Jacquelyn Krasne Reinach

Background

Jacquelyn Reinach was born on September 17, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska, the United States. She grew up in Beverly Hills.

Education

Reinach graduated with a psychology degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1951.

Career

After graduation, Reinach went to work in television production for Goodson-Todman Co. in New York City. From there she was a music therapist for seven years but returned to television in 1960 as a scriptwriter for Fran Allison’s Learn at Home show.

During the 1960s Reinach wrote five books with puppeteer Shari Lewis, including The Headstart Book of Knowing and Naming, The Headstart Book of Thinking and Imagining, and The Headstart Book of Be Nimble and Be Quick. In 1970 Reinach was co-founder and vice president of Disco-book, Inc., the same year her first book written solo, Carefree Cooking - How to Enjoy the Leisure Life in a Beach House, Mountain Cabin, Lake Shack, Ski Chalet, Trailer, Country Home, or City Apartment was published. Also that year Reinach wrote the song, Liberation, Now!, which was adopted by feminist Betty Friedan and netted her an award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. Other songs include The Family, used by the United Nations, and The Consonant Song, used in the film The 24-Hour Woman.

Overall Reinach wrote more than 600 songs. Reinach began the Sweet Pickles series in 1977 with illustrator Richard Hefter and editor Ruth Lerner Perle. More than 50 million Sweet Pickles books have been sold around the world, generating more than $200 million in sales, since the series was created. Sweet Pickles helps children work through hard times, or pickles, via stories featuring little animals. Among the titles are Quail Can’t Decide, Nuts to Nightingale, Rest Rabbit Rest, Ice Cream Dreams, and The Scaredy Book. In 1993 she received an Emmy for the youth anti-smoking program Know the Facts: Keep Your Power and another Emmy came the following year for Smoke-free Class of 2000. Reinach’s last book was Mr. Raccoon, Where’s Your Spoon?

Achievements

• The series, which Reinach created with Richard Hefter, a writer, and illustrator, and Ruth Lerner Perle, based on a menagerie of alphabetical animals with gentle foibles, sold more than 50 million copies. It also secured her a substantial fortune as the books and marketing tie-ins went on to generate more than $200 million in worldwide sales.
  
  She won an Emmy in 1993 for a young people's anti-smoking program, Know the Facts: Keep Your Power.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Elephant Eats the Profits

    (Elephant is threatened with going out of business because...)

  • Fish and Flips

    (Despite the warnings of her friends, Fish is not afraid t...)

    1977
  • Me Too, Iguana

    (The animal residents of Sweet Pickles have to come up wit...)

    1977
  • Goose Goofs Off

    (Goof-off Goose likes to take it easy today and put off ch...)

    1977
  • A Bad Break

    (A series of misunderstandings causes the whole town to ga...)

    1981
  • Wait! Wait! Wait!

    (Responsible Rabbit has trouble coping with having to wait...)

    1980
  • Happy Birthday Unicorn

    (Unicorn changes everyone's conception of a proper birthda...)

    1978
  • Rainy Day Parade

    (Zany Zebra shows the residents of the town of Sweet Pickl...)

    1981
  • Ice Cream Dreams

    (Goof-Off Goose helps Worried Walrus turn his terrible rec...)

    1980
  • Scaredy Bear

    (Bear really wants to be friends with Pig, but is so bashf...)

    1978
  • Nuts to Nightingale

    (Everyone in the town of Sweet Pickles gets together to st...)

    1978
  • Rest, Rabbit, Rest

    (Rabbit's schedule keeps him so busy his friends have to t...)

    1977
  • Octopus Protests

    (Octopus is not afraid to speak out to make the town a bet...)

    1978
  • Who Stole Alligator's Shoe?

    (Alligator blames everybody but herself when she can't fin...)

    1977
  • What a Mess!

    (Goof Off Goose promises to clean up the mess in her yard ...)

    1981
  • What's so great about nice?

    (Jealous Jackal learns why Loving Lion receives so many va...)

    1981
  • Little Sheep, Time to Sleep!

    (Play is how kids learn to understand the world around the...)

    2001
  • Little Owl, Here's Your Towel!

    (Play is how kids learn to understand the world around the...)

    2001
  • Little Kangaroo, I Love You!

    (Play is how kids learn to understand the world around the...)

    2001
  • Jackal Wants Everything

    (Jackal wants everything he sees - and then some more.)

    1977
  • Fixed by Camel 1977
  • Wet Paint 1981
  • Little Raccoon, Here's Your Spoon! 2001
  • Carefree cooking 1970

Views

A former smoker, Reinach had produced anti-tobacco programs for the American Cancer Society and other groups.

Connections

Reinach's first three marriages ended in divorce. She then married again to Dion Neutra, an architect.

Spouse:

Dion Neutra

References

• Contemporary Authors, Vol. 189
  2001