Lois Ehlert facts for kids

Lois Ehlert (born November 9, 1934) is a talented American author and illustrator. She is famous for her children's books, especially those about nature. Lois Ehlert won the Caldecott Honor for her book Color Zoo. She lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Lois Ehlert's Early Life and Art

Lois Ehlert grew up loving to paint and sculpt. Even when she was young, she enjoyed creating art. Her favorite way to make art was by cutting and pasting different materials. This special method is called collage. It means cutting out pieces of paper, fabric, or other objects and then gluing them onto a background.

Lois was born and raised in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Her family played a big part in her love for art.

Family's Creative Influence

Lois's mother was a seamstress, someone who sews clothes. She taught Lois how to sew when she was only eight years old. Her mother also shared fabric scraps, which gave Lois early exposure to different textures and colors for her art.

Her father had a workshop in their basement. He always had art supplies ready for Lois, but they weren't always the usual ones. He provided interesting materials like scrap wood and nails for her to use in her creations.

Her Path to Becoming an Artist

Lois Ehlert studied at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She earned degrees in English and Psychology. After that, she went to the Layton School of Art to learn even more about art.

Later, she worked as an apprentice in an art studio. This meant she helped out by delivering illustrations. This job allowed her to work on her own art projects in the evenings, developing her unique style.

How Lois Ehlert Creates Books

Lois Ehlert has a special way of making her books. She starts by creating a "dummy book." This is like a rough draft made with pencil drawings.

Next, she decides what the new book will be about. Once she has a topic, she does research to learn all she can. Then, she begins her artwork. This involves carefully cutting out each piece individually. Finally, she glues these pieces onto the pages of her book, bringing her stories to life with her collage technique.

Awards and Famous Books

Lois Ehlert has won many awards for her wonderful books. In 1990, she received the Caldecott Honor Book award for Color Zoo. Her book Snowballs was named a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.

She also earned the Booklist Editors' Choice for Cuckoo/Cucú: A Mexican Folktale/Un cuento folklórico Mexicano. For Feathers for Lunch, she received the IRA Teachers' Choice and NCTE Notable Children's Trade Book in the Language Arts awards.

Her book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom received the American Library Association Notable Children's Book and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. In 2005, Leaf Man received an Honorable Mention from the National Outdoor Book Award (Children's Category). It also won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in 2006.

Selected Works by Lois Ehlert

• Growing Vegetable Soup (1987)
• Planting a Rainbow (1988)
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (illustrator) (1989)
• Color Zoo (1989)
• Eating the Alphabet (1989)
• Thump, Thump, Rat-a-Tat-Tat (illustrator) (1989)
• Color Farm (1990)
• Fish Eyes (1990)
• Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf (1991)
• Feathers for Lunch (1990)
• Circus (1992)
• Moon Rope/Un Lazo a La Luna (1992)
• Nuts to You! (1993)
• Mole's Hill: A Woodland Tale (1994)
• Snowballs (1995)
• A Pair of Socks (illustrator) (1996)
• Under My Nose (1996)
• Cuckoo/Cucú: A Mexican Folktale (1997)
• Angel Hide and Seek (illustrator) (1998)
• Top Cat (1998)
• Waiting for Wings (2001)
• Market Day/Día de marcado (2002)
• In My World (2002)
• Crocodile Smile (illustrator) (2003)
• Moon Rope (2003)
• Hands: Growing Up to Be An Artist (2004)
• Pie in the Sky (2004)
• Leaf Man (2005)
• In My World (2006)
• Wag a Tail (2007)
• Oodles of Animals (2008)
• Boo to You! (2009)
• Lots of Spots (2010)
• Rrralph (2011)
• The Scraps Book (2014)
• Holey Moley (2015)
• Rain Fish (2016)
• Heart to Heart (2017)

Color Zoo - A Favorite Book

Color Zoo is one of Lois Ehlert's most famous books. She won the 1989 Caldecott Honor Award for it. This book is very simple and fun. Lois Ehlert used basic shapes to create different animals. She made an educational book using only shapes and colors. The book names the shapes, and then on the next page, it shows the name of the animal created from those shapes. It's a book that people of all ages can enjoy!