Rachel Isadora facts for kids
Rachel Isadora, born in 1953, is an American artist. She is famous for writing and illustrating children's picture books. She also creates beautiful oil paintings.
One of her most well-known books is Ben's Trumpet. It was a runner-up for the 1980 Caldecott Medal, which is a special award for children's book illustrations. Ben's Trumpet was even turned into a video and a ballet!
Rachel Isadora has created over 150 children's books. Her books cover many different topics. These include ballet and dance, city life in America, family stories, and life in Africa. She has also retold classic fairy tales. Some of her books have been chosen for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which gives free books to children.
Before becoming an author and artist, Rachel Isadora was a professional ballet dancer. An injury made her change careers. Now, besides writing and illustrating, she sells her oil paintings. Many of her paintings show her love for dance. They also show her experiences living in Africa and New York City.
Her Life Story
Rachel Isadora started dancing when she was very young. She earned a scholarship to study at the School of American Ballet. This is a famous ballet school in New York City. She learned from important people like George Balanchine, who founded the New York City Ballet. She also studied with costume designer Rouben Ter-Arutunian.
She danced for a short time with the Boston Ballet Company. However, a foot injury meant she had to stop dancing professionally. She then decided to become a visual artist.
Her first book, Max, was published in 1976. It's about a boy who finds that ballet helps him become a better baseball player. Max was named an ALA Notable Book. Many of her other books also feature ballet and dance. These include the Lili at Ballet series and Ben's Trumpet.
Rachel Isadora lived in Africa for almost ten years. This experience inspired her to adapt many famous stories and fairy tales to African settings. Some of these include Rapunzel, The Princess and the Pea, and The Night before Christmas.
She continues to create oil paintings. In 2016, she had an art show called "Art of the Dance." It featured 25 paintings about classic and modern dance. She has shown her art in many other exhibits since then.
Her Books and Art
Rachel Isadora has written and illustrated many books. Here are some of them:
- Max, 1976
- The Potters' Kitchen, 1977
- Willaby, 1977
- Backstage, with Robert Maiorano, 1978
- Ben's Trumpet, 1979
- My Ballet Class, 1980
- No, Agatha!, 1980
- Jesse and Abe, 1981
- The Nutcracker, (Retold) 1981
- City Seen from A to Z, 1983
- Opening Night, 1984
- I Hear, 1985
- I See, 1985
- I Touch, 1985
- The Pirates of Bedford Street, 1988
- The Princess and the Frog, 1989
- Swan Lake: A Ballet Story, 1989
- Friends, 1990
- Babies, 1990
- At the Crossroads, 1991
- Over the Green Hills, 1992
- Lili at Ballet, 1993
- Firebird, 1994
- My Ballet Diary, 1995
- Lili on Stage, 1995
- The Steadfast Tin Soldier, 1996
- The Little Match Girl, 1996
- Lili Backstage, 1997
- Young Mozart, 1997
- The Little Mermaid, 1998
- Isadora Dances, 1998
- A South African Night, 1998
- Caribbean Dreams, 1998
- Listen to the City, 1999
- ABC Pop!, 1999
- Sophie Skates, 1999
- 123 Pop!, 2000
- Nick Plays Baseball, 2001
- Bring on That Beat, 2002
- Peekaboo Morning, 2002
- Mr. Moon, 2002
- On Your Toes: A Ballet ABC, 2003
- Not Just Tutus, 2003
- In the Beginning, 2003
- What a Family, 2005
- Luke Goes to Bat, 2005
- Yo, Jo!, 2007
- The Princess and the Pea, 2007
- Rapunzel, 2008
- The Fisherman and His Wife, 2008
- The Twelve Dancing Princesses, 2008
- Hanzel and Gretel, 2009
- The Night before Christmas, 2009
- The Twelve Days of Christmas, 2010
- Say Hello, 2010
- There Was a Tree, 2012
- Bea at the Ballet, 2012
- Old Mikamba Had a Farm, 2013
- Jake at Gymnastics, 2014
- Bea in the Nutcracker, 2015
- I Hear a Pickle, 2016
- I Just Want to Say Goodnight, 2016
- My Dog Laughs, 2017
She has also illustrated books written by other authors:
- Robert Maiorano, Francisco, 1978
- Elizabeth Shub, Seeing Is Believing, 1979
- Robert Maiorano, A Little Interlude, 1980
- Elizabeth Shub, The White Stallion, 1982
- Elizabeth Shub, Cutlass in the Snow, 1986
- Patricia C. McKissack, Flossie & the Fox, 1986
- Ruth Young, Golden Bear, 1990
- Sandol Stoddard, editor, Prayers, Praises, and Thanksgivings, 1992
- Reeve Lindbergh, Grandfather's Lovesong, 1993
- Jane Kurtz, In the Small, Small Night, 2005
- Deborah Hopkinson, Saving Strawberry Farm, 2005
- Carolyn Vaughan, "Invitation to Ballet: A Celebration of Dance and Degas", 2012
Her Paintings
You can see Rachel Isadora's oil paintings on her Official website: http://www.rachelisadora.com/.
Awards and Special Mentions
Rachel Isadora's books have won many awards:
- Max received the Child Study Association Children's Book of the Year award in 1976. It was also a Children's Choice award winner and an American Library Association (ALA) notable book.
- Seeing Is Believing (which she illustrated) was an ALA Notable Book in 1979.
- Ben's Trumpet received a Boston Globe/Horn Book honor in 1979 and the Caldecott Honor Book award in 1980.
- The White Stallion (illustrated by her) won a Best Book award from School Library Journal and an ALA notable book citation in 1982.
- City Seen from A to Z won a Children's Book award from the New York Public Library in 1982.
- I Hear and I See won the Child Study Association Children's Book of the Year award in 1985.
- Flossie and the Fox and Cutlass in the Snow won Child Study Association Children's Book of the Year awards in 1986.
- At the Crossroads was an ALA Notable Book in 1991.
- The Fisherman and His Wife received a Parent's Choice award in 2008.
- Hansel and Gretel won the Virginia Reader's Choice award in 2011.
- Bea at Ballet received a Horn Book award in 2012.
- Old Mikamba Had a Farm was an ALA Notable Book in 2013.
- Ben's Trumpet was included in the New York Public Library's "100 top Children's Books of the Last 100 Years" in 2013.
- I Hear a Pickle received 3 Star Reviews from Kirkus Review in 2015 and was a featured Best Book of the Month by School Library Journal and Amazon in January 2016.
Her Legacy
Ben's Trumpet was turned into a jazz ballet. It was choreographed by Tony Williams and first performed by BalletRox in 2009.
