Leo Lionni

Leo Lionni (May 5, 1910 – October 11, 1999) was an author and illustrator of children’s books. Born in the Netherlands, he moved to Italy and lived there before moving to the United States in 1939, where he worked as an art director for several advertising agencies, and then for Fortune magazine. He returned to Italy in 1962 and started writing and illustrating children’s books. In 1962 his book Inch by Inch was awarded the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award.

Published Books:

Selected works

• Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse
• The Alphabet Tree
• The Biggest House in the World
• A Busy Year
• A Color of His Own
• Colors to Talk About
• Cornelius: A Fable
• An Extraordinary Egg
• Fish is Fish
• A Flea Story
• Frederick (listed by the National Education Association as one of its “Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children” based on a 2007 online poll)
• Geraldine, the Music Mouse
• The Greentail Mouse
• I Want to Stay Here! I Want to Go There!: A Flea Story
• In the Rabbitgarden
• Inch by Inch
• It’s Mine
• Let’s Make Rabbits: A Fable
• Let’s Play
• Letters to Talk About
• Little Blue and Little Yellow (a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year, 1959)
• Matthew’s Dream
• Mouse Days: A Book of Seasons
• Mr. McMouse
• Nadarin
• Nicolas, Where Have You Been?
• Numbers to Talk About
• On My Beach There are Many Pebbles
• Parallel Botany
• Pezzettino
• Pulgada a Pulgada
• Six Crows: A Fable
• Swimmy (named by the National Education Association one of its “Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children” based on a 2007 online poll)
• Theodore and the Talking Mushroom
• Tico and the Golden Wings
• Tillie and the Wall
• Una Piedra Extraordinaria
• What?: Pictures to Talk About
• When?: Pictures to Talk About
• Where?: Pictures to Talk About
• Who?: Pictures to Talk About
• Words to Talk About