Frank Asch (1946-) Biography

Born 1946, in Somerville, NJ; Education: Attended Rutgers University and Pratt Institute, both c. 1960s; Cooper Union, B.F.A., 1969; trained as a Montessori teacher.

Frank Asch

Career

Author and illustrator of children's books, 1968—. Teacher in a public grammar school in Gondia Maharastra, India, 1972, and in a Montessori school in Edison, NJ, 1975; performer and producer with wife, Jan Asch, as "Belly Buttons" (children's theater troupe), c. mid-1970s; New England Center for Contemporary Art, Brooklyn, CT, artist-in-residence, late 1970s. Leads workshops in art and storytelling.

Honors Awards

Brooklyn Art Book for Children citations, Brooklyn Public Library and Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1970 and 1971; New Jersey Institute of Technology award, 1970, and Art Books for Children award, 1974, both for Elvira Everything; Award for Children's Book Illustration, American Graphic Illustrators Association, 1972; New Jersey Institute of Technology award, 1973, for In the Eye of the Teddy; Children's Book Showcase award, and New Jersey Institute of Technology award, both 1973, both for Rebecka; Art Books for Children award, 1973, 1974, and 1975, for Yellow, Yellow; Notable Children's Books selection, American Library Association, 1978; Outstanding Book of the Year for Children, New York Times, 1979, for Running with Rachel, and 1982, for Happy Birthday, Moon!; New Jersey Institute of Technology award, 1980, for Turtle Tale; Soviet National Book Award (shared with Vladimir Vagin), 1990, for Here Comes the Cat!; New York Society of Illustrators award, 1995, for Water; Locus Golden Duck Award for science fiction, 1996, for Insects from Outer Space; John Burroughs Award for nature writing for children, 1996, for Sawgrass Poems, and 1998, for Cactus Poems; Oppenheimer Toy Portfolio Golden Award for best book, 2002, for Like a Windy Day.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN; SELF-ILLUSTRATED, EXCEPT AS NOTED

George's Store, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1968.

Linda, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1969.

Elvira Everything, Harper (New York, NY), 1970.

The Blue Balloon, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1971.

Yellow, Yellow, illustrated by Mark Alan Stamaty, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1971.

I Met a Penguin, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1972.

Rebecka, Harper (New York, NY), 1972.

In the Eye of the Teddy, Harper (New York, NY), 1973.

Gia and the One Hundred Dollars Worth of Bubble Gum, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY), 1974.

Good Lemonade, illustrated by Marie Zimmerman, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1976.

Monkey Face, Parents' Magazine Press (New York, NY), 1977.

City Sandwich (poems), Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1978.

MacGoose's Grocery, illustrated by James Marshall, Dial (New York, NY), 1978.

Moonbear, Scribner (New York, NY), 1978.

Sand Cake, Parents' Magazine Press (New York, NY), 1978.

Turtle Tale, Dial (New York, NY), 1978.

Country Pie (poems), Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1979.

Little Devil's A, B, C (reader), Scribner (New York, NY), 1979.

Little Devil's 1, 2, 3 (reader), Scribner (New York, NY), 1979.

Popcorn, Parents' Magazine Press (New York, NY), 1979.

(With wife, Jan Asch) Running with Rachel, photographs by Jan Asch and Robert Michael Buslow, Dial (New York, NY), 1979.

The Last Puppy, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1980.

Starbaby, Scribner (New York, NY), 1980.

Goodnight Horsey, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1981.

Just like Daddy, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1981.

Bread and Honey, Parents' Magazine Press (New York, NY), 1982.

Happy Birthday, Moon!, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1982.

Milk and Cookies, Parents' Magazine Press (New York, NY), 1982.

Moon Cake, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1983.

Moongame, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1984.

Pearl's Promise (novel), Delacorte (New York, NY), 1984.

Skyfire, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1984.

Bear Shadow, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1985.

Bear's Bargain, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1985.

