Arnold Lobel

Arnold Stark Lobel (May 22, 1933 – December 4, 1987) was an American author and illustrator of children's books, including the Frog and Toad series (1970–79) and Mouse Soup. He also authored Fables, a 1981 Caldecott Medal winner for best-illustrated U.S. picture book. Lobel also illustrated books by other writers, including Sam the Minuteman by Nathaniel Benchley.

Biography Lobel was born in Los Angeles, California, to Lucille Stark and Joseph Lobel, and raised in Schenectady, New York, the hometown of his parents, by his German-Jewish grandparents. Lobel was frequently bullied in his childhood Lobel began drawing during a period of extended illness as a second grader. On the October 25, 1950 episode of Kukla, Fran and Ollie, Oliver J. Dragon presented "poems by Thomas Smith and drawings by Arnold Lobel from Schenectady."

Lobel attended the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. In 1955, after he graduated, he married Anita Kempler, also a children's writer and illustrator whom he had met while in art school. The two worked in the same studio They had a daughter, Adrianne, and a son, Adam, followed by three grandchildren. Lobel was unable to support himself as either a children's book author or illustrator, so he worked in advertising and trade magazines, which he openly disliked. In the early 1980s, he and Anita separated, and he moved to Greenwich Village. He died of cardiac arrest on December 4, 1987, at Doctors Hospital in New York, having suffered from AIDS for some time.

Writing and illustrating His professional career began during the 1960s, writing and illustrating "conventional" easy readers and fables. His style has been described as minimalist as were popular television shows like Bewitched and The Carol Burnett Show.

Lobel's chosen vocabulary, subject matter, and writing style helped to re-conceive what an easy reader book could be. Lobel identified the exploration of his own feelings as a reason that he improved as a writer. In his 1977 The Lion and the Unicorn interview, Lobel discussed the ways he would work through his emotions while still maintaining his children's audience. As late as 1983, Lobel felt he was beginning to trust his instincts as a writer. In fact, he never felt comfortable enough with his technical writing skill to consider writing a novel for adults, or a longer book for children. which were translated into dozens of languages. Despite the awards he won, Lobel was not always recognized during his lifetime.

Fables

The book Fables is composed of approximately 20 fables featuring animal protagonists. The book was praised for its ability to combine a cheerful (rather than moralistic) tone with an actual moral at the end of each story. It received the Caldecott Medal for its illustrations in 1981, Lobel's first win and third overall recognition.

Awards Lobel is among a small group of people who have been honored as both an author and illustrator for the Newbery and Caldecott medals. He won a Newbery Honor Award in 1973 for Frog and Toad Together (1972). He won the Garden State Children's Book Award from the New Jersey Library Association for Mouse Soup (1977). He was also recognized by the National Education Association, the American Library Association, the Boys’ Club, the Society of Children's Book Writers, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Foundation.

Theater The musical A Year with Frog and Toad (workshopped 2000, premiered 2002), by Adrianne Lobel and others, played on Broadway in 2003 and has toured nationally since.

Books

Frog and Toad Are Friends (1970) The Ice Cream Cone Coot and Other Rare Birds (Parents Magazine Press, New York, 1971) Hildilid's Night by Cheli Duran Ryan (1971) Frog and Toad Together (1972) Owl at Home (1975) Frog and Toad All Year (1976) Mouse Soup (1977) Grasshopper on the Road (1978) Days with Frog and Toad (1979)