Ruth Heller
Encyclopedia
Ruth Heller was a children's author
and graphic artist known for her use of bright color and detail in both geometric design and the representation of creatures,plants, patterns, and puzzles. She worked primarily with a combination of colored pencil and marker
for her book illustrations. Born in Winnipeg, Canada
, she grew up in San Francisco, California
, USA, where she lived until she died of cancer in 2004.
Heller began her career designing wrapping paper, cocktail napkins, greeting cards, and coloring books. She then went on to start writing and illustrating children's books in 1981. After a 6 year struggle she found a publisher for her first book, Chickens Aren't the Only Ones. Her books are written in a rhyming verse reminiscent of Gilbert and Sullivan
, Hilaire Belloc
, or Dr. Seuss
.
at Berkeley in 1946. She paid for her own education through secretarial work and proceeded to work as a secretary following graduation.
In the early 1950s she married Henry Heller and had two sons, Paul and Philip. Ms. Heller completed two years of graduate work in design at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, and got her first art job in the early 1960s, designing napkins, matchboxes, and gift wrap for Cost Plus. Henry died in 1965 and Ms. Heller poured herself into her career from then on, eventually expanding into illustrating puzzle books and coloring books for kids and adults.
In 1980, Ms. Heller visited an artists' colony in upstate New York, called Yaddo
. She left that determined to start a new writing career. In 1985 she married Richard Gross who supported her work with enthusiasm until his death in 2002.
Most of Heller's books were published by Grosset & Dunlap
. She wrote a brief autobiography called Fine Lines which was published in 1996.
.
dictionary for very young children.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and graphic artist known for her use of bright color and detail in both geometric design and the representation of creatures,plants, patterns, and puzzles. She worked primarily with a combination of colored pencil and marker
Marker pen
thumb|MarkerA marker pen, marking pen, felt-tip pen, flow or marker, is a pen which has its own ink-source, and usually a tip made of a porous, pressed fibres; such as felt or nylon.-Permanent marker:...
for her book illustrations. Born in Winnipeg, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, she grew up in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA, where she lived until she died of cancer in 2004.
Heller began her career designing wrapping paper, cocktail napkins, greeting cards, and coloring books. She then went on to start writing and illustrating children's books in 1981. After a 6 year struggle she found a publisher for her first book, Chickens Aren't the Only Ones. Her books are written in a rhyming verse reminiscent of Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
, Hilaire Belloc
Hilaire Belloc
Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc was an Anglo-French writer and historian who became a naturalised British subject in 1902. He was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. He was known as a writer, orator, poet, satirist, man of letters and political activist...
, or Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
.
Biography
Heller received a degree in Fine Arts from the University of CaliforniaUniversity of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
at Berkeley in 1946. She paid for her own education through secretarial work and proceeded to work as a secretary following graduation.
In the early 1950s she married Henry Heller and had two sons, Paul and Philip. Ms. Heller completed two years of graduate work in design at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, and got her first art job in the early 1960s, designing napkins, matchboxes, and gift wrap for Cost Plus. Henry died in 1965 and Ms. Heller poured herself into her career from then on, eventually expanding into illustrating puzzle books and coloring books for kids and adults.
In 1980, Ms. Heller visited an artists' colony in upstate New York, called Yaddo
Yaddo
Yaddo is an artists' community located on a 400 acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment."...
. She left that determined to start a new writing career. In 1985 she married Richard Gross who supported her work with enthusiasm until his death in 2002.
Most of Heller's books were published by Grosset & Dunlap
Grosset & Dunlap
Grosset & Dunlap is a United States book publisher founded in 1898.The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of the British publishing conglomerate, Pearson PLC through its American subsidiary Penguin Group....
. She wrote a brief autobiography called Fine Lines which was published in 1996.
Coloring books
These exceptional coloring books have exquisite designs in them on a wide range of subjects, appropriate for kids or grown-ups.- Color and Puzzle (1968)
- The Oriental Rug Coloring Book (1973)
- Designs for Coloring
- Designs for Coloring (1976?)
- Designs for Coloring: More Designs (1976)
- Designs for Coloring: 3 (1977)
- Designs for Coloring: 4 (1977)
- Designs for Coloring: Jumbo (1980)
- Creative Coloring Activity: Designs by Ruth Heller (1981)
- Designs for Coloring: Stitch (1984)
- Designs for Coloring: Owls (1985)
- Designs for Coloring: Geometrics (1990)
- Designs for Coloring: Butterflies (1990)
- Designs for Coloring: Cats (1990)
- Designs for Coloring: Birds (1990)
- Designs for Coloring: Flowers (1990)
- Designs for Coloring: Snowflakes (1990)
- Designs for Coloring: The Hebrew Alphabet (1991)
- Designs for Coloring: Optical Art (1992)
- Designs for Coloring: Seashells (1992)
- Designs for Coloring: Tropical Fish (1997)
- Designs for Coloring: The Far East (1997)
- Designs for Coloring: Ancient Egypt (1999)
- Designs for Coloring: More Flowers (1999)
- Designs for Coloring: Prisms (2000)
- Designs for Coloring: Insects and Spiders (2000)
- Stained Glass Designs for Coloring
- Stained Glass Designs for Coloring: Geometrics (1998)
- Stained Glass Designs for Coloring: Snowflakes (1998)
- Stained Glass Designs for Coloring: More Geometrics (2000)
Children's books
Non-fiction picture books used in schools and especially popular in ESL programsEnglish language learning and teaching
English as a second language , English for speakers of other languages and English as a foreign language all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is...
.
- World of Nature series
- Chickens Aren't the Only Ones (about egg-laying animals, 1981).
- Animals Born Alive And Well (about mammals, 1982)
- The Reason For A Flower (about plants that have seeds and flowers, 1983)
- Plants That Never Ever Bloom (about plants that do not, 1984)
- How to Hide - a series on camouflage
- How to Hide a Butterfly and Other Insects (1992)
- How to Hide an Octopus and Other Sea Creatures (1992)
- How to Hide a Polar Bear and Other Mammals ( 1994)
- How to Hide a Crocodile and Other Reptiles (1994)
- How to Hide a Meadow Frog and Other Amphibians (1995)
- How to Hide a Parakeet and Other Birds (1995)
- World of Language - a series on parts of speech
- A Cache of Jewels and Other Collective Nouns (1987)
- Kites Sail High: A Book About Verbs (1988)
- Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives (1989)
- Merry-Go- Round: A Book About Nouns (1990)
- Up, Up and Away: A Book About Adverbs (1991)
- Behind the Mask: A Book About Prepositions (1995)
- Mine, All Mine: A Book about Pronouns (1997)
- Fantastic! Wow! And Unreal! A Book about Interjections and Conjunctions (1998)
- Color (a guide to how art goes through the four-color printing process, 1999)
- A Sea within a Sea: Secrets of the Sargasso (2000)
- Galapagos Means Tortoises (2003)
Illustration
Heller also illustrated five books by other authors and a Merriam-WebsterMerriam-Webster
Merriam–Webster, which was originally the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language .Merriam-Webster Inc. has been a...
dictionary for very young children.
- The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo (1991)
- King of the Birds by Shirley Climo (1991)
- King Solomon and the Bee by Dalia Hardof Renberg (1994)
- The Korean Cinderella by Shirley Climo (1996)
- Blue Potatoes, Orange Tomatoes by Rosalind Creasy (2000)
- Merriam-Webster's Primary Dictionary (2005)
- Merriam-Webster's Alphabet Book (2005)
External links
- "Talking with Ruth Heller", by Beth W. Leistensnider, Book Links, May 2003