Transcript Leo Lionni “From time to time, from the endless flow of our mental imagery, there emerges unexpectedly something that, vague though it may be, seems.

Leo Lionni
“From time to time, from the endless
flow of our mental imagery, there
emerges unexpectedly something
that, vague though it may be,
seems to carry the promise of a
form, a meaning, and, more
important, an irresistible poetic
charge.”—Leo Lionni
Author/Illustrator
Study
By Jamie Royall and
Keshia Edwards
Biography
• Born May 5, 19 in Amsterdam, Holland
• Had a passion for nature as a young child and collected little
creatures from outdoors and kept them in jars in his bedroom
• Lionni’s uncle Peit gave him his first lessons in drawing and gave
him his first drawing table
• Knew at an early age that he wanted to become an artist
• Spent much of his childhood at the art museums of Amsterdam
teaching himself to draw
• Earned his Ph. D in economics from the University of Genoa in 1935
• Worked as a freelance designer, painter, writer
• Moved to the United States in 1939 where he was an art director
for an advertising agency
• Was recognized as a “dynamic talent in commercial design,” by
Lesley Potts.
• Reviewers of his work described him as a phenomenon, genuinely
versatile, and one of the world’s most original designers
Biography
• Exhibited his paintings and sculptures at shows, museums, and
universities in the United States
• His career as an author/illustrator began in the late 1950’s
• Leo Lionni wrote his first children’s book Little Blue and Little Yellow
in 1959 while on a train ride with his grandchildren.
• Returned to Italy in 1961 where he focused on his brass and iron
sculptures and writing children’s books
• Lionni wrote more than 40 children’s books
• He received the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold
Medal and was a four-time Caldecott Honor Winner
• His final work was Between Worlds: The Autobiography of Leo Lionni
• Died of complications of Parkinson’s disease on October 12, 1999
• His innovative use of collage, white space, and clean, modern
design was a major influence on Eric Carle, Ezra Jack Keats, and
other children’s book artists
• In 2007 the Society of Illustrators awarded him a posthumous
Lifetime Achievement Award.
Lionni as an Author
• Lionni’s first children’s book developed out of torn paper from a
magazine. Little Blue and Little Yellow was an entertaining story to
pass the time for Leo’s grandchildren.
• Lesley S. Potts says that Lionni’s books have developed in ways
that reflect his own childhood and its influences, as well as his life
as a designer, artist, and thinker.
• Lionni states in his essay My Books for Children, “Among the varied
things I’ve done in my life few have given me more and greater
satisfactions than my children’s books.
• His work develops from little human problems which he uses
animals to tell the story
• The protagonist, do to special circumstances, is usually an outcast,
rebel, victim, or hero
• Often his characters learn through suffering but always come out
on top
Lionni as an Author
Often Lionni was asked who his intended audience was. His response
was this:
“I believe in fact, that a good children’s book should appeal to all
people who have not completely lost their original joy and wonder in
life.”
He also followed that with:
“The fact is I really don’t make children’s books for children at all. I
make them for that part of us, of myself and my friends, which has
never changed.”
Lionni as an Illustrator
• Leo Lionni taught himself to draw by sitting in the hallways of
museums and copying the images he saw
• Leo didn’t need to consult nature books to copy the shapes, colors,
and textures of insects and reptiles, rodents and birds, pebbles and
seashells. He simply copied them from the images that were stored
away in his memory.
• Lionni used cut-outs, finger paints, construction paper scraps to help
him create vivid illustrations for his books
• He took great pride in his draftsmanship and used this talent to help
enhance many of his pictures.
