Leo Lionni Author Study

Author Study

Author Study: Leo Lionni

Leo Lionni, a noted author and illustrator of children’s books, wrote and illustrated more than forty historically acclaimed Children’s books. His first artistic piece of literature was presented in 1959 with the children’s book, Little Blue and Little Yellow. Many children’s literature books followed after that date focusing on the social and world events at the time as well as on nature. He performed his works with an interesting technique of color and collage. His font of children’s books was easy to read by children as he learned from his own grandchildren. His last publication, An Extraordinary Egg (1994), was released when Leo Lionni was 84 years old. After suffering from Parkinson’s disease in the 1990’s, Leo Lionni was still able to create five children’s books until his death in 1999 at the age of 89.
Leo Lionni was born in Holland of Dutch parents in 1910. He did not receive formal education in art, but did receive a doctorate in economics from the University of Genoa. He spent most of his childhood in Amsterdam teaching himself to draw. Leo Lionni moved to Italy during his high school years and then decided to move to Switzerland for other business courses. He spent his in-between time painting. He married in Italy in 1931 and had two sons and began thinking about writing and painting. He moved his family back to Switzerland near his parents after having a “real” job in business and realizing his talent and passion for art. A year later, Leo Lionni moved his family back to Italy after the possibility of being drafted into the army. He continued his writing and painting in Italy. After receiving his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Genoa in 1935, Leo Lionni shortly left for the United States after Adolf Hitler and his Nazi political party took control of Germany in 1938. Leo Lionni moved to New York City and found his first job at one of the largest advertising companies in the country. In 1939, Leo Lionni’s wife and two children joined him after receiving visas to come to America. His career in advertising began to flourish as well as his art and gift of illustrating books for children. After opening his own graphic design studio, Leo Lionni began his writing and illustrating while on a train trip with his grandchildren.
The author’s style of writing was child friendly. He wrote short sentences on a page and also longer paragraphs on a page. His main focus was on nature and animals to portray a message to the reader. In his second book, Inch By Inch, Leo Lionni used color and collage to portray a caterpillar, insects, and birds in nature settings. His story introduced the child to mathematics as well as science and reading. His stories always had a purposeful meaning and value to the story. They also reached many components of effective literacy. They were easy to decode as in his first two books, Inch by Inch and Little Blue and Little Yellow. They depicted a friendly writing style with a positive perspective. Children from early pre-kindergarten through upper second grade primary level are able to relate to Lionni’s books.
As one of the first children’s book artist to use collage and clean, colorful graphics, Leo Lionni used many other forms of art media to depict his stories. He used straight collage, collage and oil stick, graphite and collage, and colored pencil with oil stick. He always used a white background for his art to stand out except for the book, The Greentail Mouse. His gift was in the way he was able to understand how a child’s mind was and how a child could respond to and identify with stories about animals and nature. His stories were simple fables showing animals to present an attribute or value. His stories do not strongly hold a moral, but a child will come away with a new understanding of sharing, cooperating, individuality, and peace. Four of his books, Inch by Inch, Swimmy, Frederick, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse have been named Caldecott Honor Books among the best-illustrated books published in the United States. His other honors include the American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal.
The reason that this author is important to me is because of his uniqueness in writing stories for all children. Children with and without disabilities are able to decode and gain visual insight from the colorful illustrations and ways in which Leo Lionni used art media. He also used nature and animals that all children can relate to. The values and important story lines in each book can help a child take away something of great importance for success in the world. The important values of friendship, cooperation, sharing, individuality, and peace are so important for children in today’s society.
References
www.randomhouse.com/kids.html
www.cishrewbury.ma.us
media/lionni/leoforteachers.html
Biography Today Author Series, Vol.6: Wilson Library Bulletin, June 1992.