1. “A Tried and True Author” LIS 60629: Summer 2009 Beth Brendle
Leo Lionni
“A Tried and True Author”
LIS 60629: Summer 2009
Beth Brendle

2. Writer, Teacher, Sculptor, Artist, Designer
Leo Lionni: Biography
Personal Information
Born in Amsterdam, Holland, on May 5, 1910
No formal art education
Practiced drawing at the Rijksmuseum
Doctorate in Economics from the Un. of Genoa
Married Nora Maffi in 1931
Had two sons: Louis and Paolo
Emigrated to US in 1939
Traveled extensively between the US and Europe
Settled in Italy at age 50
Wrote Parallel Botany in 1977
Wrote his autobiography, Between Two Worlds, in 1997
Died in Tuscany, Italy, on October 11,1999, at age 89
Writer, Teacher, Sculptor, Artist, Designer

3. Graphic Arts Career ”one of the 20th-century's most influential graphic designers” (Sundell)
Art director for Motta in Italy
Art Director: N. W. Ayer advertising agency
Design Director for the Olivetti Corporation of America
Art Director: Time/Life
Art Director: Fortune
Co-Editor: Print Magazine
Layout creator for
Sports Illustrated
Designed “Family of Man” exhibit
catalog, Museum of Modern Art
Lionni’s Autobiography

4. Children’s Book Author & Illustrator
Lionni wrote more than 40 children’s books, all after the age of 50!
FABLES: Many of Lionni’s books are fables, complete with talking animals, basic plots, and a clear moral.
Some of his books, including The Alphabet Tree, have been criticized for being too didactic, political, and/or religious and not geared toward children.
Lionni is known for his vivid textured collages of torn paper.
Praised for simple yet meaningful text wedded to the illustrations, many of Lionni’s works are true picture books.

5. Lionni’s Innovative Style
“A technique of filling the picture area with large, simple shapes
without overwhelming or cluttering it is a Lionni trademark, as is his use of white backgrounds, cropping, and carefully informal arrangement of objects within the picture plane.” (Potts)
“preoccupation with textures and special effects”
torn paper technique
“boldness of style”
“deft and humorous moral messages”
influenced by Futurism, Surrealism & Expressionism
desire to achieve coherence between form and content
“a deep concern for quality” (Potts)
“I have the feeling that if you are very thorough
and put love and care into a thing
it will come out well somehow.”
Leo Lionni

6. Nature’s Influence “The relationship between nature and man
Lionni was fascinated by nature;
his books depict natural worlds filled with animal characters, flora and fauna, and a variety of rocks, stones, and shells.
Lionni had a terrarium as a child; in it he kept stones, shells, frogs, and
salamanders. He created a little world for his creatures.
The influence of nature can be seen in his children’s books as well as in his drawings, sculpture, and writings.
“The relationship between nature and man
is at the core of his work.” (Sundell)

7. Major Awards Caldecott Honor Books American Institute of Graphic Arts
Gold Medal, 1984
Caldecott Honor Books
Inch by Inch 1961
Frederick 1968
Swimmy 1964
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse

8. The Christopher Award Children’s Book Category 1970
“First presented in 1949, the Christopher Awards were established by Christopher founder Father James Keller to salute media that ‘affirm the highest values of the human spirit.’ Their goal is to encourage men, women and children to pursue excellence in creative arenas that have the potential to influence a mass audience positively. Award winners encourage audiences to see the better side of human nature and motivate artists and the general public to use their best instincts on behalf of others. “
(Christophers.org) .
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse

9. Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava – (BIB) Golden Apple Award 1967 for Swimmy
This award is given by the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic and UNESCO. It recognizes the best children’s illustrations worldwide. The main winners have their artwork put on stamps (
Swimmy was the first picture book by an
American illustrator to win.

10. Little Blue and Little Yellow
Leo Lionni’s first children’s book was created in 1959
in an attempt to entertain his grandchildren
during a train ride.
“To entertain them, he tore little bits of colored papers from Life magazine and made a magical story. Lionni returned home, he placed what he'd done into a book dummy. Fabio Coen, who had just become children's book editor of Obolensky Inc., published it as ‘Little Blue and Little Yellow,’ and Lionni became a picture book author.” (AIGA)
Style: The simple torn paper collage was innovative in 1959.
Themes: This story teaches children not
to judge by appearance. It also makes kids
think about individuality vs. conformity.
This book is often used by art teachers
to teach color combining.

11. Inch by Inch
PLOT: A clever inch worm saves himself by measuring his predators’ necks, tails, and legs. When the nightingale asks him to measure his song, the inch worm keeps measuring until he is out of harm’s way.
ART: “Illustrated in richly textured collage and crayon against a white background, Inch by Inch combines lavish surface texture with careful page layout and dramatic design.” (Potts)
THEME: This book teaches children to be clever problem-solvers.

