Jean Marzollo

Jean Marzollo (June 24, 1942 – April 10, 2018) was an American children's author and illustrator. She wrote more than 100 books, including the best-selling and award-winning I Spy series for children, written completely in rhythm and rhyme.

Early life and education Born and raised in Connecticut, Marzollo was a graduate of Manchester High School (1960), the University of Connecticut (1964) where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education (1965). She has written books for teachers and parents, as well as articles about children for Parents Magazine, Redbook, and other parenting magazines.

Marzollo was known for her best-selling and award-winning I Spy series with photographic illustrator Walter Wick. Among her other children's books are: Help Me Learn Addition, Help Me Learn Numbers 0-20, The Little Plant Doctor, Pierre the Penguin, Mama Mama/Papa Papa, Close Your Eyes, Pretend You're a Cat, Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, and the Shanna Show books. After more than twenty years of writing children's books, she also began to illustrate them. She retold and illustrated five Bible stories and three Greek myths, as well as writing and illustrating two counting books for preschoolers: Ten Little Eggs and Ten Little Christmas Presents.

Death Marzollo died on April 10, 2018, in her sleep due to natural causes at the age of 75. She was survived by her husband, Claudio Marzollo, a retired sculptor who co-authored some of her children's science fiction and fantasy books, her two sons, Daniel and David Marzollo, her two grandsons, Gabriel and Westley Marzollo, and daughter-in-law, Melia Marzollo.

Published works

9 Months 1 Day 1 Year: A Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and Babycare, 39 Kids on the Block: Chicken Pox Strikes Again #5 39 Kids on the Block: My Sister the Blabbermouth #6 39 Kids on the Block: Roses are Pink and You Stink #3 39 Kids on the Block: The Best Friends Club #4 39 Kids on the Block: The Best Present Ever #2 39 Kids on the Block: The Green Ghost of Appleville #1 Amy Goes Fishing (illustrated by Ann Schweninger) Baby Unicorn and Baby Dragon (co-written with her husband, Claudio; illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root) Baby's Alphabet Baseball Brothers Basketball Buddies Baxter Bear’s Bad Day (illustrated by Shelley Thornton) Birthday Parties for Children Blue Sun Ben Can We Eat Now? Cannonball Chris Christmas Cats Cinderella City Sounds Close Your Eyes Daniel in the Lions' Den David and Goliath Do You Know New? Do You Love Me, Harvey Burns? Doll House Adventure Doll House Christmas Fathers & Babies Fathers & Toddlers Football Friends Getting Your Period Halfway Down Paddy Lane Halloween Cats Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King Help Me Learn Addition Help Me Learn Numbers 0-20 Help Me learn Subtraction Helping Hands Handbook Hockey Hero Home Sweet Home How Kids Grow I Am a Leaf I Am a Rock I Am a Star I Am an Apple I Am Fire I Am Planet Earth I Am Snow I Am Water I Love You: A Rebus Poem I See a Star: A Christmas Rebus Story I Spy a Balloon I Spy a Butterfly I Spy a Candy Cane I Spy a Dinosaur's Eye I Spy a Penguin I Spy a Pumpkin I Spy a Scary Monster I Spy a School Bus I Spy a Skeleton I Spy A to Z I SPY an Egg in a Nest I Spy Christmas I Spy Extreme Challenger! I Spy Fantasy I Spy Fun House I Spy Funny Teeth I Spy Gold Challenger! I Spy I Like to Read I Spy I Love You I Spy Lightning in the Sky I Spy Little Animals I Spy Little Book I Spy Little Bunnies I Spy Little Christmas I Spy Little Hearts I Spy Little Letters I Spy Little Numbers I Spy Little Toys I Spy Merry Christmas I Spy Little Wheels I Spy Mystery I Spy Phonics Fun I Spy Santa Claus I Spy School I Spy School Days I Spy Spectacular I Spy Spooky Night I Spy Sticker Book and Picture Riddles I Spy Super Challenger! I Spy Thanksgiving I Spy Treasure Hunt I Spy Ultimate Challenger! I Spy Year-Round Challenger! I Spy: A Book of Picture Riddles I’m A Seed I’m Tyrannosaurus! I'm a Caterpillar In 1492 In 1776 Jed and the Space Bandits Jed’s Junior Space Patrol Jonah and the Whale (and the Worm) Learning through Play Let's Go, Pegasus! Little Bear, You're A Star! Mama Mama Miriam and Her Brother Moses My First Book of Biographies Once Upon a Springtime Pandora's Box Papa Bear’s Party Papa Papa Pierre the Penguin Pizza Pie Slugger Pony Bird Pretend You're a Cat Red Ribbon Rosie Red Sun Girl Robin of Bray Ruth and Naomi Ruthie’s Rude Friends Shanna's Animal Riddles Shanna's Ballerina Show Shanna's Bear Hunt Shanna's Doctor Show Shanna's Hip, Hop, Hooray! Shanna's Lost Shoe Shanna's Party Surprise Shanna's Pizza Parlor Shanna's Princess Show Shanna's Teacher Show Slam Dunk Saturday Snow Angel Soccer Cousins Soccer Sam Sun Song Superkids Supertot Ten Cats Have Hats Ten Little Christmas Presents Ten Little Eggs Thanksgiving Cats The Baby Unicorn The Little Plant Doctor The New Kindergarten The Rebus Treasury The Silver Bear The Teddy Bear Book Think! Draw! Write! Three Little Kittens Uproar on Holler Cat Hill Valentine Cats Your Maternity Leave: How to Leave Work, Have a Baby, and Go Back to Work Without Getting Lost, Trapped, or Sandbagged Along the Way