Frané Lessac facts for kids

Frané Lessac is an author, illustrator, and painter born in the United States. She now lives in Western Australia. Frané has created many popular children's books. She has also won many awards for her amazing illustrations.

Frané Lessac's Early Life

Frané Lessac grew up in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. This small town is just outside New York City. As a child, she often visited museums and art galleries. When she was 18, she moved to Malibu, California. There, she studied film at the University of Southern California and UCLA. She worked many jobs to pay for her studies. One job was being a projectionist at a local movie theater.

In 1979, Frané Lessac moved to Montserrat. This is a beautiful island in the Caribbean. Here, she started her career as a painter. The island's beauty inspired her art. She focused on painting old West Indies buildings and the local people.

Frané left Montserrat in 1983 and moved to London. She started showing her paintings often. She also published her first book, My Little Island, in 1984. This book was a collection of her Montserrat paintings. It was like a "love letter" to the island she loved.

Frané Lessac's Career

After My Little Island, Frané Lessac published many more children's books. She first published them in the U.K. and the U.S. Later, she moved to Western Australia with her husband, Mark Greenwood. Mark is also an author and musician. She continued publishing books there.

In 1989, she drew the cover for a special music album. It was called After The Hurricane – Songs For Montserrat. This album helped raise money for the island.

In 2002, Frané Lessac helped start a branch of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators in Western Australia. She also served on the main committee for the Australian Society of Authors.

Awards and Recognition

Frané Lessac has been recognized for her work. She received the 2010 Muriel Barwell Award. This award was given by the Children's Book Council of Australia WA Branch. It honored her contributions to children's literature in Western Australia.

Her first book, My Little Island, became very famous. It was featured on the popular U.S. television show Reading Rainbow.

In 2002, Lessac won the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards. This was for her book The Legend of Moondyne Joe. Another book, Simpson and his Donkey, was named an Honour book. This was for the Children's Book of the Year Award: Eve Pownall Award for Information Books. Both of these award-winning books were written by her husband, Mark Greenwood. They often work together.

Frané Lessac's Family Life

Frané Lessac is married to Mark Greenwood. He is also a children's book author. They have a daughter named Cody Greenwood. Cody is a film producer.

Cody's recent film is called Under the Volcano. It is a documentary about the AIR Montserrat recording studios. This film was inspired by family memories. Frané and Mark often visited Montserrat with Cody when she was growing up. Frané returned to Montserrat in August 2019 while Cody was filming. She visited the island again in 2024.

Selected Works

Books Frané Lessac Illustrated

• The Dragon of Redonda by Jan Jackson (1986)
• The Chalk Doll by Charlotte Pomerantz (1989)
• The Bird Who Was An Elephant by Aleph Kamal (1989)
• The Turtle and The Island by Barbra Ker Wilson (1990)
• Nine O'Clock Lullaby by Marilyn Singer (1990)
• Caribbean Carnival songs by Irving Burgie (1992)
• The Fire Children retold by Eric Maddern (1993)
• Little Gray Oneby Jan Wahl (1993)
• Not A Copper Penny by Monica Gunning (1993)
• Magic Boomerang by Mark Greenwood (1994)
• Wonderful Towers of Wattsby Patricia Zelver (1994)
• Outback Adventure by Mark Greenwood (1994)
• The Distant Talking Drum by Isaac Olaleye (1994)
• Good Rhymes Good Times by Lee Bennett Hopkins (1995)
• Our Big Island by Mark Greenwood (1995)
• O Christmas Tree! by Vashanti Rahaman (1996)
• Queen Esther Saves Her People Rita Gelman (1998)
• On the Same Day in March by Marilyn Singer (2000)
• The Legend of Moondyne Joe Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac (2002)
• Capital! Washington D-C from A-Z by Laura Melmed (2003)
• Maui and the Big Fish by Barbra Ker Wilson (2003)
• New York- The Big Apple from A-Z by Laura Melmed (2005)
• Monday on the Mississippi by Marilyn Singer (2005)
• The Day of the Elephant by Barbra Ker Wilson (2005)
• Simpson and his Donkey Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac (2008)
• Clouds by Anne Rockwell (2008)
• Heart of Texas by Laura Melmed (2009)
• Ned Kelly and the Green Sash Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac (2010)
• The Greatest Liar on Earth Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac (2012)
• The Drummer Boy of John John Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac (2012)
• The Book Boat's In Cynthia Cotten & Frané Lessac (2013)
• Midnight Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac (2014)
• The Mayflower Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac (2014)
• A Is for Australia (2015)
• Pattan's Pumpkin Chitra Soundar & Frané Lessac (2016)
• We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga Traci Sorell & Frané Lessac (2018)
• We Are Still Here Traci Sorell & Frané Lessac (2021)
• Ancient Wonders Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac (2022)
• Where History Happened Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac (2023)

Books Frané Lessac Wrote and Illustrated

• My Little Island (1984)
• Caribbean Canvas (1987)
• Caribbean Alphabet (1989)
• Camp Granada (2003)
• Island Counting 1-2-3 (2005)
• A is for Australia (2015)
• A is for Australian Animals (2017)
• Under the Southern Cross (2018)
• Australian Baby Animals (2019)
• Under the Milky Way (2019)
• Australia Under the Sea 1, 2, 3 (2020)
• A is for Australian Reefs (2022)
• The Big Book of Australian Nursery Rhymes (2024)