Ehlert, Lois, 1934-2021

<p>Lois Ehlert (November 9, 1934 – May 25, 2021) was an American author and illustrator of children's books, most having to do with nature. Ehlert won the Caldecott Honor for Color Zoo in 1990 She lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the time of her death in 2021.</p>
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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 remained till her death 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. </p>

<p>Ehlert was born and raised in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.</p>

<p>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. </p>
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Ehlert graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a degree in English and psychology. Then she went to the Layton School of Art. 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.</p>
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Ehlert has her own book creation process. She began with a “dummy book” made from pencil drawings. Then, Ehlert assessed to determine the subject matter of the new book. Once she had a topic, she did background research to learn more. Then she began her artwork, which involves cutting out each piece individually and then gluing them on the pages of her book.</p><p>
Ehlert won the Caldecott Honor Book in 1990 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. She received an Honorable Mention from the National Outdoor Book Award (Children's Category) in 2005 for Leaf Man, which was also awarded the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in 2006.</p>