Lois Ehlert is an author and illustrator of children's books, most having to do with nature. Ehlert won the Caldecott Honor for Color Zoo . She lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

.

Background

Ehlert grew up painting and sculpting. Even in her early years-she always erased her drawings and was never satisfied. Her favorite art technique was and remains to this day to be cutting and pasting. This method is called collage—the process of cutting out pieces of paper, fabric, or objects and gluing them to a backing.
Ehlert was born and raised in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

Beaver Dam is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States, along Beaver Dam Lake and the Beaver Dam River. The population was 16,243 at the 2010 census, making it the second largest city in Dodge County, and the largest city fully located within the county. It is the principal city of the...

. She claims that she grew-up “in a home where everyone seemed to be making something.”

Family background

Her mother was a seamstress who taught her how to sew at 8 years old. Her mother also shared fabric scraps with her, which gave her art exposure early on. Her father had a basement workshop and always had art supplies available, just not the traditional supplies. He had materials like scrap lumber and nails.

Educational Background

Ehlert graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison

University of Wisconsin–Madison

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

 with a degree in English and Psychology. Then she went to the Layton School of Art

Layton School of Art

The Layton School of Art was a third level institute based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was established by Charlotte Partridge and Miriam Frink in 1920 and closed as a result of financial insolvency in 1974. At its closure, the school was regarded as one of the top five art schools in the United...

. After getting her degree she worked as an apprentice in an art studio delivering illustrations. Here, Ehlert was able to work in the evenings on her own art.

Work process

Ehlert has her own book creation process. She begins with a “dummy book” made from pencil drawings. Then, Ehlert assesses to determine the subject matter of the new book. Once she has a topic, she will do background research to learn more. Then she will begin her artwork, which involves cutting out each piece individually and then gluing them on the pages of her book.

Awards

Ehlert won the Caldecott Honor Book in 1989 for Color Zoo and won a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year for Snowballs. Ehlert became the Booklist Editors' Choice for Cuckoo/Cucú: A Mexican Folktale/Un cuento folklórico Mexicano. She also was awarded the IRA Teachers' Choice and NCTE Notable Children's Trade Book in the Language Arts for Feathers for Lunch and received the American Library Association Notable Children's Book and Boston Globe – Horn Book Award for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a bestselling children's book written by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert , and published by Simon & Schuster in 1989. This book is about anthropomorphized letters, who climb up a coconut tree in alphabetical order, until the tree collapses...

. She won the National Outdoor Book Award

National Outdoor Book Award

The National Outdoor Book Award was formed in 1997 as a US-based non-profit program which each year honors the best in outdoor writing and publishing. It is housed at Idaho State University and chaired by Ron Watters. Awards are presented in ten categories. The award is announced in early November...

(Children's Category) in 2005 for The Leaf Man.

Works

• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
• Growing Vegetable Soup
• Planting a Rainbow
• Eating the Alphabet
• Red Leaf
• Yellow Leaf
• Fish Eyes
• Feathers for Lunch
• Nuts to You!
• Moon Rope/Un Lazo a La Luna
• Mole's Hill: A Woodland Tale

Color Zoo

Color Zoo is one of her more famous books. Ehlert won the Caldecott Honor Award for this book. It is very simple and easy. Ehlert used shapes to create animals. She created an educational book with only shapes and colors. She names the shapes and then has the name of the animal on the next page. This book is enjoyable for all ages.