Laurie Keller facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Laurie Keller
Keller reading at the Gaithersburg Book Festival, 2014
Born	Muskegon, Michigan, USA
Occupation	Illustrator, writer
Alma mater	Kendall College of Art and Design
Genre	Children's non-fiction, picture books

Laurie Keller is an American writer and illustrator who creates fun and imaginative books for children. She has written and drawn pictures for many books published by Henry Holt & Co. Books for Young Readers. She has also created illustrations for other authors.

About Laurie Keller

Early Life and Education

Laurie Keller grew up in Muskegon, Michigan. After high school, she first studied education and dance. Later, a friend showed her the Kendall College of Art and Design. This sparked her interest in art again. She then enrolled there and earned a degree in illustration.

Career Beginnings

After college, Laurie worked for seven years at Hallmark Cards. She was a greeting card artist. At Hallmark, she got to design entire cards. This made her think about writing and illustrating her own books. In 1997, she started making illustrations for Nickelodeon. A year later, in 1998, she even directed six short animated clips for the channel. She used pipe cleaners and traditional animation for these projects.

Becoming a Children's Author

Laurie Keller has written and illustrated six popular books for Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. These include The Scrambled States of America, which teaches about U.S. geography. She also wrote Open Wide: Tooth School Inside, a book about dental care. Arnie the Doughnut is a story about a talking doughnut. Other books are Grandpa Gazillion's Number Yard, a book about numbers, and Do Unto Otters, which teaches good manners. Her book The Scrambled States of America Talent Show is a follow-up to her first book.

Laurie Keller's Books

Books Written and Illustrated by Laurie Keller

The Scrambled States of America

The Scrambled States of America was Laurie Keller's first book, released in 1998. The story begins with Kansas feeling bored with its location. So, Kansas organizes a party with nearby states like Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. At the party, the states meet and decide to trade places!

The states enjoy their new spots for a while. Some even find love, like Nevada and Mississippi. But soon, they start to feel uncomfortable and miss their original homes. They decide they want to move back to where they were before.

• Reviewers loved this book. Publishers Weekly said it was a fun and funny way to learn about the 50 states and where they are.
• A card game based on the book was made in 2002 by Gamewright. It's for two to four players, aged 8 and up.
• In 2008, Laurie Keller wrote a companion book called The Scrambled States of America Talent Show. In this story, New York suggests a talent show for all the states. The states get excited and prepare their acts. But Georgia gets stage fright and worries about her performance. Kirkus Reviews called it an "exuberant geographical jamboree" that would make readers happy. This book was also chosen as a Junior Library Guild selection.
• Weston Woods Studios made an animated DVD version of The Scrambled States of America.

Open Wide: Tooth School Inside

Open Wide: Tooth School Inside was Laurie Keller's second book, released in 2000. It tells the story of a day at a special tooth school. All 32 tooth students are there! The book teaches readers about how teeth work, how to take care of them, and even about teeth throughout history.

Arnie the Doughnut

Arnie the Doughnut was Laurie Keller's third book, published in April 2003. It's a funny story about a chocolate-frosted sprinkle doughnut named Arnie. Arnie is special because he can talk and think! His life changes when Mr. Bing buys him.

This story was also released on DVD in 2005. The famous actor Michael McKean narrated it.

Other books about Arnie the Doughnut include:

• Bowling Alley Bandit (2013)
• Invasion of the Ufonuts (2014)
• The Spinny Icky Showdown (2015)
• Hello, Arnie! (2020)

Grandpa Gazillion's Number Yard

Grandpa Gazillion's Number Yard is Laurie Keller's fourth children's book. It came out in 2005. The book uses rhymes to tell a story about the numbers 1 through 20. The main character is Grandpa Gazillion, who owns a junkyard filled with numbers.

Do Unto Otters: A Book about Manners

Do Unto Otters: A Book about Manners was released in 2007. In this book, Laurie Keller brings the "Golden Rule" to life. Mr. Rabbit gets new neighbors, the Otters. They show kids how simple things like saying "please" or "thank you" can help you make friends. The book is full of fun illustrations of the well-behaved Otters.

This book was also chosen as a Junior Library Guild selection. Weston Woods Studios also made an animated DVD version of this book. Kirkus Reviews said this book explains manners in a lively way that is anything but boring.

Birdy's Smile Book (2010)

Birdy's Smile Book was published in 2010. Kirkus Reviews noted that the pictures in the book are bold and colorful. They fill the pages in Laurie Keller's usual energetic style.

Potato Pants! (2018)

Potato Pants! was Laurie Keller's seventh book. It was released in 2018. The story is about a character named Potato and his rival, an eggplant. They both try to find the perfect pair of pants. Weston Woods created an animated version of this book in 2019. It was narrated by a full cast of voices.

Books Illustrated by Laurie Keller

Laurie Keller has also created illustrations for books written by other authors:

• Marty Frye, Private Eye by Janet Tashjian (2000)
• Toys!: Amazing Stories Behind Some Great Inventions by Don Wullfson (2000)
• Stinky Thinking: The Big Book of Gross Games and Brain Teasers by Alan Katz (2005)
• Fooled You!: Fakes and Hoaxes Through the Years by Elaine Pascoe (2005)
• Me and My Animal Friends
• Pluto Gets The Call by Adam Rex (2019)
• I Am The Shark by Joan Holub (2021)