12. Frederick Lionni’s first mouse-hero
PLOT: Frederick’s family prepares for the winter by
collecting food while Frederick collects sun rays,
colors, and words. After all the supplies run out in the harsh winter, Frederick nourishes his family with an artist’s gifts: stories, colors, and emotions.
ART: The collage illustrations are in soft browns and grays. The mice are made of torn-paper and are set “against the clean edges and textures of the background.” (Potts)
THEMES: This book teaches children that the artist is an important part of society.
Lionni’s first mouse-hero
“Frederick’s story is one of the progression from feelings
to images and finally to words ” (Potts)

13. Swimmy
PLOT: Like the inch worm, Swimmy must be clever in order to survive. He organizes a school of small fish into a group resembling a large fish so that predators will stay away.
ART: “Swimmy’s undersea world is composed of highly textured watercolor washes and prints that create an impressionistic underwater locale.” (Potts)
THEMES: This book teaches children to be resourceful, to be leaders,
and to never give up. It also teaches that there is safety in numbers.

14. Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse
PLOT: Alexander is a lonely mouse who befriends a mechanical mouse, Willy. Alexander is jealous of Willy because the children love their toy, while Alexander is despised. He wants to be a toy too until he finds a broken and discarded Willy. With the help of a magic lizard, Willy becomes a real mouse.
ART: “brightly colored, bold designs set against black and white backgrounds. . . spectacular.
. . . a flat, posterlike effect” (Potts).
THEMES: The story teaches children not to be envious of others, to appreciate themselves, and to believe in the power of love and friendship.

15. Lionni’s Children’s Books Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse
The Alphabet Tree
The Biggest House in the World
A Busy Year
A Color of His Own
Colors to Talk About
Cornelius: A Fable
An Extraordinary Egg
Fish is Fish
A Flea Story
Frederick
Geraldine, the Music Mouse
The Greentail Mouse
I Want to Stay Here! I Want to Go There!: A Flea Story
In the Rabbitgarden
Inch by Inch
It's Mine
Let's Make Rabbits: A Fable
Let's Play
Letters to Talk About
Little Blue and Little Yellow
Matthew's Dream
Mouse Days: A Book of Seasons
Lionni’s
Children’s
Books

16. Lionni’s Children’s Books Mr. McMouse Nadarin
Nicolas, Where Have You Been?
Numbers to Talk About"
On My Beach There are Many Pebbles
Pezzettino
Pouce Par Pouce
Prohibido a Los Gatos!
Pulgada a Pulgada
Six Crows: A Fable
Swimmy
Theodore and the Talking Mushroom
Tico and the Golden Wings
Tillie and the Wall
Tili Y El Muro
Una Piedra Extraordinaria
What?: Pictures to Talk About
When?: Pictures to Talk About
Where?: Pictures to Talk About
Who?: Pictures to Talk About
Words to Talk About

17. Leo Lionni Resources
Agree, Rose H. “We Meet Leo Lionni.” Top of the News 19 (Oct 1962):
Bumiller, Elisabeth. “A Mind Full of Frogs, Mice and Snails Grow Riper.” New York Times 4 Sept
Cahn, Annabelle Simon. “Leo Lionni, Artist and Philosopher.” Children’s
Literature 2 (1973): Project Muse. John Hopkins
University Press July [OhioLink]
Coen, Fabio. “Leo Lionni.” Library Journal 89 (15 March 1964): 100.
Cullinan, Bernice E., and Diane Goetz Person, ed. “Lionni, Leo.” The
Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. Continuum
International Publishing Group, July 2009.
Evans, Dily. “Leo Lionni.” Book Links (Mar 1995):
McCall, Bruce. “An Old-Fashioned Modernist: Between Two Worlds: The
Autobiography of Leo Lionni.” New York Times Book Reviews. 18 May
McCann, Donnarae, and Olga Richard. The Child’s First
Books: A Critical Study of Pictures and Texts. New York: Wilson,

18. McQuade, Molly. “The Year of Leo Lionni.” Book Links (May 1998): 7. 5.
“Medalists.” AIGA (The American Institute of Graphic Artists)
5 July
Paley, Vivian Gusin. “The Mouse that Roared.” School Library Journal
(Jan 2000): 46 – 49. [EBSCO] July 2009.
Potts, Lesley S. “Leo(nard) Lionni.” American Writers for Children Since
1960: Poets, Illustrators, and Nonfiction Authors. Ed. Glenn
E. Estes. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol 61. Detroit:
Gale Research, [Columbus Metropolitan Library] 6 July
prod.columbuslibrary.org/ps/start.do?p=LitRG&u=cmlweb.
Simon Cahn, Annabelle. "Leo Lionni, Artist and Philosopher." Children's
Literature 2.1 (2009),
Sundell, Nina Castelli. “Leo Lionni: Drawings.” Exhibit at Lehman
University July lionni/lionni sundell essay.html .

19. Leo Lionni Articles
Lionni, Leo. “Before Images.” Horn Book 60 (Nov/Dec 1984):
Lionni, Leo. “My Books for Children.” Wilson Library Bulletin 39 (October
1964):