University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
In 1935 Leonard Lionni received a degree in economics from the University of Genoa.
University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
In 1935 Leonard Lionni received a degree in economics from the University of Genoa.
(Little Blue and Little Yellow are best friends, but one d...)
Little Blue and Little Yellow are best friends, but one day they can’t find each other. When they finally do, they give each other such a big hug that they turn green! How they find their true colors again concludes a wonderfully satisfying story told with colorful pieces of torn paper and very few words.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0399555536/?tag=2022091-20
1959
(To keep from being eaten, a resourceful inchworm measures...)
To keep from being eaten, a resourceful inchworm measures a robin's tail, a flamingo's neck, a toucan's beak, a heron's legs, and a nightingale's song.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IZHYKS8/?tag=2022091-20
1961
(Deep in the sea lives a happy school of fish. Their water...)
Deep in the sea lives a happy school of fish. Their watery world is full of wonders, but there is also danger, and the little fish are afraid to come out of hiding... until Swimmy comes along. Swimmy shows his friends how - with ingenuity and team work - they can overcome any danger.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006N56YL0/?tag=2022091-20
1964
(A classic fable encouraging generosity and individuality,...)
A classic fable encouraging generosity and individuality, from four-time Caldecott Honor-winner Leo Lionni. Tico, a little bird born without wings, is one day granted his dearest wish. But the wings he gets are made of gold and his bird friends turn against him. “You think you are better than we are,” they say. What Tico does with his golden feathers - and the important lesson he learns - is a fable that children will take to their hearts.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394817494/?tag=2022091-20
1966
(While the other field mice work to gather grain and nuts ...)
While the other field mice work to gather grain and nuts for winter, Frederick sits on a sunny rock by himself. "I gather sun rays for the cold dark winter days," he tells them. Another day he gathers "colors," and then "words." And when the food runs out, it is Frederick, the dreamer and poet, whose endless store of supplies warms the hearts of his fellow mice, and feeds their spirits during the darkest winter days. Frederick’s story will warm readers as well in this Caldecott Honor winning fable.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005MHI0BC/?tag=2022091-20
1968
(Everyone loves Willy the wind-up mouse, while Alexander, ...)
Everyone loves Willy the wind-up mouse, while Alexander, the real mouse, is chased away with brooms and imperiled by mousetraps. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be loved and cuddled, thinks Alexander, and he wishes he could be a wind-up mouse, too. In this gentle fable about a real mouse and a mechanical one, Leo Lionni explores the magic of friendship.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394809149/?tag=2022091-20
1969
(From beloved Caldecott winning picture book creator Leo L...)
From beloved Caldecott winning picture book creator Leo Lionni, this charming tale of sticking together and imagination shows how powerful friendship can be. Two best friends, a minnow and a tadpole, are practically inseparable until the tadpole grows legs and decides to explore the world beyond the pond. When the tadpole, now a frog, returns to tell his friend of the extraordinary things he’s seen, the minnow, now a fish, tries to follow in his footsteps, but quickly finds that land is not what he expected. Friendship truly saves the day in this imaginative tale of a fish out of water.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394804406/?tag=2022091-20
1970
(A young snail dreams of having the biggest house - or she...)
A young snail dreams of having the biggest house - or shell - in the world. Then one day, his wise father tells him the story of another snail with the same dream. He grew and grew, adding bright colors and beautiful designs, until he found that his house came at a terrible cost. The young snail decides that a small, easy-to-carry shell might be best for a life of adventure and exploration.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394827406/?tag=2022091-20
1973
(Elephants are gray. Pigs are pink. Only the chameleon has...)
Elephants are gray. Pigs are pink. Only the chameleon has no color of his own. He is purple like the heather, yellow like a lemon, even black and orange striped like a tiger! Then one day a chameleon has an idea to remain one color forever by staying on the greenest leaf he can find. But in the autumn, the leaf changes from green to yellow to red . . . and so does the chameleon. When another chameleon suggests they travel together, he learns that companionship is more important than having a color of his own. No matter where he goes with his new friend, they will always be alike.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005MHHZW2/?tag=2022091-20
1975
(A classic fable about the search for identity, from Calde...)
A classic fable about the search for identity, from Caldecott Honor winning picture book creator Leo Lionni. Pezzettino lives in a world in which everyone is big and does daring and wonderful things. But he is small, just a “little piece,” which is the meaning of pezzettino in Italian. “I must be a piece of somebody. I must belong to someone else,” he thinks. How Pezzettino learns that he belongs to no one but himself is the joyous and satisfying conclusion to this beautiful mosaic style picture book.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/039483156X/?tag=2022091-20
1975
(This book is a detailed catalog of imaginary plants, with...)
This book is a detailed catalog of imaginary plants, with fascinating drawings in charcoal and pencil, done with care and in scientific style. It includes some actual botanical history and facts.
https://www.amazon.com/Parallel-Botany-English-Italian-Lionni/dp/0394733029/?tag=2022091-20
1976
(The cheerful celebration of art, music, and cheese from b...)
The cheerful celebration of art, music, and cheese from beloved four-time Caldecott Honor-winner Leo Lionni. While nibbling at a huge hunk of parmesan cheese, Geraldine uncovers a cheese statue of a mouse playing what seems to be a flute but on closer inspection is really its tail. That night Geraldine is woken by silver and gold sounds. “This must be music!” she says. And every night the cheese mouse fills Geraldine’s hideaway with beautiful music. Then one day her hungry mice friends ask her to share her cheese with them. Geraldine’s new love of music infuses her with a magic of her own and provides a satisfying conclusion to this delightful tale.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013NIBBFI/?tag=2022091-20
1979
(Three selfish frogs live together on an island in the mid...)
