![]() |
![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(November 2012) |
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]
Helen Lester | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Genre | Children's fiction |
Years active | 1979–present |
Notable works | Tacky the Penguin |
Children | 2 |
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 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]
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]
Galway Mills Kinnell was an American poet. His dark poetry emphasized scenes and experiences in threatening, ego-less natural environments. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1982 collection, Selected Poems and split the National Book Award for Poetry with Charles Wright. From 1989 to 1993, he was poet laureate for the state of Vermont.
Thomas H. Cook is an American author, whose 1996 novel The Chatham School Affair received an Edgar award from the Mystery Writers of America.
Helen Craig is an English children's book illustrator and writer. She is best known for creating the Angelina Ballerina series of children's books with writer Katharine Holabird.
Jerry Pinkney was an American illustrator and writer of children's literature. Pinkney illustrated over 100 books since 1964, including picture books, nonfiction titles and novels. Pinkney's works addressed diverse themes and were usually done in watercolors.
Small Avalanches and Other Stories is a young adult collection of short stories by Joyce Carol Oates. It was her second young adult book and, as of January 2007, her only collection of short stories for young adults. It was published in 2003 by HarperTempest, an imprint of HarperCollins.
Sonnet 140 is one of 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. Sonnet 140 is one of the Dark Lady sonnets, in which the poet writes to a mysterious woman who rivals the Fair Youth for the poet's affection.
Kino's Storytime, also known as Storytime, is an American children's reading television program which aired on PBS from October 12, 1992 until September 1, 1997. It was produced by KCET in Los Angeles, California. It was available on VHS from Strand Home Video and Video Treasures. It was co-hosted by Anne Betancourt as Lucy, Marabina Jaimes as Mara, and Kino, voiced and performed by puppeteer Mark Ritts.
The Wednesday Wars is a 2007 young adult historical fiction novel written by Gary D. Schmidt, the author of Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. The novel is set in suburban Long Island during the 1967–68 school year. The Vietnam War is an important backdrop for the novel. It was given a Newbery Honor medal in 2008, and was also nominated for the Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award in 2010.
Kathleen Krull was an author of children's books and a former book editor.
Warwick Hutton was a British painter, glass engraver, illustrator, and children's author.
Anita Silvey is an American author, editor, and literary critic in the genre of children’s literature. Born in 1947 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Silvey has served as Editor-in-Chief of The Horn Book Magazine and as vice-president at Houghton Mifflin where she oversaw children’s and young adult book publishing. She has also authored a number of critical books about children's literature, including 500 Great Books for Teens and The Essential Guide to Children's Books and Their Creators. In October 2010, she began publishing the Children's Book-A-Day Almanac online, a daily essay on classic and contemporary children's books.
Florence Crannell Means was an American writer for children and young adults. For her 1945 novel, The Moved-Outers, she received a Newbery Medal honor award and the Child Study Association of America Children's Book Award.
A Certain Slant of Light is a 2005 young adult horror novel by author Laura Whitcomb. The book was first published on September 21, 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Graphia imprint. Film rights for A Certain Slant of Light have been optioned by Summit Entertainment. The title is derived from the first line of "There's a certain Slant of light", a poem by Emily Dickinson.
William Rossa Cole was an American editor, anthologist, columnist, author, and writer of light verse. He produced around 75 books, most of them anthologies.
Helen Waite Papashvily was an American writer.
Loree Griffin Burns is an American scientist and children's book author focusing on science and the scientific method.
Adam Rubin is a #1 New York Times best selling author of children's books. Many of his stories feature animals or food and several contain interactive elements. His books have sold over one million copies. Rubin graduated from Washington University in St. Louis where he studied advertising and worked as an advertising creative director for ten years before leaving his day job to focus on writing books. Adam also has a background in Improv where he taught classes at iO Theater in Chicago and in New York at the Annoyance Theatre. In addition to writing and improv, he also curates and designs puzzles and magic tricks.
Krys Lee is a Korean-American author based in South Korea, a journalist, and translator. She wrote the short story collection Drifting House (2012) and the novel How I Became a North Korean (2016). She is an associate professor of creative writing and literature at Underwood International College, Yonsei University. She was awarded the Rome Prize, the Story Prize Spotlight Award, and the Honor Title in Adult Fiction Literature from the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, and was a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the BBC International Story Prize.
Laura Freeman is a children's book illustrator. She received her BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She has illustrated many books, and done work for Highlights for Children. In a review of the picture book version of Hidden Figures, writing for School Library Journal, Megan Kilgallen said "Freeman’s full-color illustrations are stunning and chock-full of details, incorporating diagrams, mathematical formulas, and space motifs throughout... enhancing the whole book." She shared the 2019 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children with writer Margot Lee Shetterly for Hidden Figures.