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Paul O. Zelinsky

Born: 1953 in Evanston, Illinois
Pen Name: None

Connection to Illinois: Zelinsky was born in Evanston and grew up in Wilmette.

Biography: Paul O. Zelinsky is an author and illustrator. Since publishing his first book in 1978, he has become recognized as one of the most inventive and critically successful artists in the field. He illustrates others' work, as well as his own books. He won the 1998 Caldecott Medal for his illustrated retelling of Rapunzel, and three Caldecott Honors (for Hansel and Gretel (1985), Rumpelstiltskin (1987), and Swamp Angel (1995)). His most popular book is The Wheels on the Bus, which has moving parts and sold millions. Zelinsky now lives in Brooklyn, New York.


Awards:
  • AWFUL OGRE RUNNING WILD written by Jack Prelutsky Junior Library Guild Selection
  • AWFUL OGRE'S AWFUL DAY written by Jack Prelutsky New York Times Best Illustrated Book
  • DEAR MR. HENSHAW written by Beverly Cleary Newbery Medal, Christopher Medal
  • DOODLER DOODLING written by Rita Golden Gelman ALA Notable Book, BolognaRagazzi Award Special Mention
  • DUST DEVIL, written by Anne Isaacs Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award Winner, Junior Library Guild Selection, New York Times Book Review Notable Book, 2010,
  • -- Phoenix Picture Book Honor Award, 2014
  • EMILY UPHAM's REVENGE Massachusetts Adventure novel
  • FIVE CHILDREN AND IT written by E. Nesbit Book-of-the-Month Club alternate selection
  • HANSEL AND GRETEL Caldecott Honor Book, 1985; ALA Notable Book; SLJ Best Book; Bratislava Biennale selection
  • KNICK-KNACK PADDYWHACK! New York Times Best Illustrated Book; Parenting Magazine Best Book; Meggendorfer Award from the Movable Book Society, 2004
  • MORE ROOTABAGAS written by Illinois author, Carl Sandburg ALA Notable Book
  • RALPH S. MOUSE written by Beverly Cleary Golden Kite Award
  • RAPUNZEL Caldecott Medal, 1998; Carl Sandburg Award, 1998; Texas Bluebonnet Award
  • RUMPELSTILTSKIN written by the Brothers Grimm aldecott Honor Book, 1987; Redbook Award; Society of Illustrators Certificate of Merit; AIGA Certificate of Merit;Bratislava Biennale Selection; ALA Notable Book; SLJ Best Book; Parents' Choice Award; Book-of-the-Month Club selection; White Raven Book Selection of the International Youth Library; New York Public Library's 100 Great Children's Books/100 Years
  • SWAMP ANGEL Caldecott Honor Book, 1995; ALA Notable Book; SLJ Best Book; Book-of-the-Month-Club Selection; New York Times Best Illustrated Book; Parenting Magazine Reading Magic Award; CLA's Phoenix Picture Book Honor, 2014
  • THE ENCHANTED CASTLE written by E. Nesbit Book-of-the-Month Club Selection
  • THE MAID AND THE MOUSE AND THE ODD-SHAPED HOUSE New York Times Best Illustrated Book; SLJ Best Book; AIGA Certificate of Merit
  • THE SHIVERS IN THE FRIDGE written by Fran Manushkin Junior Library Guild Selection; Booklist Editors' Choice, 2006 Kirkus Best Books, 2006; New York Public Library's 100 titles, 2006
  • THE STORY OF MRS. LOVEWRIGHT AND PURRLESS HER CAT written by Lore Segal New York Times Best Illustrated Book; New York Public Library's 100 titles, 2006
  • THE WHEELS ON THE BUS Book-of-the-Month Club Selection; Bratislava Biennale Selection; Parenting Magazine Reading Magic Award; ALA Notable Book; Redbook Award
  • TOYS GO OUT written by Emily Jenkins ALA Notable Book; Book of the Month Club; Junior Library Guild Selection; New York Public Library's 100 titles, 2006; School Library Journal Best Book, 2006; Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award Winner; Washington Post Best Book of the Week; BookSense Children's Pick, 2006; CCBC Choice, 2007

