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Elise Primavera (Born May 19, 1955) is an American author and illustrator of children's novels. She arrived on the literary scene in 1981 as an illustrator for Atheneum, Putnam, and other publishing houses. Over the course of the last twenty-seven years, she has been a prolific illustrator, as well as writing and illustrating several well-received books of her own.

Biography

Primavera was born in West Long Beach, New Jersey. As a young girl, her brother, whom she admired greatly as an artist, taught her to draw a tree and a simple cartoon. She began copying cartoons she found in comic books, drawing on anything she could find, including her school books, her desks, and even her clothing. As she grew up, she drew on whatever she could find, often finding herself in trouble for drawing on various items of her clothing. Her interest in art became more serious during the summer after her fifth grade year, when she contracted rheumatic fever and was confined to bed for the entire summer. During this time of physical inactivity, she used the time to refine her drawing ability by working through several "learn-to-draw" books. Her childhood goal was to become an Olympic rider, and after her illness had passed, and she was no longer bedridden, she returned her love of this activity.

After a visit to an art museum during college, she set aside her dream of becoming an Olympian to focus full-time on becoming an artist. She specifically credits her time of illness for developing her artistic tendencies in a serious way. During her childhood, she became an admirer of the works of great artists, particularly that of Michelangelo, as her parents had large replicas of his paintings that she particularly enjoyed. She also enjoyed the work of Howard Pyle, an artist she discovered on a trip to the college art museum. Primavera has never married, and she currently resides in New York City.

Career

While Primavera displayed an interest in art from a very young age, she has said in Talking With Artists, "I can't say I ever really dreamed I'd grow up to be an artist." Instead, she had focused from a young age on becoming an Olympic horseback rider. During college, she turned her artistic talents to fashion illustration, but she realized quickly that beginning a career in this field was very difficult. After college, she gave up this pursuit, and decided to become an artist. Her first published work appeared in 1981, with the release of The Mermaid's Cape, which she illustrated. While this year saw the publishing of her first work as an illustrator, her first work as an author (Basil and Maggie) was not published until 1983.

Primavera has stated that she gets her best ideas while taking showers. She wrote the book Auntie Claus in 1999, after one such "shower session." According to the New York Times, her illustrations in that book "brim with fantastic energy" and, in fact, were of such quality that dioramas based upon the illustrations appeared in the window of the flagship Saks Fifth Avenue stores in Manhattan. In 2005, Primavera was chosen to create the art for the White House's Holiday Program. Her first novel-length work, The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls, was released in 2006, and in recent years, she has become very prolific, releasing two books in the Fred and Anthony series in 2007, with two more set to be released in 2008. She is also working on another book about the Gumm Street Girls.

Bibliography

Bibliography courtesy of isbndb.com.

As author/illustrator

Basil and Maggie, c. 1983, Lippincott
Ralph's Frozen Tale, c. 1991, Putnam
The Three Dots, c. 1993, Putnam
Plantpet, c. 1994, Putnam and Gosset Group.
Auntie Claus, c. 1999, Silver Whistle/Harcourt Brace.
Tatie Noël, c. 2001, Milan.
Auntie Claus and the Key to Christmas, c. 2002, Silver Whistle/Harcourt.
The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls, c. 2006, Harper Collins
Fred and Anthony Escape from the Netherworld, (As Esile Arevamirp), c. 2007, Hyperion.
Fred and Anthony Meet the Super-de-Germ-O Zombie, (As Esile Arevamirp), c. 2007, Hyperion.
Fred & Anthony Meet the Heinie Goblins from the Black Lagoon, (As Esile Arevamirp), to be released on 22 January 2008, by Hyperion.
Fred & Anthony's Horrible, Hideous Back-to-School Thriller, (As Esile Arevamirp), to be released on 29 July 2008, by Hyperion.

As illustrator only

The Mermaid's Cape, by Margaret K. Wetterer, c. 1981, Atheneum.
The Snug Little House, by Eils Moorehouse Lewis, c. 1981, Atheneum.
Surprise in the Mountains, by Natalie Savage Carlson, c. 1983, Harper & Row.
Uncle George Washington and Harriet's Guitar, by Miriam Anne Bourne, c. 1983, Coward McCann.
The Bollo Caper, by Art Buchwald, c. 1983, Putnam.
Grandma's House, by Elaine Moore, c. 1985, Lothrop Lee & Shepard Books.
Make Way for Sam Houston, by Jean Fritz, c. 1986, Putnam.
Hobie Hanson, You're Weird, by Jamie Gilson, c. 1987, Pocket Books.
Christina Katerina and the Time She Quit Her Family, by Patricia Lee Gaugh, c. 1987, Putnam.
Best Witches: Poems for Halloween, by Jane Yolen, c. 1988, Putnam.
Double Dog Dare, by Jamie Gilson, c. 1988, Pocket Books.
Grandma's Promise, by Elaine Moore, c. 1988, Lothrop Lee & Shepard Books.
Christina Katerina and the Great Bear Train, by Patricia Lee Gaugh, c. 1990, Putnam.
Moe the Dog in Tropical Paradise, by Diane Stanley, c. 1992, Putnam.
Santa and Alex, by Delis Ephron, c. 1993, Little Brown & Company.
Woe is Moe, by Diane Stanley, c. 1995, Putnam.
Jack, Skinny Bones, and the Golden Pancakes, by M.C. Helldorfer, c. 1996, Viking.
Wowo, the Radio Dog, by Kevin McCloskey, c. 1996, William Morrow & Company.
Moonlight Kite, by Helen Elizabeth Buckley, c. 1997, Lothrop Lee & Shepard Books.
Raising Dragons, by Jerdine Nolen, c. 1998, Silver Whistle.
Hewitt Anderson's Big Life, by Jerdine Nolen, c. 2001, Harcourt Children's Books.

References

1. Hyperion Author/Illustrator Biography of Primavera
2. Houghton Mifflin's Author/Illustrator Bio of Primavera
3. Pat Cummings, Talking with Artists, Copyright 1999, Clarion Books
4. Hyperion Author/Illustrator Biography of Primavera
5. Kidzworld.com bio of Primavera.
6. Bookpage Interview with Elise Primavera by Miriam Drennan
7. New York Times book review of Auntie Claus.
8. http://isbndb.com/d/person/primavera_elise/books.html
9. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_pg_3?ie=UTF8&rs=1000&rh=n%3A1000%2Cp%5F27%3AElise%20Primavera&page=3