Robin Preiss Glasser

Last updated
Robin Preiss Glasser
Born1956
Poughkeepsie, New York
Education Parsons The New School for Design
OccupationIllustrator

Robin Preiss Glasser (born 1956) [1] [2] is an American illustrator, best known for her work on the Fancy Nancy series of children's picture books (from 2005), written by Jane O'Connor. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Glasser was raised in a Jewish family in Poughkeepsie, New York, one of four sisters [4] including the children's writer Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman. [5] She earned her high school diploma from the Professional Children's School in Manhattan while attending the apprentice program at the American Ballet Theatre school.

Career

Glasser was a professional ballet dancer before becoming an illustrator for children’s books. She was a soloist with the Pennsylvania Ballet until injuring her back. [4] She returned to school at age 30 and earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Parsons School of Design/The New School. [4]

It was five years of odd-job illustration work after graduating from Parsons before Glasser was asked to illustrate Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move by Judith Viorst, [4] published by Atheneum Books in 1995. It was a sequel to the successful Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Atheneum, 1972). She and her sister, Jacqueline Weitzman, collaborated on You Can't Take a Balloon Into the Metropolitan Museum, which featured an adventure through the streets of New York City and was named an ALA Notable Book for 1998. [2] Twenty years later, the Children's Literature Association (ChLA) gave the book a Phoenix Picture Book Award. Glasser went on to illustrate picture books with writers including radio star Garrison Keillor, poet Elizabeth Garton Scanlon, and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. [4]

She also collaborated on three books with Lynne Cheney, the wife of the then Vice President, whom she first met in 2001. [6]

In 2005 Glasser was paired with the writer Jane O’Connor to illustrate the Fancy Nancy books. [7] Books in the series, which now number more than 80 titles, have spent over 330 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list, and have sold more than 48 million volumes. The Children's Book Council named Glasser 2013 Illustrator of the Year for Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet [8] after more than 1 million young people cast their votes in the 6th annual Children's Choice Book Awards.

Disney Junior turned Glasser's most popular character into an animated television heroine, with the Disney Fancy Nancy (TV series) debuting on July 13, 2018, [9] and the animation company greenlighting a second season even before the show premiered. [10] Disney Junior ordered a third season of the Emmy Award-nominated series ahead of its October 4, 2019, Season Two premiere. [11] Disney's supporting licensing program included a life-size face character at the Disney theme parks and on cruise ships world-wide.

In the fall of 2025, the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Fancy Nancy book series will bring a new adventure from the original creators, O'Connor and Glasser. Fancy Nancy: Besties for Eternity is a story about new friends, old friends, and the magic of lasting friendship.

Glasser continues to collaborate with the international best-selling author Ann Patchett. They met while Glasser was on a book tour for Fancy Nancy at Patchett's Nashville book store Parnassus Books. Lambslide, Patchett's first book for children, was published on May 7, 2019. [12] The second book by the duo, Escape Goat, was released in fall 2020, and The Verts: A Story of Introverts and Extroverts was published in 2024. Button at the Book Store is coming out in 2026.

Glasser returned to her ballet roots to illustrate Grand Jeté and Me, with New York City Ballet legend Allegra Kent. In 2020, American Ballet Theatre and Penguin Random House began a collaborative publishing program and they asked Glasser to write and illustrate a story based on what she felt like as a child, so crazy about dancing that it was all she wanted to do. Gloria's Promise: A Ballet Dancer's First Step was written with her sister Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman and published in March 2023. [13] In Spring 2025, the duo teamed up again for Flower Girls: A Story of Sisters.

In 2015 she was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Orange County, California. [14]

Personal life

She lives in San Juan Capistrano [15] with her husband, attorney Robert Berman. Glasser has an adult son and daughter. [3] Glasser is a two-time breast cancer survivor. [3]

References

  1. ↑ "Robin Preiss Glasser - Biography". www.askart.com. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  2. 1 2 McLellan, Dennis (December 11, 1998). "Illustrator Leads an Artful Tour". The Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  3. 1 2 3 Hall, Landon (June 9, 2013). "'Fancy Nancy' illustrator draws on children's energy". Orange County Register . Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Cantor, Danielle (Fall 2011). "Robin Preiss Glasser Interview: Her whimsical illustrations bring to life the inimitable Fancy Nancy". Jewish Woman Magazine. Jewish Women International (jwi.org). Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  5. ↑ "Youth Event: Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman & Robin Preiss Glasser". Kepler's Books (Menlo Park, CA). September 19, 2011. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  6. ↑ "Working with Lynne Cheney: Illustrator's view". Today. NBC News. October 25, 2006. Retrieved 2014-03-10. Interview by MSNBC.com supplementing Today appearance by Lynne Cheney.
  7. ↑ Jenkins, Emily (March 12, 2006). "'Fancy Nancy', by Jane O'Connor. Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser". The New York Times . Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  8. ↑ Magill, Lee (May 13, 2013). "Jeff Kinney and Robin Preiss Glasser win Children's Choice Awards". Time Out New York . Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  9. ↑ Seely, Taylor. "Exclusive: Watch this 'Fancy Nancy' sneak-peek clip; show premieres on Disney Junior Friday, July 13". USA Today . Retrieved 2019-03-29.
  10. ↑ Pedersen, Erik (7 June 2018). "'Fancy Nancy' Renewed by Disney Junior Ahead of Series Premiere" . Retrieved 2019-03-29.
  11. ↑ Nordyke, Kimberly (18 September 2019). "'Fancy Nancy' Gets Early Renewal on Disney Junior". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  12. ↑ Morse, Libby. "Q & A with Ann Patchett" . Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  13. ↑ "GLORIA'S PROMISE: A Ballet Dancer's First Step". Publishers Weekly . February 2023.
  14. ↑ Moe, Jackie (December 24, 2015). "Most Influential 2015: Robin Preiss Glasser". Orange County Register . Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  15. ↑ Meet ‘Fancy Nancy’ illustrator, Robin Preiss Glasser at our special events | Chance Theater Retrieved 2016-12-22.
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