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* ''[[Frog and Toad]]'' series
* ''[[Mouse Soup]]''
* ''[[Prince Bertram the Bad]]''
}}
* "[[Owl at Home]]"
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Anita Lobel|Anita Kempler]]|1955}}
| partner = Howard Weiner
| children = 2, including [[Adrianne Lobel|Adrianne]]
| relatives =
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}}
 
'''Arnold Stark Lobel''' (May 22, 1933 – December 4, 1987) was an American author of children's books, including the ''[[Frog and Toad]]'' series, and ''[[Mouse Soup]],'' and ''Owl at Home''. He wrote and illustrated these picture books as well as ''[[Fables (Lobel book)|Fables]]'', a 1981 [[Caldecott Medal]] winner for best-illustrated U.S. picture book. Lobel also illustrated books by other writers, including ''Sam the Minuteman'' by [[Nathaniel Benchley]] published in 1969.
 
==Biography==
Lobel was born in [[Los Angeles, California]], to Lucille Stark and Joseph Lobel, but wasand raised in [[Schenectady, New York]], the hometown of his parents, by his German-Jewish grandparents.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.bookrags.com/biography/arnold-stark-lobel-dlb/#gsc.tab=0|websitevia=www.bookrags.com|title=Arnold (Stark) Lobel Biography from Dictionary of Literary Biography on Arnold (Stark) Lobel|publisher=Bookrags|access-date=8 February 2015}}</ref> Lobel's childhood was notfrequently abullied happyin one,his as he was frequently bullied,childhood<ref name="NYT"/> but he didand loveoften readingread picture books at his local library.<ref name="JNews">{{cite web|last1=Silvers|first1=Emma|title=Frog and Toad and the World of Arnold Lobel|url=https://www.jweekly.com/2013/11/22/frog-and-toad-and-the-world-of-arnold-lobel/|website=Jewish News of Northern California|access-date=5 April 2018|date=22 November 2013}}</ref> He attended the [[Pratt Institute]] in [[Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn]]. In 1955, after he graduated, he married [[Anita Lobel|Anita Kempler]], also a children's writer and illustrator whom he'd met while in art school. The two worked in the same studio<ref name="Parents Choice"/> and collaborated on several books together.<ref name= Continuum >{{cite book |last1=Serafin |first1=Steven R. |chapter=LOBEL, Arnold |title=Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature, Letter L |pages=494–496 }}</ref> They had two children:a daughter, [[Adrianne Lobel|Adrianne]], and a son, Adam Lobel, andfollowed by three grandchildren. Adrianne and Adam have donated more than 600 of their father's artworks to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arnold Lobel |url=https://carlemuseum.org/explore-art/collections/featured-artists/arnold-lobel |access-date=August 2, 2024 |website=The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art}}</ref>
 
FollowingAfter college, Lobel was unable to support himself as either a children's book author or illustrator and so he worked in advertising and trade magazines, which he did notopenly likedisliked.<ref name="WaPo"/>
 
In 1974the early 1980s, he toldand hisAnita familyseparated, thatand he wasmoved to [[gayGreenwich Village]].<ref name="newyorker05312016" Shannon1989/><ref name=Shannon11/> InHis thepartner earlyHoward 1980s,Weiner hecared andfor Anitahim separated,at andthe heend movedof tohis [[Greenwich Village]]life.<ref>{{Cite nameweb |title=Shannon1989Arnold Lobel Residence – NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project |url=https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/arnold-lobel-residence/> |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=www.nyclgbtsites.org}}</ref> He died of [[cardiac arrest]] on December 4, 1987, at [[Doctors Hospital (Manhattan, New York)|Doctors Hospital]] in New York, after suffering from [[AIDS]] for some time.<ref name=Ocala1987/><ref name=AP1990/><ref name=Stout1987/><ref name=Shannon18/>
 
==Writing and illustrating==
Lobel loved his work, sayingand once said, "I cannot think of any work that could be more agreeable and fun than making books for children"; andrather describedthan hisa jobwriter asor author, he called himself a "daydreamer".<ref name="Parents Choice" />
 
