Frané Lessac facts for kids

Frané Lessac is an amazing artist, author, and illustrator. She was born in the U.S. but now lives in Western Australia. She has created many wonderful children's books and has won lots of awards for her beautiful pictures.

Frané Lessac's Early Life

Frané Lessac grew up in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. This was a small town near New York City. When she was a child, she loved visiting museums and art galleries.

At 18, she moved to Malibu, California. There, she studied film at the University of Southern California and UCLA. She worked many different jobs to pay for her studies. One of her jobs was showing movies at a local cinema.

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

In 1983, Lessac left Montserrat and moved to London. She started showing her art regularly there. She also published her first book, My Little Island, in 1984. This book was a collection of her paintings from Montserrat. It was like a "love letter" to the island.

Frané Lessac's Career as an Artist

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. She continued publishing books there.

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

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

Awards and Recognition

Frané Lessac has received many awards for her work. In 2010, she won the Muriel Barwell Award. This was for her great contributions to children's books in Western Australia. The Children's Book Council of Australia WA Branch gave her this award.

Her first book, My Little Island, was even featured on the popular U.S. TV show Reading Rainbow.

In 2002, Lessac won the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards. She won 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 books were written by her husband, Mark Greenwood. They often work together.

Frané Lessac's Personal Life

Frané Lessac is married to Mark Greenwood. He is also an author of children's books. They have a daughter named Cody Greenwood, who is a film producer.

Cody's recent film, Under the Volcano, is a documentary. It is about the AIR Montserrat recording studios. This film was inspired by the family's many visits to Montserrat. Cody grew up visiting the island in the 1990s and 2000s. Frané Lessac returned to Montserrat in August 2019 when Cody was filming. She visited again in 2024.

Selected Works by Frané Lessac

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 One by Jan Wahl (1993)
• Not A Copper Penny by Monica Gunning (1993)
• Magic Boomerang by Mark Greenwood (1994)
• Wonderful Towers of Watts by 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)
• Cattle Muster Dianne Wolfer & Frané Lessac (2025)

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)
• The Little Book of Australian Nursery Rhymes (2025)