I Can Blink, Kids Can Press (Tonawanda, NY), 1985.

I Can Roar, Kids Can Press (Tonawanda, NY), 1985.

Goodbye House, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1986.

Pearl's Pirates (novel), Delacorte (New York, NY), 1987.

Oats and Wild Apples, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1988.

(With Vladimir Vagin) Here Comes the Cat!, illustrated by Asch and Vagin, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1989.

Journey to Terezor (science-fiction novel), Holiday House (New York, NY), 1989.

Baby in the Box, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1989.

The Alphabet Zoo, illustrated by Lee Lee Brazeal, Scott Foresman (Glenview, IL), 1989.

Flags of the United Nations Sticker Book, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1990.

(With Vladimir Vagin) Dear Brother, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1991.

Short Train, Long Train, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1992.

Little Fish, Big Fish, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Vladimir Vagin) The Flower Faerie, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1993.

Moonbear's Canoe, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1993.

Moonbear's Friend, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1993.

Moonbear's Books, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1993.

Moondance, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1993.

The Earth and I, Gulliver Books (San Diego, CA), 1994.

Hands around Lincoln School (novel), Scholastic (New York, NY), 1994.

(With Vladimir Vagin) Insects from Outer Space, illustrated by Vagin, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1994.

Water, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1995.

Up River, photography by Ted Levin and Steve Lehmer, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1995.

Sawgrass Poems: A View of the Everglades, photography by Ted Levin, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1996.

Moonbear's Pet, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1997.

Moon Dream, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1998.

Cactus Poems, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1998.

Barnyard Lullaby, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1998.

Ziggy Piggy and the Three Little Pigs, Kids Can Press (Tonawanda, NY), 1998.

Good Night, Baby Bear, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1998.

Moonbear's Dream, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1999.

Baby Bird's First Nest, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1999.

Song of the North, photographs by Ted Levin, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1999.

The Sun Is My Favorite Star, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2000.

(With son, Devin Asch) Baby Duck's New Friend, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2001.

(With son, Devin Asch) Like a Windy Day, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2002.

The Ghost of P.S. 42 ("Class Pets" series), illustrated by John Kanzler, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2002.

Battle in a Bottle ("Class Pets" series), illustrated by John Kanzler, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2003.

Survival School ("Class Pets" series), illustrated by John Kanzler, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2003.

Monsieur Saguette and His Baguette, Kids Can Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2004.

(With son, Devin Asch) Mr. Maxwell's Mouse, Kids Can Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2004.

OTHER

Frank Asch: One Man Show ("Meet the Author" series), R. C. Owen (Katonah, NY), 1997.

Contributor of articles to periodicals, including Dragon Lode. Books available in translation in several languages, including Danish, German, Japanese, Spanish, Swedish, and Russian.

Adaptations

Happy Birthday, Moon! was adapted for videocassette, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1988; Here Comes the Cat! was adapted for a short film in Russia; both have been published in the U.S. by Weston Woods.

Sidelights

Frank Asch is a versatile writer and illustrator whose popular works for children include the perennially popular picture book Happy Birthday, Moon!; the "Bear" books, featuring a naive but lovable bear; award-winning titles such as Turtle Tale and Here Comes the Cat!; and novels for children including the "Pearl" books (Pearl's Promise and Pearl's Pirates), Journey to Terezor, and Hands around Lincoln School. Asch, whose picture books feature simple, humorous texts and illustrations, deals with themes ranging from self-discovery to fear, love, peace, imagination, and nature. "The things that children like are the things that are enjoyable to be involved with," Asch once told SATA. "Children draw out of me the most interesting, the most humorous ideas, and the least negative aspects of myself."