Primary Literary Genre(s): Fiction; Illustrator

Primary Audience(s): Children

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulozelinsky.illustration/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/paulozelinsky
Web: https://paulozelinsky.com/
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_O._Zelinsky


Selected Titles

All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah
ISBN: 039955419X OCLC: 1006521472

In 1912 New York, Gertie feels left out while Mama and her four older sisters cook Hanukkah dinner, but Papa comes home and asks for her help with an important task.

Awful Ogre Running Wild
ISBN: 0066238668 OCLC: 163592582

Greenwillow Books, [New York, N.Y.] : ©2008.

For Awful Ogre, the coming of summer offers opportunities to get outside and swim, visit a favorite hotel, and climb an isolated mountain. Throughout this set of whimsical poems, youngsters will be entertained not only by Awful Ogre's actions but also by the rhythm of the poetry.

Awful Ogre's Awful Day
ISBN: 0060774592 OCLC: 42923506

Greenwillow Books, [New York] : ©2001.

In a series of poems, Awful Ogre rises, grooms himself, dances, pens a letter, and goes through other activities as the day passes.

Cinderella and a Mouse Called Fred
ISBN: 0593480031 OCLC:

Anne Schwartz Books 2023

If you thought you knew the fairy tale CINDERELLA, think again! Did you know that the fairy godmother was actually grouchy? Or that the rodent she transformed into the coach's horse was named Fred? Or that Cinderella hid from the prince when he came looking for her with that uncomfortable glass slipper?! A best loved fairytale is given the ending it deserves in this clever picture book that shows a heroine shape her own destiny...and find her fairytale princess.

Circle, Square, Moose
ISBN: 9780062290038 OCLC: 846520396

When Zebra and his enthusiastic friend Moose are asked to exit a book about shapes, Moose has other plans.

Da Vinci's Cat
ISBN: 0063015250 OCLC: 1191191708

Using a mysterious wardrobe that allows them to travel through time, two eleven-year-olds, Federico a boy from the Italian Renaissance and Bee a girl from present-day New Jersey, work together to prevent the bickering between two great artists from changing the future.

Dear Mr. Henshaw
ISBN: 068802405X OCLC: 9371228

In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year-old Leigh reveals his problems in coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world.

Doodler Doodling
ISBN: 0688166458 OCLC: 50851965

Teachers teach, flyers fly, painters paint, climbers climb--and teachers fly, climbers paint ...

Dust Devil
ISBN: 9780375867224 OCLC: 465866543

Schwartz & Wade Books, New York : ©2010.

Having moved to Montana from Tennessee in the 1830s, fearless Angelica Longrider--also known as Swamp Angel--changes the state's landscape, tames a wild horse, and captures some desperadoes.

Earwig and the Witch
ISBN: 9780062075130 OCLC: 880681707

Greenwillow Books, New York : ©2014.

Although an orphan, Earwig has always enjoyed living at St. Morwald's, where she manages to make everyone do her bidding, but when she is taken in by foster parents who are actually a witch and a demon, she has a hard time trying to turn the situation to her advantage.

Emily Upham's Revenge: A Massachusetts Adventure
ISBN: 0688118984 OCLC: 25628830

Morrow Junior Books, New York : [1992]

During the summer of 1875, a seven-year-old girl is sent to live with her wealthy uncle in Massachusetts and becomes involved in a very suspicious bank robbery.

Five children and it
ISBN: 0688135455 OCLC: 40473683

William Morrow, New York : 1999.

When four brothers and sisters discover a Psammead, or sand-fairy, in the gravel pit near the country house where they are staying, they have no way of knowing all the adventures its wish-granting will bring them.

Hansel and Gretel
ISBN: 0698114078 OCLC: 36318461

PaperStar, New York : 1996.

