Ziefert

Emilie Boon and Harriet Ziefert have created many popular book series together.

Benjy Bear Books

One of their books, Benjy Bear's Halloween, was published in 1996. It was made for children aged 3 to 6. This fun book came with reusable stickers. Kids could use the stickers to play and create different Halloween scenes. They could choose faces for pumpkins or dress up Benjy Bear for trick-or-treating.

Board Books for Young Readers

Ziefert and Boon also made "board books" for very young children, like preschoolers. These books are special because they are like a game and a book all in one. They help children learn in a fun way.

For example, in Timothy's Numbers, the book came with colorful foam numbers. Children could put these numbers into special slots in the book. This helped them count along with Timothy the rabbit. There was also a book called Timothy's Shapes, which helped kids learn about different shapes. These board books were part of a new idea in publishing. It was about combining toys or items with books to make learning more interactive.

Little Hippo Books

Emilie Boon and Harriet Ziefert also worked together on the "Little Hippo" book series. The first book in this series came out in 1988. These books were written for children aged 1 1/2 to 5 years old. They were designed to help young children understand big changes in their lives. This could be things like a new baby joining the family or moving to a new house.

The hippo character in these books has a very unique look. It has special features, soft outlines, and is colored light-gray. In 1997, Emilie Boon noticed a new series of "Little Hippo" books published by Scholastic, Inc.. She felt that the characters in these new books looked very similar to her own drawings. They also used the name "Little Hippo" and dressed the hippo character in a similar way to hers. Scholastic even tried to get a special right to use the hippo image for their books.

Some of the titles in the original "Little Hippo" series include: "Daddy Can You Play With Me?" "Little Hippo's New Baby," "Little Hippo's New House," and "Mummy Where Are You?"

Emilie Boon later worked with a lawyer to protect her artwork. In 1999, a lawsuit was filed against Scholastic. Scholastic said they believed they had not copied her work.

Online Reading Books

Emilie Boon has also illustrated online "leveled readers" for Houghton Mifflin. These are special books that combine written words with audio. They help students learn to read and understand different subjects. These books cover topics like fiction, math, science, and social studies. They are made for different reading levels, including for students learning English. Emilie is a "Little Book Illustrator" for Houghton Mifflin's reading program.

Digital Books

Emilie Boon's first book, Peterkin Meets a Star, was turned into a digital app. You can find it on iPads and iPhones. This app makes the story even more fun with sounds. For example, when Peterkin walks on the snow, you can hear a crunching sound. PicPocket Books is the company that published this app.

Teaching Art

Emilie Boon has shared her knowledge by teaching. She has taught children's book illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Illustration Events

Emilie Boon also holds special sessions with children. She reads one of her books to them. Then, she shows them how a book is made. The children get to use watercolors and crayons to create their own stories in accordion-folded books.

Professional Groups

Emilie Boon is a member of several professional organizations. These include the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Children's Book Artists, and Picture Book Artists. These groups help connect people who create books for kids.

Published Books

Emilie Boon's books have been published in many languages. These include English, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch, French, Spanish, and Japanese. Her books have been released by publishers like Knopf, Random House, Zonderkidz, Candlewick Press, D.K. Publishers, Sterling Publishing, Orchard Books, Cartwheel Books and Puffin Books.

Books Written and Illustrated by Emilie Boon

• Peterkin Meets a Star (1983)
• Peterkin's Wet Walk (1983)
• Belinda's Balloon (1985)
• It's Spring, Peterkin (1986)
• 1 2 3 How Many Animals Can You See? (1987)
• Peterkin's Very Own Garden (1987)
• Hannah's Helpers (1993)

Books Illustrated by Emilie Boon

Written by Harriet Ziefert

• Daddy Can You Play With Me? (1988)
• Mommy Where Are You? (1988)
• Benjy Bear's Halloween (1996)
• Benjy Bear's Christmas (1996)
• Timothy's Numbers (1996)
• Timothy's Shapes (1996)
• Little Hippo's New Baby (1997)
• Little Hippo's New House (1997)
• Little Hippo's New Friend (1999)
• Little Hippo's New School (1999)
• No Kiss for Grandpa (2001)
• Grandma, Where Are You? (2005)
• Grandpa, Will You Play With Me? (2005)

Written by other authors

• Ruth McCarthy, Katie and the Smallest Bear (1985)
• Joyce Dunbar, A Bun for Barney (1987)
• Orchard Books, The Orchard Children’s Treasury for Children of all Ages (1997)
• Orchard Books, The Orchard Baby and Toddler Collection (1999)

Houghton Mifflin online leveled books

• Bo Grayson, How the Coyote Stole Fire
• Regina Velazquez, How People Got Fire