Helen Lester
Encyclopedia
Helen Lester was born in 1936. She is an American
children's author
, best known for her character Tacky the Penguin in many of her children's stories.
She was born in Evanston
, Illinois
but has moved around the United States
making homes in New York City
, San Francisco, Chicago
, Minneapolis and finally settling in Pawling, New York
with her husband.
As a girl, Lester dreamed of getting married but never of being a writer. She became an elementary school teacher, got married and had two sons. After her sons were born, Lester took time off as a teacher and began writing children's literature. Her works are mainly influenced by her old second-grade students who helped produced characters such as Tacky the Penguin, Pinkerton the Pig and Fragility the Hippopotamus.
Lester's first children's book was published in 1979 and her writing career took off from there. She has now published more than two dozen books.
Lester has also illustrated a few of her own books, but typically illustrator Lynn Munsinger has produced the illustration for Lester's books. Lester and Munsinger have collaborated on over a dozen children books.
Beyond writing, Lester spends time traveling the country, visiting schools and encouraging children to write. She has also written a biography
, Author: A True Story directed towards young writers and is based on her school visits and the editing process as a writer.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
children's author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, best known for her character Tacky the Penguin in many of her children's stories.
She was born in Evanston
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
but has moved around the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
making homes in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, San Francisco, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Minneapolis and finally settling in Pawling, New York
Pawling (town), New York
Pawling is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 7,521 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Catherine Pauling, the daughter of Henry Beekman, who held the second largest land patent in the county. A misprint caused the U to change to a W and the name...
with her husband.
As a girl, Lester dreamed of getting married but never of being a writer. She became an elementary school teacher, got married and had two sons. After her sons were born, Lester took time off as a teacher and began writing children's literature. Her works are mainly influenced by her old second-grade students who helped produced characters such as Tacky the Penguin, Pinkerton the Pig and Fragility the Hippopotamus.
Lester's first children's book was published in 1979 and her writing career took off from there. She has now published more than two dozen books.
Lester has also illustrated a few of her own books, but typically illustrator Lynn Munsinger has produced the illustration for Lester's books. Lester and Munsinger have collaborated on over a dozen children books.
Beyond writing, Lester spends time traveling the country, visiting schools and encouraging children to write. She has also written a biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
, Author: A True Story directed towards young writers and is based on her school visits and the editing process as a writer.
Works
- The Wizard, the Fairy, and the Magic Chicken (1988)
- It Wasn't My Fault (1989)
- A Porcupine Names Fluffy (1989)
- Pookins Gets Her Way (1990)
- Tacky the Penguin (1990)
- Me First (1995)
- Three Cheers for Tacky (1996)
- Listen Buddy (1997)
- Princess Penelope's Parrot (1996)
- Tacky in Trouble (2005)
- Author: A True Story (2002)
- Hooway for Wodney Wat (2002)
- Score One for the Sloths (2003)
- Tacky and the Emperor (2002)
- Tackylocks and the Three Bears (2004)
- Something Might Happen (2003)
- Hurty Feelings (2007)
- Tacky and the Winter Games (2007)
- Wuzzy Takes Off (1995)
- The Sheep in Wolf's Clothing (2007)
- Batter Up Wombat (2006)