Lillian Hoban

Lillian Hoban (May 18, 1925 – July 17, 1998) was an American illustrator and children's writer best known for picture books created with her husband Russell Hoban.

According to OCLC, she has published 326 works in 1,401 publications in 11 languages.

Lillian Hoban born in Philadelphia and was the youngest of three sisters.

She attended the Philadelphia High School for Girls.

She was always interested in art and wanted to become an artist.

At age 14, she started classes at the Graphic Sketch Club where she met her husband and collaborator Russell Hoban.

She won a scholarship to the Philadelphia Museum School of Art, where she majored in Illustration.

After getting married and settling in New York City, Hoban gave up art to study dance at the Hanya Holm School.

She studied dance for ten years.

She danced professionally and did choreography on a musical show called Tropical Holiday that aired live on Saturday nights when, according to Hoban, television was in its infancy.

She also taught dance for a number of years.

She dedicated herself to dancing until the birth of her second child, Abrom (Brom).[2]

Her earliest and, perhaps, greatest collaboration was with her husband Russell in the 1960s and early 1970s.

The centerpiece of this work was the Frances series written by Russell.

The character of Frances was inspired by the Hoban's next door neighbors in Norwalk, CT whose daughter found multiple ways of putting off her bedtime.

The first book in the series, Bedtime for Frances, was illustrated by Garth Williams.

Mr. Hoban, who illustrated his first book by Harper himself, sought another illustrator for Frances because, as he explains, he could not do soft and cuddly.

Ursula Nordstrom suggested Williams whose soft and furry animals seemed the perfect fit.

Russell originally depicted Frances as a vole, but Williams suggested a badger.

Nordstrom agreed persuading Russell that it would be too difficult to depict a likeable vole for children.

The original illustrations of Frances as a vole can be found in the Lillian Hoban Collection at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.

Lillian took over as illustrator with the second book in the series, A Baby Sister for Frances, and illustrated the rest.

She was faithful to the badger image first established by Garth Williams but brought her own style and unique charm to the badger family.

Hoban used expressive body postures and facial gestures to capture the emotions of the characters and give them an authentic, true to life quality.

The Hobans used their eldest daughter Phoebe as the model for Frances.

The theme that runs through all of the Frances books, and much of the Hobans' collaboration, is that problems can be resolved with just a little bit of thought and creativity.

The feeling of a close, supportive, and loving family that is depicted through the illustrations and stories, according to Russell, is one of the reasons that the books have met with such widespread approval of readers and professionals.

Another reason the author cites for the popularity of the series is that, beginning with the second Frances book, the title character creates and sings songs to express her emotions.

Tamar Mays, senior editor of Harper Collins Children's book division, cites the loving kindness of the parents, the universal childhood moments, and the strong individuality and creative imagination of the character of Frances as reasons why the books have remained so popular.

In all, the Hobans collaborated on at least twenty-seven children's books between 1964 and 1972.

Other standouts in the Lillian and Russell collaboration include the Brute Family books: The Little Brute Family (1966) and The Stone Doll of Sister Brute (1968).

The books tell the humorous and heartwarming tale of a mean-spirited family that discovers the contagiousness of a good feeling and niceness.

The Hobans raised their four children, Phoebe, Brom, Julia and Esmé, in Norwalk, CT before moving to a woodsy two-and-a-half-acre property in Wilton, CT. The Hobans moved to London in 1969.

But within a year, the marriage had become strained.

Lillian and the children soon moved back to Wilton while Russell stayed in London and remarried in 1975.

Lillian began writing her own stories upon returning to the United States.

She based her tales on her experiences with her children and their neighborhood friends.[1]

Lillian Hoban died at Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan in 1998 (aged 73) from heart failure.[1]

The strong sales of A Bargain for Frances in the I-Can-Read format, led to the republishing of many of the rest of the titles originally published as picture books in this easy to read format: Bread and Jam for Frances (2008), Best Friends for Frances (2009), A Baby Sister for Frances (2011) and A Birthday for Frances (2012).

Both Russell and his daughter Phoebe helped in this conversion.