Lobel began drawing during a period of extended illness as a second grader.<ref name="Parents Choice">{{cite web|title=Arnold Lobel|url=http://www.parents-choice.org/article.cfm?art_id=35|website=Parent's Choice|access-date=4 April 2018|archive-date=23 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723194445/http://www.parents-choice.org/article.cfm?art_id=35|url-status=dead}}</ref> On the October 25, 1950 episode of "Kukla, Fran and Ollie", Oliver J. Dragon presented "poems by Thomas Smith and drawings by Arnold Lobel from Schenectady."<ref>{{Citation |title=Kukla, Fran and Ollie - Ollie's Would-be Biography - October 25, 1950 | date=25 April 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkWkcSaM_Ys |language=en |access-date=2022-04-25}}</ref> His professional career began during the 1960s, writing and illustrating "conventional" easy readers and fables. His style could be described as minimalist<ref name="WaPo" /> and frequently had animals as the subject matter.<ref name="Parents Choice" /> Lobel used animals as characters because he felt it helped with the suspension of disbelief.<ref name="Astonished Witness" /> [[Joseph Stanton]], writing in ''The Journal of American Culture'', argues that Lobel's style was "timid" before Lobel started writing easy readers.<ref name="American Culture" />
 
His second book, ''A Holiday for Mister Muster'',<ref name="Parents Choice" /> and perhaps others were inspired by the [[Prospect Park Zoo]] in Brooklyn, across from which the Lobels lived across the street from.<ref name="JNews" /> Cartoons his children watched were also an inspiration,<ref>{{cite web|title=Meet the Author/Illustrator Arnold Lobel|url=https://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/lobel.html|website=Reading Corner|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|access-date=6 April 2018|archive-date=29 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329191154/http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/lobel.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> as were popular television shows like ''[[Bewitched]]'' and ''[[The Carol Burnett Show]]''.<ref name="newyorker05312016" />
 
Lobel's writing and illustrations went through several phases in his career. His early works had a broad humor often in verse, a style that he would return to at other points in his career. In 1977 interview for ''[[The Lion and the Unicorn (journal)|The Lion and the Unicorn]]'', Lobel explained that he wrote these books by imagining what children would want to read. However, as he continued to write, he realized the books he was writing didn't have the "weight" to them he wished and that he was going to have to use tap into himself in order to create better writing.<ref name="Lion and the Unicorn" /> Following that epiphany, he began taking inspiration from his own experiences and emotions, and acknowledged that he was writing "... adult stories, slightly disguised as children's stories."<ref name="Lion and the Unicorn" /> In the 1970s Lobel's illustrations shifted from primary colors to a broader spectrum of pastel colors.<ref name="Guide to Lit" /> The solitary individual, whether played seriously or for comic relief, was common in Lobel's work, as were two people who were complementary.<ref name="American Culture" /> Lobel's illustrations served to visualize the rhythm and emotions of the text in a way that could be "cinematic."<ref name="Shannon">{{cite journal |last1=Shannon |first1=George |title=Writing the Empty Cup: Rhythm and Sound as Content |journal=Children's Literature |date=1991 |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=138–147 |id={{Project MUSE|246230}} |doi=10.1353/chl.0.0452 |s2cid=143716262 }}</ref>
 