Growing up in rural Bridgewater, New Jersey, in the 1950s, Asch enjoyed living in the country. "I had a brook next to where I lived where I could catch frogs, and I could always wander around," he told SATA. His grandfather's farm was across the road, and there were cows and chickens to watch, and rides on hay wagons. The forest was nearby, and there he had a special "thinking tree" into which he would climb and daydream for hours on end. It was a bucolic upbringing, and his working-class parents did not push him for academic achievement. "My father didn't read me stories from a book," Asch recalled, but there was a sharing of the day's experiences and a favorite uncle who was something of a character. "He had a tremendous imagination," Asch noted, "and I was inspired being around him." This inspiration came out, quite literally, later on, in Asch's first children's book, George's Store.

Asch's childhood was overshadowed by the constant cold-war nuclear threat of the 1950s and 1960s, and he was inspired by the Quaker leanings of one of his teachers to become something of a pacifist as a young student. This same teacher also instilled in Asch an early belief that he could become an artist. "I'll never forget one day when I walked into the art room and [the teacher] had displayed my drawings on the bulletin board with the label 'One Man Show,'" Asch recalled for SATA. "I began to shift my identity from future scientist to someday artist." Asch also began writing as a youth. By the time he was in high school, he had already composed a play, a hundred-page poem, and a philosophical work on the nature of dream versus reality. He also wrote and illustrated his first, unpublished, children's book as an adolescent—a birthday present for his sister's child.

After high school, Asch attended art schools in New York and eventually earned his B.F.A. from Cooper Union. Yet his formal art studies did not really provide him with the graphic design emphasis he was unconsciously seeking. "It was disillusioning in a way, because I began to see that my particular talent had to do with the interaction of words and the visual world, and I had a pure fine arts program at the time," Asch later recalled. One book-design course he had was stimulating for him, as was the tutelage of a professor at Rutgers University where he audited some art classes. Also influential at this time was the work of Maurice Sendak, whose book Where the Wild Things Are had just been published. According to Asch, that book was the first that "I put on a level with the painting and other art that I had been studying. It opened up the possibility of children's books as art and not just entertainment. It opened up the possibility of doing children's book art, of being a children's book creator."

Before graduation from Cooper Union, Asch published his first children's book, George's Store, about a shopkeeper who loves to buy and sell things and who is able to guess what his customers want as soon as they walk into the shop. Inspired by an actual store that Asch's carpenter-uncle had built for a friend, this first book, with black and white illustrations, was praised by reviewers. Stanley Mack, for instance, noted in the New York Times Book Review, the book's "originality," "spontaneity," and "wit." Initially, Asch thought of children's books as a way to finance his painting, but slowly he came to see his writing and illustrating projects as an end in themselves. He produced several more titles in the same vein, including the award-winning Elvira Everything, Yellow, Yellow, and Rebecka, but was also somewhat wary of his early success. Rebecka is a humorous story about the meaning of love, in which a boy's special relationship with his dog, Rebecka, seems threatened by the intrusion of a new neighbor, a little girl who wants to play house with the boy. Eventually, the three are reconciled in a story that "sensitively depicts the wanderings of a child's thoughts as he solves a problem," according to Elaine McDonald in Library Journal.

Meanwhile, Asch himself set to wandering. Inspired by the spiritual revolution of the late 1960s, he headed to a religious retreat in San Francisco and then on to India, where "I was trying to save my soul from the meat-grinder of success," as he once admitted to SATA. In India Asch taught in a public grammar school for a time, and then returned to the United States to train as a Montessori teacher. "I realized that I really wasn't a good teacher in the sense that I had a lot of patience for teaching kids the nuts and bolts of reading," he recalled. "I was more interested in making environments for them to play in and telling stories. I was a terrible teacher but I was interested in having fun with the kids." Asch and his wife, a fellow teacher, formed a traveling children's theater troupe, the "Belly Buttons," and toured schools in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey for several years, while he continued his work as a writer and illustrator of children's books.