• In a video of Lionni he stated that he tears the paper to create a
furry effect
• The use of collage creates texture that makes the reader want to
touch the pictures
Some of Lionni’s Illustrations
Leo Lionni’s Work
Anthologies:
20th Century Children's Book Treasury, the (1998)
Picture Books:
Little Blue and Little Yellow (1959)
Inch by Inch (1960)
On My Beach There Are Many Pebbles (1961)
Swimmy (1963)
Alphabet Tree, the (1968)
Biggest House in the World, the (1968)
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse (1969)
Fish is Fish (1970)
Theodore and the Talking Mushroom (1971)
Frederick (1973)
Greentail Mouse, the (1973)
Color of His Own, a (1975)
In the Rabbitgarden (1975)
Picture Books:
Pezzettino (1975)
Tico and the Golden Wings (1975)
I Want to Stay Here! : I Want to Go There! : A Flea Story
(1977)
Geraldine, the Music Mouse (1979)
Let's Make Rabbits : A Fable (1982)
Cornelius (1983)
It's Mine! (1986)
Nicolas, Where Have You Been? (1987)
Six Crows: A Fable (1988)
Tillie and the Wall (1989)
Matthew's Dream (1991)
Mr. McMouse (1992)
Busy Year, a (1992)
Let's Play (1993)
Extraordinary Egg, an (1994)
Between the Worlds: The Autobiography of Leo Lionni (1997)
Lesson Ideas for Lionni’s Work
Lionni in the Classroom
• The underlying theme of our author/illustrator study is learning
valuable lessons about life through working together to find
solutions to everyday problems.
• We will work our way through five of Lionni’s children’s books.
Starting out with Swimmy we will see teamwork at it’s finest.
We will take our time discovering the qualities of friendship,
teamwork, and bravery.
• We will follow up with videos of Lionni’s work and how he
creates his illustrations.
• We will read four more of Leo Lionni’s works; Alexander and the
Wind-Up Mouse, Frederick, A Color of His Own, and Inch by
Inch. In each of these books the characters face problems
that they must think critically to solve. Some work together to
come up with a solution while others use their own wit.
• We will complete our study by choosing our favorite Leo Lionni
book and do a puppet play of that book.
Swimmy
Summary: A little black orphan fish named Swimmy finds himself all
alone after his family is eaten by a large tuna. As the sole survivor
swimmy makes new friends and helps them create a plan to swim
together as a team and form the illusion of a much larger fish. Swimmy
will be the eye of the fish because of his black color. Through
teamwork they outsmart the enormous fish and swim to safety.
Classroom Connection: After reading Swimmy and discussing everyday
life problems we will brainstorm ideas for possible solutions. Then we will
divide into groups of 4-5 and make a large fish out of poster board. On
the back of the fish the groups will come up with a problem that they
may face. After each group has developed a problem they will
exchange their fish with another group who will come up with a
solution. Each group will share their idea by acting out the problem
and solution.
Grade 1 Objective 1.02 Identify problem-solving strategies and demonstrate the ability to make choices
using those strategies
Grade 2 Objective 1.01 Summarize and demonstrate expected standards for behavior such as honesty,
trustworthiness, and respect for others.
Check out this video!
Alexander and the
Wind-Up Mouse
Summary: Alexander, a real mouse, becomes friends with a toy
mechanical mouse named Willy. Alexander becomes jealous of Willy
because the children always choose him over other toys. Alexander
longs to receive the attention that his friend Willy receives from the
children so he wishes to become a mechanical mouse like Willy. When
Willy’s mechanics are broken and they are going to throw him away
Alexander then wishes for Willy to be a real mouse like him.
Classroom Connections: After reading the book we will discuss the
characteristics of a true friend. As a class we will do a shared writing of
a recipe that will include the ingredients of a true friend. We will invite
the students to write their own story of friendship in their writer’s
notebooks.
Grade 1&2-Goal 4The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
Science Extension
1. Activate students prior knowledge and review what it means to be
living (need food and water, grow, reproduce,and make own
energy), and what it means to be non-living.
2. Ask student’s to name a few examples and come to a conclusion
whether the objects are living or non-living.
3. Explain to the students that they will be going on a nature walk.
Here is where they will compile a list of all the objects ( people,
insects, trees) that they come across outside.
4. Once outside, groups will work cooperatively to list all of the
objects in two columns: living or non-living.
http://www.castellaniartmuseum.org/assets/docs/LeoLionniTeacher
packet.pdf
Grade 1- Goal 1: The learner will conduct investigations and make observations to build an
understanding of the needs of living organisms.
Frederick
Summary: A family of field mice work together to gather food for winter.
Frederick soaks up the sunshine while the other mice work. Winter
comes and they go through all the food they stored up. Frederick saves
the day by entertaining them with rhymes of summer days to help them
pass the time of the long winter days.