Lobel's chosen vocabulary, subject matter, and writing style helped to re-conceive what an easy reader book could be.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Arnold Lobel |encyclopedia=Groiler Multimedia Encyclopedia |url=https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/authors/arnold-lobel/}}</ref> Lobel identified the exploration of his own feelings as a reason that he improved as a writer. In his 1977 ''The Lion and the Unicorn'' interview, Lobel discussed the ways he would work through his emotions while still maintaining his children's audience.<ref name="Lion and the Unicorn" /> This was part of Lobel's belief that adult and children emotions were more similar than different.<ref name="American Culture" /> His work was described as "sunny, warm, even cosy."<ref name="WaPo" /> Despite this, the process of writing was "painful" for Lobel, who was far more inclined to want to illustrate than write<ref name="NYT" /> and only started writing because of the increased royalties.<ref name="Lion and the Unicorn">{{cite journal |last1=Natov |first1=Roni |last2=Deluca |first2=Geraldine |title=An Interview with Arnold Lobel |journal=The Lion and the Unicorn |date=1977 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=72–96 |id={{Project MUSE|243724}} {{ProQuest|1307995521}} |doi=10.1353/uni.0.0119 |s2cid=144959491 }}</ref> As late as 1983, Lobel felt he was beginning to trust his instincts as a writer.<ref name="Astonished Witness">Rollin, L. ''Child Lit Educ'' (1984) 15: 191. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01137182</ref> In fact, he never felt comfortable enough with his technical writing skill to consider writing a novel for adults, or a longer book for children.<ref name="Lion and the Unicorn" />
 
Lobel illustrated close to 100 books during his career <ref name="WaPo">{{cite news|last1=Hearn|first1=Michael Patrick|title=ARNOLD LOBEL AN APPRECIATION |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1988/01/10/arnold-lobel-an-appreciation/3f733774-f8ec-4488-8937-4b8c15d7470f/|access-date=4 April 2018|newspaper=Washington Post|date=10 January 1988}}</ref> which were translated into dozens of languages.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|last1=Stout|first1=Hilary|title=Arnold Lobel, Author-Illustrator |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/06/obituaries/arnold-lobel-author-illustrator.html|access-date=6 April 2018|newspaper=New York Times|date=6 December 1987 }}</ref> Despite the awards he won, Lobel wasn't always recognized during his lifetime.<ref name="WaPo" />
 
==''Frog and Toad'' series==
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*''Mouse Soup'' (1977)
 
==OwlSee at Homealso==
{{Portal|left=yes |Children's literature |Visual arts}}
{{Portal |Children's literature |Visual arts}}''Owl at Home'' is another famous book of his. It is about a funny Owl. He invites winter into his house and then gets mad. He also saw some bumps in his bed, making him scared. Owl attempted to be in two places at once, made tea from tears, and made friends with the moon.
{{clear}}
 
==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
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<ref name=Stout1987>{{Citation |title= Arnold Lobel, Author-Illustrator |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/06/obituaries/arnold-lobel-author-illustrator.html |last= Stout |first= Hilary |date= December 6, 1987 |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] }}</ref><ref name="newyorker05312016">{{cite magazine|last1=Stokes|first1=Colin|title="Frog and Toad": An Amphibious Celebration of Same-Sex Love|url=http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/frog-and-toad-an-amphibious-celebration-of-same-sex-love|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=June 1, 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="American Culture">{{cite journal |last1=Stanton |first1=Joseph |title=Straight Man and Clown in the Picture Books of Arnold Lobel |journal=Journal of American Culture |date=1994 |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=75–84 |id={{ProQuest|200643733}} |doi=10.1111/j.1542-734X.1994.00075.x }}</ref>
<ref name=Shannon1989>Shannon, George. ''Arnold Lobel.'' Boston: Twayne, 1989, p. 8.</ref><ref name=Shannon11>Shannon, George. ''Arnold Lobel.'' Boston: Twayne, 1989, p. 11.</ref><ref name=Shannon18>Shannon, George. ''Arnold Lobel.'' Boston: Twayne, 1989, p. 18.</ref>}}
 
==External links==
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[[Category:Caldecott Medal winners]]
[[Category:American gay writers]]
[[Category:Jewish American children's writers]]
[[Category:Jewish American artists]]
[[Category:LGBTGay Jews]]
[[Category:LGBT people from California]]
[[Category:Newbery Honor winners]]
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[[Category:Writers from Schenectady, New York]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century LGBTAmerican people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:20th-century American LGBT people]]
[[Category:Writers who illustrated their own writing]]
[[Category:Lobel family]]
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