With Turtle Tale, Asch graduated to color illustrations. In contrast to his earlier black-and-white line drawings, these color illustrations employ simple lines and shapes. For Asch, the intricate squiggles and loops of his line drawings were really "a kind of coloration," he explained to SATA, a sort of shading with texture. Once his publishers let him use color—a more expensive process reserved for artists who had proven themselves—what was left were the basic simple shapes and forms he had always had. And for Asch, the mix of illustration and story is tremendously important. If the text is dealing with challenging or scary subjects, for example, then the pictures need to be calm and reassuring. Most of Asch's illustrations, in fact, are quite simple and calming.

Turtle Tale is at heart an examination of how one remains open to the world but at the same time manages to preserve a sense of necessary caution. Turtle gets hit on the head by an apple, and decides to keep his head in his shell all the time. But he keeps bumping into things because he cannot see, gets rained on by clouds unseen, and is stalked by a hungry fox. Turtle then decides to keep his head out all the time, but this does not work either, and in the end he manages to find a balance between complete freedom and concern for personal safety. Mary B. Nickerson, writing in School Library Journal, noted that "older children will find [the story] amusing and true."

Moving to rural Vermont in the late 1970s, Asch and his wife had a son, Devin, and Asch devoted more time to his writing and illustrating. With the publication of Moonbear in 1978, he hit on one of his most popular animal protagonists and also created his most enduring series. In this first title, Bear falls in love with the moon. As the moon begins to wane, Bear thinks it needs food, and goes hungry himself while leaving his store of honey out for his new-found love. As the moon grows full again, Bear thinks he has nurtured it back to health, but friendly Little Bird explains that the moon does not need his help. Initially discouraged, Bear ultimately transfers his affection to Little Bird.

Asch has used his "Bear" books to explore themes from imagination and love, as in Moonbear, to dealing with fear in Bear Shadow, to memories and loss in Goodbye House. Asch chose a bear for his character not only because he personally is fond of them, but also because it is a physically upright animal, like humans, and a solitary one. In Moondance, Bear again fancies that the moon—and clouds this time—are animate and is disappointed when the moon won't dance with him, afraid that he did something wrong when the fog disappears. Finally Bear is able to fulfill his wish, dancing with the reflection of the moon in a puddle. Booklist's Ilene Cooper called this title a "pleasing new entry in Asch's series about Bear," and noted that while "charming is an overworked word … it fits both story and art here." Karen James, writing in School Library Journal, echoed Cooper's remarks, observing that "Bear has an innocence, and the stories about him a sense of quiet, satisfied joy that continues to charm." Kirkus Reviews concluded that Asch's "simple forms … combine in a handsome graphic design with the creative use of varied frames and sophisticated colors: the liveliness and simplicity of his appealing images are perfect for very small 'readers.'"

In Moonbear's Pet, Bear and Little Bird once again get their observations wrong: they think their new friend, Splash, is a fish. But instead of a fish, Splash turns out to be a tadpole, which becomes obvious to readers as the little animal begins to sprout appendages. Kay Weisman in Booklist noted that "Asch's colorful and bold illustrations provide the intended audience with an un-cluttered view that will enable them to focus better on plot details." A Horn Book reviewer similarly observed that in this eighth title in the series about Bear and Little Bird, "Asch's sense of design and the simple style of the book ensure success."

Asch has also turned his hand to juvenile novels, beginning with the mouse adventures of Pearl's Promise and Pearl's Pirates, and continuing with the science fiction novel Journey to Terezor and the ecologically oriented Hands around Lincoln School. Just as Sendak inspired Asch to become a picture-book writer and illustrator, so the works of E. B. White influenced him to create longer works of fiction. In Hands around Lincoln School, Asch writes of sixth graders who establish their own Save the Earth Club. Enthusiastic Lindsay decides it is time she and her friends do something to save the planet. She convinces her buddy Amy and the twins Ruth and Heather to pitch in. Together they hold bake sales to earn money to adopt a whale; they visit other classrooms, where they read about a victim of Hiroshima in Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. But Lindsay's enthusiasm soon becomes too much for Amy and also makes her a target for the 'cool' kids at school. Booklist's Hazel Rochman noted that these "issues are of crucial interest to many young people," and that Asch succeeds in "dramatizing the debate.… Some times comedy lightens things up.… Sometimes personal anguish humanizes the politics."

