Margot Zemach facts for kids

Margot Zemach (born November 30, 1931 – died May 21, 1989) was a talented American artist who illustrated over 40 children's books. She also wrote some of these books herself! Many of her stories were based on old folk tales from different parts of the world, especially Yiddish and other stories from Eastern Europe. Margot often worked with her husband, Harvey Fischtrom, who wrote under the name Harve Zemach. Together, they created many popular picture books. One of their most famous books, Duffy and the Devil, won the important Caldecott Medal in 1974.

Her Early Life

Margot Zemach was born in Los Angeles, California. When she was growing up during the Great Depression, she loved to draw. She used her drawings to make people laugh, even though she didn't always have enough paper.

Margot studied art at the Los Angeles County Art Institute. Later, she received a special scholarship called a Fulbright Scholarship in 1955. This allowed her to study art in Austria at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

In 1957, Margot married Harvey Fischtrom. They had four daughters together. One of their daughters, Kaethe Zemach, also became a writer and illustrator of children's books. Margot Zemach passed away in Berkeley, California, on May 21, 1989. She had a serious illness called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Her Career as an Artist

Margot Zemach started her career in children's books because her husband, Harvey, encouraged her. Their first book together was Small boy is listening, published in 1959. This book was inspired by their time living in Vienna. Margot drew the pictures, and Harvey wrote the story using the name Harve Zemach. The next year, Margot illustrated a book by another writer called Take a Giant Step.

Working with Her Husband

Margot and Harvey worked together on 13 books. Often, their books were simply credited to "Harvey & Margot Zemach," with Harvey writing and Margot illustrating. Their book Duffy and the Devil: a Cornish tale (1973) was a huge success. Margot won the prestigious Caldecott Medal for her amazing illustrations in this book. The Caldecott Medal is given by the American Library Association to the artist of the best-illustrated U.S. children's picture book each year.

Duffy and the Devil was also a finalist for the National Book Award and was added to the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award list. Margot was also recognized as a Caldecott runner-up (meaning she was close to winning) two other times: in 1970 for The Judge: An Untrue Tale (written by Harvey) and in 1978 for It Could Always Be Worse: A Yiddish Folk Tale (which she retold herself).

Margot's daughter, Kaethe Zemach, also collaborated with her parents on a book called The Princess and Froggie (1975). This book was a collection of stories written by Harvey and Kaethe, with illustrations by Margot. It was published the year after her father passed away.

International Recognition

Margot Zemach's work was recognized around the world. She was nominated twice (in 1980 and 1988) for the international Hans Christian Andersen Award. This award is one of the highest honors for creators of children's books.

Years after Margot passed away, a picture book she had written about brothers and sisters arguing, called Eating up Gladys, was published in 2005. Her daughter, Kaethe, illustrated it.

Selected Books

Here are some of the books Margot Zemach created:

Books She Wrote and Illustrated

• 1963, The Three Sillies
• 1976, It Could always be Worse: A Yiddish Folk Tale
• 1976, Hush, Little Baby, a traditional lullaby
• 1983, The Little Red Hen: An Old Story
• 1982, Jake and Honeybunch go to Heaven
• 1986, The Three Wishes: An Old Story
• 1988, The Three Little Pigs: An Old Story
• 2001, Some from the Moon, Some from the Sun: Poems and Songs for Everyone, traditional poems and songs

Books Written by Harve Zemach

Margot Zemach illustrated these picture books, which were written by her husband, Harvey Fischtrom, using his pen name Harve Zemach. Some book covers simply said "Harve & Margot Zemach."

• 1959, Small Boy is Listening (Houghton Mifflin)
• 1961, A Hat with a Rose
• 1964, Nail Soup: A Swedish Folk Tale
• 1965, Salt: A Russian Tale
• 1965, The Tricks of Master Dabble
• 1966, Mommy, Buy Me a China Doll: Adapted From an Ozark Children's Song
• 1966, The Speckled Hen: A Russian Nursery Rhyme
• 1967, Too Much Nose: An Italian Tale
• 1969, The Judge: An Untrue Tale
• 1970, Awake and Dreaming
• 1971, A Penny A Look: An Old Story
• 1973, Duffy and the Devil (a Cornish tale)
• 1975, The Princess and Froggie, stories by Harve Zemach and Kaethe Zemach

Books She Illustrated for Other Writers

• 1960, Take a Giant Step, by Hannelore Hahn (Little, Brown and Company)
• 1967, Mazel and Shlimazel, or The Milk of a Lioness, by Isaac Bashevis Singer
• 1968, When Shlemiel went to Warsaw & Other Stories, by Issac Bashevis Singer
• 1971, Alone in the Wild Forest, by Issac Bashevis Singer
• 1972, Simon Boom Gives a Wedding, by Yuri Suhl
• 1973, The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander (first edition only)
• 1976, Naftali the Storyteller and his Horse, Sus: And Other Stories, by Issac Bashevis Singer
• 1982, The Cat's Elbow and Other Secret Languages, by Alvin Schwartz
• 1985, The Sign in Mendel's Window, by Mildred Phillips
• 1987, The Two Foolish Cats: Suggested by a Japanese Folktale, by Yoshiko Uchida
• 1988, The Chinese Mirror, by Mirra Ginsburg
• 1988, Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child's Book of Poems, by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
• 1989, All God's Critters got a Place in the Choir, by Bill Staines

Books She Wrote Only

• 2005, Eating Up Gladys, illustrated by Kaethe Zemach