Three selfish frogs live together on an island in the middle of Rainbow Pond. All day long they bicker: It’s mine! It’s mine! It’s mine! But a bad storm and a big brown toad help them realize that sharing is much more fun. With characteristic clarity, simplicity and exuberance, Leo Lionni makes it possible for kids to see themselves through the antics of others who share our world.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679880844/?tag=2022091-20
1986
(A timeless fable about unity and breaking down barriers, ...)
A timeless fable about unity and breaking down barriers, from four-time Caldecott Honor-winner Leo Lionni. All her life Tillie the mouse has wondered what lies on the other side of the wall. Imagining all sorts of fantastic possibilities, she digs a tunnel to get to the other side, where she discovers . . . other mice, just like her! Together, Tillie and her friends work to bring down the wall and unite mouse-kind. Written just before the fall of the Berlin wall, this seemingly simple fable has a powerful message for all children - and all people.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394821556/?tag=2022091-20
1989
(A cleverly told and beautifully illustrated tale of self-...)
A cleverly told and beautifully illustrated tale of self-discovery from four-time Caldecott Honor winner Leo Lionni. Matthew the mouse lives in a dreary corner of a dusty attic. But a trip to the museum helps him to see his surroundings in a new way. With brush in paw, Matthew sets out to paint "the shapes and colors of joy."
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067987318X/?tag=2022091-20
1991
(Mouse twins befriend a tree and watch it grow and change ...)
Mouse twins befriend a tree and watch it grow and change throughout each month of the year.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679824642/?tag=2022091-20
1992
(Here, sumptuously illustrated, is a superbly written acco...)
Here, sumptuously illustrated, is a superbly written account of a remarkable life - a life spent divided between Europe and America, between art and commerce - by the famous artist, art director, and children's book author Leo Lionni.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679423931/?tag=2022091-20
1997
artist designer illustrator sculptor author
Leonard Lionni was born on May 5, 1910 in Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands. He was a son of Louis Lionni, a a certified public accountant and businessman, and Elizabeth (Grossouw) Lionni, a concert pianist. His Uncle Piet, an architect, gave the boy his first set of drafting tools; two other uncles, both collectors of modern art, fed his artistic inclinations. One uncle hung a Chagall painting outside the boy's room.
When he was fourteen, Leonard Lionni lived in Philadelphia, where his father worked for the Atlantic Richfield Company. A year later, he moved to Genoa, Italy, where he attended a commercial high school, learned Italian and became conversant in Italian art, literature and poetry. In 1935 he received an advanced degree in economics from the University of Genoa. He also held a Doctor of Philosophy degree from this educational institution.
From 1931 to 1939 Leonard Lionni was a well-known and respected painter in Italy, where he worked in the Futurism and avant-garde styles. In 1939 he moved to Philadelphia, United States in response to the rise of fascism in Italy, and became the art director for the Philadelphia advertizing agency N.W. Ayer. There he made a name for himself by commissioning artwork from celebrated fine artists such as Fernand Leger, Willem de Kooning, and Alexander Calder in pursuit of ad copy for clients such as Ford Motor Company, General Electric, and Ladies Home Journal. In 1948 he accepted a position as art director for Fortune, which he held until 1960.
In 1960, Lionni returned to Italy, where he had spent much of his youth, and remained there until his death, concentrating on his brass and iron sculptures and on writing children’s books. His first book, Little Blue and Little Yellow, which remained one of his best known, was conceived as a means of entertaining his grandchildren during a long train ride from New York City to the author’s home in Greenwich, Connecticut. In the story, which was illustrated with pieces of paper tom from a handy magazine, Little Blue and Little Yellow have a variety of adventures, culminating in a game of hide-and-seek in which they genuine lose each other, only to be reunited behind a tree where they hug, becoming Little Green.
Lionni wrote more than fourty books, some with explicitly moralistic messages as well as a number of which have been translated into eleven languages. These include Swimmy, Matthew's Dream, On My Beach There Many Pebbles, and Tillie and the Wall, a story about being able to see through any barrier that some took as an allegory for the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. In 1997 Lionni published his memoirs, Between Worlds: The Autobiography of Leo Lionni.
Leo Lionni wrote and illustrated more than fourty highly acclaimed children's books. He became the first children's author and illustrator to use collage as the main medium for his illustrationsHe received the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal and was a four-time Caldecott Honor Winner - for Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse.
(Here, sumptuously illustrated, is a superbly written acco...)
1997(From beloved Caldecott winning picture book creator Leo L...)
1970(To keep from being eaten, a resourceful inchworm measures...)
1961(This book is a detailed catalog of imaginary plants, with...)
1976(Everyone loves Willy the wind-up mouse, while Alexander, ...)
1969(A cleverly told and beautifully illustrated tale of self-...)
1991(While the other field mice work to gather grain and nuts ...)
1968(A classic fable about the search for identity, from Calde...)
1975(The cheerful celebration of art, music, and cheese from b...)
1979(A classic fable encouraging generosity and individuality,...)
1966(A timeless fable about unity and breaking down barriers, ...)
1989(Mouse twins befriend a tree and watch it grow and change ...)
1992(Little Blue and Little Yellow are best friends, but one d...)
1959(Three selfish frogs live together on an island in the mid...)
1986(A young snail dreams of having the biggest house - or she...)
1973(Deep in the sea lives a happy school of fish. Their water...)
1964(Elephants are gray. Pigs are pink. Only the chameleon has...)
1975Leonard Lionni could speak five languages: German, Dutch, English, French, and Italian.
Physical Characteristics: Around 1984 Leonard Lionni began to suffer from Parkinson's disease.
On December 23, 1931 Leonard Lionni married Nora Maffi, the daughter of Fabrizio Maffi, a founder of the Italian Communist Party. They had two children: Louis, Paolo.
