American author, poet, illustrator, and literary reviewer (1932-2009)
Karla Kuskin
(nee Seidman) (July 17,
1932
– August 20,
2009
) was a prolific American author, poet, illustrator, and reviewer of children's literature.
[2]
Kuskin was known for her poetic, alliterative style.
[3]
She sometimes wrote under the pseudonym
Nicholas J. Charles
. Kuskin reviewed children's literature in
The New York Times Book Review
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Born in 1932 in
Manhattan, New York
, Karla Seidman was the only child of Sidney and Mitzi Seidman, and was raised in
Greenwich Village
,
New York City
.
She attended the
Little Red School House
, followed by
Elisabeth Irwin High School
. She then attended
Antioch College
in 1950?53, and transferred to
Yale University
where she studied with, among others,
Josef Albers
,
Herbert Matter
and
Alvin Eisenman
. She earned her B.F.A in graphic design in 1955 from Yale.
Before working as a full-time author, she worked as an assistant to a fashion photographer, a design assistant, and in advertising. Her first book,
Roar and More
(Harper, 1956), came out of her senior graphic arts project at Yale to design and print a book on a small press.
[2]
Kuskin wrote
Paul
in 1994, with paintings by
Milton Avery
, which had originally been created for an abandoned children's book, to go with a (now lost) story by writer
H. R. Hays
, nearly thirty years after the painter's death.
Her autobiography,
Thoughts, Pictures, and Words
, with photographs by her son Nicholas, was published in 1995.
She lived and worked in
Brooklyn
for most of her life, moving to
Bainbridge Island, Washington
, then settling in
Seattle
at the end of her life.
In August 2009, Kuskin died of
corticobasal degeneration
in Seattle, at age 77.
[4]
Personal life
[
edit
]
She was married to Charles M. Kuskin,
oboist
, from 1955?1979, and in 1989 married William L. Bell, Jr., a lawyer with the
Center for Naval Analyses
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
Kuskin both wrote and illustrated nearly half of the books credited to her.
[5]
As author/illustrator (selected)
[
edit
]
- Roar and More
(1956)
- James and the Rain
(1957)
- In the Middle of the Trees
(Harper, 1958) ? poems
- The Animals and the Ark
(1958)
- Just like Everyone Else
(1959)
- Which Horse Is William?
(1959)
- Square as a House
(1960)
- The Bear Who Saw the Spring
(1961)
- All Sizes of Noises
(1962)
- Alexander Soames: His Poems
(1962) ? as Nicholas J. Charles
- How Do You Get from Here to There?
(1962)
- ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
(Harper & Row, 1963)
- The Rose on My Cake
(Harper & Row, 1964) ? poems
- Sand and Snow
(1965) ? as Nicholas J. Charles
- Jane Anne June Spoon and Her Very Adventurous Search for the Moon
(1966)
- The Walk the Mouse Girls Took
(1967)
- Watson, the Smartest Dog in the U.S.A.
(1968)
- In the Flaky Frosty Morning
(1969)
- Any Me I Want to Be
(1972) ? poems
- What Did You Bring Me?
(1973)
- Near the Window Tree
(1975) ? poems and notes
- A Boy Had a Mother Who Bought Him a Hat
(1976)
- Herbert Hated Being Small
(1979)
- Dogs and Dragons, Trees and Dreams
(1980) ? poetry collection
- spring
{1958} ? poem
- Night Again
(1981)
- Something Sleeping in the Hall
(1985)
- The Philharmonic Gets Dressed
(1986)
- Soap Soup
(HarperCollins, 1992)
- City Dog
(1994)
- My Life in the Sky
(2000)
- a space story
{1978}
As author (selected)
[
edit
]
- A Space Story
, illustrated by
Marc Simont
(1978)
- The Philharmonic Gets Dressed
, illustrated by Mark Simont (1982) ? nominated for a
National Book Award
[4]
- The Dallas Titans Get Ready for Bed
, illustrated by Mark Simont (1986)
- Jerusalem, Shining Still
, illustrated by
David Frampton
(1987)
- A Great Miracle Happened There: A Chanukah Story
, illustrated by
Robert Andrew Parker
(1993)
- Paul
, paintings by
Milton Avery
(1994)
- Patchwork Island
, illustrated by
Petra Mathers
(1994)
- City Noise
, illustrated by
Renee Flower
(1994)
- James and the Rain
, illustrated by
Reg Cartwright
(1995)
- The Upstairs Cat
, illustrated by
Howard Fine
(1997)
- The Animals and the Ark
, illustrated by
Michael Grejniec
(2002)
- The Sky Is Always in the Sky
, illustrated by
Isabelle Dervaux
(1998)
- I Am Me
, illustrated by
Dyanna Wolcott
(2000)
- Moon, Have You Met My Mother? The Collected Poems of Karla Kuskin
, illustrated by
Sergio Ruzzier
(2003)
- Under My Hood I Have a Hat
, illustrated by
Fumi Kosaka
(2004)
- Ice Cream Dreams
, illustrated by
Lewis Matheney
(2005)
- Toots the Cat
, illustrated by
Lisze Bechtold
(2005)
- So, What's It Like to Be a Cat?
, illustrated by
Betsy Lewin
(2005) ? 2006
Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award
winner
As illustrator
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Karla Kuskin entry
, HarperColling website.
- ^
a
b
c
Fox, Margalit (August 21, 2009).
"Karla Kuskin, Creator of Witty Children's Books, Dies at 77"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
August 23,
2009
.
- ^
Something about the Author Autobiography Series
, Volume 3, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1987
- ^
a
b
Nelson, Valerie J. (August 24, 2009).
"Karla Kuskin dies at 77; children's author and illustrator"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
- ^
"Karla Kuskin"
. Retrieved
August 23,
2009
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|