A poor woodcutter's children, lost in the forest, come upon a house made of bread, cakes, and candy, occupied by a wicked witch who likes to have children for dinner.

How I hunted the little fellows
ISBN: 0396076920 OCLC: 4832372

Dodd, Mead, New York : ©1979.

Fascinated by the life-like miniature of a steamer on his grandmother's shelf, a young boy becomes convinced that there are little people inside and, ignoring the admonition not to touch, decides to find out for himself.

Knick-Knack Paddywhack!
ISBN: 0141380136 OCLC: 53390200

Puffin, London : 2004.

More Rootabagas
ISBN: 0679800700 OCLC: 25963908

A selection of Sandburg's fanciful, humorous short stories peopled with such characters as the Potato Face Blind Man, Susan Slackentwist, and Dippy the Wisp.

Ralph S. Mouse
ISBN: 0688014526 OCLC: 8281393

Presents the further adventures of a motorcycle-riding mouse who goes to school and becomes the instigator of an investigation of rodents and the peacemaker for two lonely boys.

Ralph S. Mouse
ISBN: 0590687301 OCLC: 8281393

William Morrow and Co., New York : 1982.

Presents the further adventures of a motorcycle-riding mouse who goes to school and becomes the instigator of an investigation of rodents and the peacemaker for two lonely boys.

Rapunzel
ISBN: 0613608321 OCLC: 51110128

Puffin Books, New York : 2002.

A retelling of a folktale in which a beautiful girl with long golden hair is kept imprisoned in a lonely tower by a sorceress. Includes a note on the origins of the story.

Red and Green and Blue and White
ISBN: 1646140877 OCLC: 1237347460

Inspired by a true story, this is a tale of a community that banded together to spread light. It's a holiday season that both Isaac, whose family is Jewish, and Teresa, whose family is Christian, have looked forward to for months! They've been counting the days, playing in the snow, making cookies, drawing (Teresa) and writing poems (Isaac). They enjoy all the things they share, as well as the things that make them different. But when Isaac's window is smashed in the middle of the night, it seems like maybe not everyone appreciates "difference." ★ "Zelinsky has covered every page with bright colors, with optional text that dances through the pictures and occasional vignettes that add detail and movement to the story. This is a strong addition to holiday stories, one that can be reread and rediscovered many times and whose theme of community support and friendship is appropriate year-round." —School Library Connection, starred review

Rumpelstiltskin
ISBN: 0613005031 OCLC: 47942465

Puffin Books ; New York : 1997, 1996.

A strange little man helps the miller's daughter spin straw into gold for the king on the condition that she will give him her first-born child.

Strider
ISBN: 9780061972423 OCLC: 374061506

HarperCollins e-books, Pymble, NSW ; 2008.

In a series of diary entries, Leigh tells how he comes to terms with his parents' divorce, acquires joint custody of an abandoned dog, and joins the track team at school.

Swamp Angel
ISBN: 9781461909743 OCLC: 806295743

Weston Woods Studios, Inc., [Norwalk, Conn.] : 2012.

Along with other amazing feats, Angelica Longrider, also known as Swamp Angel, wrestles a huge bear, known as Thundering Tarnation, to save the winter supplies of the settlers in Tennessee.

The History of Helpless Harry: To Which Is Added a Variety of Amusing and Entertaining Adventures
ISBN: 0688053033 OCLC: 30625305

Beech Tree Books, New York : 1995.

Eleven-year-old Harry's adventures, involving lies, attempted robbery, and the possibility of murder, begin when his parents go away for a few days and he is left in the care of the young Miss Trowbridge.

The Lion and the Stoat
ISBN: 0688025625 OCLC: 9826151

Greenwillow Books, New York : ©1984.

Two great artists, a lion and a stoat, are in constant competition.

The Maid and the Mouse and the Odd-Shaped House: A Story in Rhyme
ISBN: 0525450955 OCLC: 28879127

Dutton Children's Books, New York : 1993.