Classroom Connections: We plan to use the module from
http://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/wiki/Frederick to facilitate a
philosophical discussion with our students about the importance of
community, the value of work, and the nature of poetry. After the
discussion the students will collaborate to give a list of ways different
people contribute to our school community.
Grade 1 Objective 2.02 Identify the roles of leaders in the home, school, and community such as parents,
mayor, police officers, principal, and teacher.
Grade 2 Objective 3.04 Identify multiple roles performed by individuals in their families and communities
A Color of His Own
Summary: A melancholy chameleon has a problem. He wants to have
a color of his own like the other animals. He changes colors wherever
he goes blending in with his surroundings. One spring day he finds a
solution by meeting a friend that shares his uniqueness.
Classroom Connection: After reading this book we will discuss what
makes us who we are. We will talk about our similarities and differences
and how these things make us unique. We will model for our students
how to write an I Am poem. Then we will invite our students to write their
own individual I Am poems.
Grades 1&2 Goal 4-The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
Inch by Inch
Summary: A clever little caterpillar measures the body parts of birds to
avoid being eaten. Then a nightingale ask the caterpillar to measure his
song. The resourceful caterpillar devises a plan to escape the hungry
nightingale.
Classroom Connections: We will divide the students into collaborative
groups. The groups will come up with a plan to measure various items
using the correct tool. For example you wouldn’t use a jump rope to
measure your pencil; a paper clip would be more appropriate. The
group must agree on the tool of choice before measuring the object.
Grade 1 Goal 2-The learner will use non-standard units of measure and tell time.
Grade 2 Objective-2.01 Estimate and measure using appropriate units
Awards and Honors
• National Society of Art Director’s Award 1955
• Architectural League Gold Medal 1956
• New York Times Best Illustrated Award 1959 for Little Blue and Little
Yellow
• Caldecott Honor Book 1960, Lewis Carroll Shelf Award 1962, Children’s
Book Prize (Germany) 1963 all for Inch by Inch
• New York Times Best Illustrated Award 1963, Caldecott Honor Book
and American Library Association (ALA) Notable Book Citation, both
1964, German Government Illustrated Book Award 1965, and
Bratislava Biennale Golden Apple, 1967, all for Swimmy
• Spring Book Festival Picture Book Honor, 1968, for The Biggest House in
the World
• New York Times Best Illustrated Award, 1967, Caldecott Honor Book
and ALA Notable Book Citation, both 1968, all for Frederick
• ALA Notable Book Citation, 1970, for Fish is Fish
• Caldecott Honor Book, ALA Notable Book Citation, and Christopher
Book Award, all 1970, all for Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse
Awards and Honors Contd.
• Five major awards at Teheran Film Festival in 1970 for two animated
films
• Elected to Art Directors Hall of Fame, 1974
• George G. Stone Center for Children’s Books Award for body of work,
1976
• American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal, 1984
• Jane Adams Children’s Book Award, 1988 for Nicholas Where Have
You Been?
• The Society of Illustrators awarded him a posthumous Lifetime
Achievement Award, 2007
Classroom Links
• http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/lionni/index.php
• http://mrscarosclass.com/leo_lionni.htm
• http://www.castellaniartmuseum.org/assets/docs/LeoLionniTeach
erpacket.pdf
• http://www.mermaidtheatre.ns.ca/onTour/leoLionni/Leo_Lionni_S
G/index.htm
References
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Something about the Author. Ed. Anne Commire. Vol. 8. Detroit: Gale Research, 1976.
p114-116.
Something about the Author. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 72. Detroit: Gale Research, 1993.
p157-162
Something about the Author. Ed. Alan Hedblad. Vol. 118. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001.
p122.
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Lionni, Leo (1975) A Color of His Own. New York: Knopf Borzoi Books
Lionni, Leo (1969) Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. New York: Pantheon
Lionni, Leo (1967) Frederick. New York: Alferd A. Knopf
Lionni, Leo (1960) Inch by Inch. USA: Harper Collins Publishers
Lionni, Leo (1963) Swimmy. New York: Alfred A. Knopf
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http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/lionni/index.php
www.mermaidtheatre.ns.ca
www.yourlibrary.ws
www.googleimages.com
http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/vpadvance/artgallery/gallery/leo_lionni/lionni_sundell_
essay.htm