Helen Lester

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Helen Lester (born June 12, 1936) is an American children's writer, best known for her character Tacky the Penguin in many of her children's stories. [1]

Contents

Helen Lester
NationalityAmerican
Genre Children's fiction
Years active1979–present
Notable worksTacky the Penguin
Children2

Lester was born in Evanston, Illinois but has moved around the United States making homes in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Minneapolis and finally settling in Pawling, New York with her husband.

As a girl, Lester dreamed of getting married but never of being a writer. She became an elementary school teacher, got married and had two sons. After her sons were born, Lester took time off as a teacher and began writing children's literature. Her works are mainly influenced by her old second-grade students who helped produce characters such as Tacky the Penguin, Pinkerton the Pig, and Fragility the Hippopotamus.

Lester's first children's book was published in 1979, and her writing career took off from there. She has now published more than two dozen books.

Lester has illustrated a few of her own books, but illustrator Lynn Munsinger has produced the illustrations for Lester's books. Lester and Munsinger have collaborated on over a dozen children books.

Beyond writing, Lester spends time traveling the country, visiting schools and encouraging children to write. She has also written Author: A True Story (Houghton Mifflin, 1997; ISBN   0395827442, LCCN   96-9645), directed towards young writers and based on her school visits and the editing process as a writer.

Tacky the Penguin

Tacky the Penguin is a series of children's picture books written by Lester and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. [2] [3] [4] Tacky is a fictional animal character whose individuality and humorous antics make him particularly appealing to young children. [5] He first appeared in Tacky the Penguin, [6] and subsequently in nine more books between 1989 and 2015. Editions of some of the books have been published in Braille, and in Spanish, Swedish, Chinese and Italian. E-book versions and audiobooks have also been published. A Tacky the Penguin plush toy was marketed by Merrimakers, Inc. in 2000. [7]

Series summary

In each book, Tacky's loud, boisterous behavior is contrasted with that of his sleek, graceful penguin companions in "Nice Icy Land." [8] and tolerance for the odd bird is rewarded. [9] The illustrations by Lynn Munsinger show Tacky wearing a misbuttoned Hawaiian shirt and a purple plaid bow-tie while all the other penguins have a uniformly dignified tuxedo-like appearance. [10] The other penguins sing sweetly together, but Tacky's voice is loud and off-key. They don't like Tacky until they see his loud un-penguin-like behavior scare away a group of hunters rescuing them all. [11] In each book, Tacky's behavior is disruptive but well-meaning and ultimately helpful, a humorous and endearing combination popular among younger readers. [12] The books are recommended for pre-K to 3rd grade students. [13]

Books

Characters

Works

Tacky series

Other

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References

  1. "Helen Lester". Contemporary Authors Online. Gale. 2004.
  2. "Books in the series Tacky the Penguin". www.kirkusreviews.com. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
  3. "Tacky the Penguin".
  4. "Tacky the Penguin and Other Stories". 25 October 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Helen Lester". Contemporary Authors Online. Gale. 2004 via Literature Resource Center.
  6. Lester, Helen (1988). Tacky the Penguin . Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN   9780395455364. OCLC   1090911217.
  7. "Tacky the Penguin". WorldCat. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  8. Galda, Lee (December 1989). "Children's Books: What a Character!". The Reading Teacher. 43 (3): 246. JSTOR   20200343.
  9. Hurst, Carol Otis; Otis, Rebecca (May 2001). "Theme Scheme". Teaching Pre-K-8. 31 (8): 54. Retrieved April 1, 2019 via EBSCOhost.
  10. McNeil, Taylor (February 10, 2017). "An Illustrator's Menagerie". Tufts Now. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  11. Wheatley, Bonnie (April 1988). "Tacky the Penguin (Book Review)". School Library Journal. 34 (8). Retrieved April 1, 2019 via EBSCOhost.
  12. "Children's Choices for 1995". The Reading Teacher. 49 (2): 140. 1995. JSTOR   20201573.
  13. "Tacky the Penguin". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Retrieved April 3, 2019.[ permanent dead link ]
  14. Tacky the Penguin. OCLC   1090911217.
  15. Three Cheers for Tacky. OCLC   32999690.
  16. Tacky in Trouble. OCLC   228438936.
  17. Tacky and the Emperor. OCLC   43186032.
  18. Tackylocks and the Three Bears. OCLC   859060213.
  19. Lester, Helen (26 August 2002). Tacky and the Winter Games. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN   0547347871. OCLC   245597107.
  20. Lester, Helen (26 August 2002). Tacky Goes to Camp. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN   0547347871. OCLC   245597107.
  21. Lester, Helen (26 August 2002). Tacky's Christmas. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN   0547347871. OCLC   980528384.
  22. Lester, Helen (26 August 2002). Happy Birdday, Tacky!. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN   0547347871. OCLC   967056278.
  23. Tacky and the Haunted Igloo. OCLC   952006075.