Arnold Lobel
Arnold Lobel was an influential American author and illustrator, best known for his contributions to children's literature. Born in 1933 in California and raised in upstate New York, Lobel's early experiences of illness and isolation fueled his imagination, leading him to create stories and illustrations. After studying illustration and drama at the Pratt Institute, he initially worked in advertising before transitioning to children's books in the 1960s. His early works, including titles like *A Zoo for Mister Muster* and *Small Pig*, are characterized by humor and allegory, often using animal characters to convey themes of childhood.
In the 1970s, Lobel evolved his artistic style, incorporating softer pastels and focusing on noble human values, as seen in his beloved *Frog and Toad* series, which emphasizes cooperation and friendship. His later works include adaptations of Aesop's fables and playful collections of nursery rhymes, showcasing his talent for light verse. Over his career, Lobel received numerous prestigious awards, including the Caldecott and Newbery Medals, reflecting his significant impact on children's literature and his respectful portrayal of childhood innocence.
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Arnold Lobel
Author
- Born: May 22, 1933
- Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
- Died: December 4, 1987
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
Arnold Lobel was born in 1933 in California and raised in upstate New York. In school, Lobel was often sick and missed a great number of classes. His isolation from his peers seems to have contributed to his withdrawal into fantasy and making up stories and doing drawings. After he graduated from the Pratt Institute in New York City, where he had studied illustration and drama, Lobel married Anita Kempler and they moved to Brooklyn. After several unsuccessful stints with advertising agencies, Lobel returned to illustration and wound up collaborating on more than twenty books by different writers during the 1960’s.
Lobel published his first book as a writer, A Zoo for Mister Muster, in 1962. Soon after, Lobel published more of his own original children’s books, including Prince Bertram the Bad, The Bears of The Air, Martha the Movie Mouse, The Great Blueness, and Other Predicaments, and Small Pig. These books contain characteristics that defined Lobel’s work in general in this early period: humor and allegory. As Lobel himself often said, his use of animals was meant to represent children and his focus on humor was meant to shield young readers from the harsh realities of the adult world.
In the 1970’s, Lobel shifted style as both an illustrator and writer. Whereas he had primarily used a limited spectrum of primary colors as an illustrator and had focused on humor as a writer in the 1960’s, Lobel broadened his range in the following decade. He began using softer pastels and borders for books he illustrated. His own books of this period reveal a focus on more noble human values. For example, his best-known and best- loved story of the 1970’s, Frog and Toad Are Friends, focuses on cooperation. For this story, Lobel returned to simple primary colors, colors which represent the simplicity of trust and companionship that can be found outside human civilization. There is humor in the five tales that comprise the Frog and Toad series, but it as muted and subtle as the colors Lobel uses.
Lobel also reurned to light verse (which he first used in Martha the Movie Mouse) in two books published during the 1970’s. While The Ice-Cream Cone Coot, and Other Rare Birds is rather strained in its attempts at wit, On the Day Peter Stuyvesant Sailed into Town is much more successful at blending illustration, text, and history as Lobel relates the true story of the Dutch village of New Amsterdam. In the 1980’s, Lobel continued illustrating books, refining his techniques as an illustrator. As a writer, he adapted the original Aesop folktales to contemporary society in Fables, a collection of parables in rhyming verse.
Lobel continued to focus on light verse with his stories The Book of Pigericks, a humorous collection of animal limericks, and Whiskers and Rhymes, a playful collection of nusery rhymes. Lobel’s last work was an adaptation of the Mother Goose and Humpty-Dumpty stories. Lobel’s work is significant because he manages to treat childhood innocence with respect and understanding, neither sentimentalizing nor sensationalizing it. Lobel’s work received many awards, including the prestigious Caldecott and Newbury Book Awards for Children’s Literature. He also won awards from the National Education Association, the American Library Association, the Boys’ Club, the Society of Children’s Book Writers, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Foundation.