An oddly-shaped house takes on the appearance of a cat as the maid and mouse who live there make various changes in it.

The Random House Book of Humor for Children
ISBN: 0394880498 OCLC: 15018443

Random House, New York : ©1988.

A humor collection for middle graders composed of thirty-four prose selections--short stories and chunks from novels.

The Shivers in the Fridge
ISBN: 0525469435 OCLC: 65165304

Dutton Children's Books, New York : ©2006.

One-by-one, the members of the Shivers family disappear from the inside of their chilly refrigerator home.

The Song in the Walnut Grove
ISBN: 0394855191 OCLC: 8389007

A young cricket goes out into the daylight in search of answers to his questions and discovers friendship.

The Story of Mrs. Lovewright and Purrless Her Cat: (New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year, Reading Rainbow Book
ISBN: 0689873271 OCLC: 60401411

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York : [2005], ©1985.

Mrs. Lovewright is sure that a cat is just what she needs until she acquires a cat that has a mind of its own.

The Sun's Asleep Behind the Hill
ISBN: 0802776000 OCLC: 7596674

Greenwillow Books, New York : ©1982.

The sun, the breeze, the leaves, the bird, the squirrel, and the child all grow tired after a long day and go to sleep.

The Wheels on the Bus
ISBN: 0525446443 OCLC: 22582572

The wheels on the bus go round, the wipers go swish, the doors open and close, and the people go in and out in this movable book version of the classic song. Not only do children get to read the words to the song over and over again in this book, they can also move parts of the book over and over again. In this wittily illustrated, cleverly engineered book with moving parts, based on the popular play-rhyme, Zelinsky introduces all kinds of characters, slyly humorous subplots, and parts that go round and round, in and out, back and forth, up and down.

Three romances: Love stories from Camelot Retold
ISBN: 0437717054 OCLC: 11039065

World's Work, Tadworth : 1984, ©1981.

A modern prose retelling of three stories of romantic love from tales of King Arthur's court.

Toy Dance Party: Being the Further Adventures of a Bossyboots Stingray, a Courageous Buffalo, & a Hopeful Round Someone Called Plastic
ISBN: 9780375855252 OCLC: 462883440

Yearling, New York : [2010], ©2008.

Six stories relate further adventures of three best friends, who happen to be toys, as they encounter a fearsome (possible) shark, enjoy a dance party, and deal with rejection by The Girl, who is growing up.

Toys Come Home: Being the Early Experiences of an Intelligent Stingray, a Brave Buffalo, and a Brand-New Someone Called Plastic
ISBN: 9780375862007 OCLC: 595738681

Schwartz & Wade Books, New York : ©2011.

When a little girl gets a plush stingray for her birthday, it makes friends with some of her other toys as they all try to navigate in the world of real people.

Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic
ISBN: 0385736614 OCLC: 185032734

Six stories relate the adventures of three best friends, who happen to be toys.

Toys Meet Snow: Being the Wintertime Adventures of a Curious Stuffed Buffalo, a Sensitive Plush Stingray, and a Book-loving Rubber Ball
ISBN: 9780385373326 OCLC: 876833402

While Little Girl is away on winter vacation, her toys, Lumphy, StingRay, and Plastic, decide to go outside and learn more about snow.

What Amanda Saw
ISBN: 0688802729 OCLC: New York :

Greenwillow Books New York : 1981

Amanda's cat attends a special celebration on the last night of summer vacation.

Z is for Moose
ISBN: 9780060799854 OCLC: 707022968

Greenwillow Books, New York : ©2012.

Moose, terribly eager to play his part in the alphabet book his friend Zebra is putting together, then awfully disappointed when his letter passes, behaves rather badly until Zebra finds a spot for him.

Zoo Doings
ISBN: 0590053914 OCLC: 58918951

Trumpet Club, New York : [2000?]

A collection of forty-six animal poems.

 

 

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