Environmental matters and the wonders of nature inform some of Asch's picture books as well. His The Earth and I explores the relationship between a young boy and nature: they go for walks together, they feel sad together at polluted rivers, they embrace as the little boy gives a tree a big hug. Commenting on the "simply drawn shapes" and the "gorgeous hues" of the water-colors, Booklist's Cooper concluded that the book was a "delightful package that can lead to discussion among the preschooler set." With Water, Asch offers "variations on a basic ecological concept: the importance (and omnipresence) of water," according to Publishers Weekly. More water is served up in Up River, the story of two adolescent boys on a canoe trip to help clean up a river.

A further tribute to water is Sawgrass Poems, an illustrated journey into the Everglades, "obviously a labor of love," according to Lauralyn Persson in School Library Journal. Carolyn Phelan, writing in Booklist, commented of Sawgrass Poems: "Beginning with an eloquent introduction, this collection of 20 illustrated poems transports readers to that unique place and challenges them to look at it intently." Barnyard Lullaby, another poetic, self-illustrated offering from Asch, features a cacophony of sounds, including barnyard animals singing their young to sleep and keeping a frustrated farmer awake. Reviewing the work in Publishers Weekly, a commentator noted that "Asch's tender animal lullabies have a lilt even when spoken." Booklist critic Helen Rosenberg asserted: "Asch's bold, clear illustrations couple nicely with the soothing simplicity of the text to make this a perfect bedtime book that is sure to become a classic."

Asch has also developed a fruitful collaboration with Russian-born illustrator Vladimir Vagin. Starting with their 1989 effort on the peace book Here Comes the Cat!, the two have collaborated on several other popular titles together. The inspiration for their first book grew out of the last days of the cold war and Asch's desire to create a book about peace with the help of a so-called cold-war "enemy." After contact had been made with a prospective Soviet illustrator, Asch got the idea for the book in a dream: mice are running around warning that a cat is approaching, but when it appears, it is actually friendly, bearing cheese. Vagin and Asch worked well together on this project, and the subsequent title became a bestseller in the United States as well as in the then-collapsing Soviet Union.

Mice appear again in the second collaboration between Asch and Vagin. Dear Brother is a story told by letters between a town mouse and a country mouse. Kathryn Pierson Jennings noted in Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books that the "appealing, brightly-colored gouache illustrations of mice-people in the comfortable home are warm, detailed, and cozy," and Booklist's Cooper noted the "good storytelling," calling Dear Brother "a useful book for history, English, and genealogy units." More recent collaborative efforts from the pair include The Flower Faerie and Insects from Outer Space. In the latter title, alien bugs land on Earth, and earthling insects are at first frightened, but eventually invite the newcomers to their Bug Ball. Lisa Dennis noted in School Library Journal that "adult themes and attractive artwork combine to create an imaginative book."

Asch retells a familiar story—with a twist—in Ziggy Piggy and the Three Little Pigs. While the three little pigs build their houses to ward off the Big Bad Wolf, Ziggy relaxes at the beach, floats on his raft, and sleeps under the stars. When the wolf blows down all three homes, the pigs rush to the beach and sail to safety on Ziggy's raft. "The telling is smooth and uncomplicated," remarked Booklist critic Stephanie Zvirin. Horn Book reviewer Lauren Adams complimented Asch's message, stating that Ziggy "reminds us to lighten up and enjoy the sunny day."

In 2001 Asch and his son, Devin, collaborated on the picture book Baby Duck's New Friend. In the work, Baby Duck is eager to explore and make new friends, but he is not allowed to travel far from home unless he is accompanied by a partner who can fly. When a rubber duck floats by, Baby Duck mistakes it for the real thing and follows it downstream, all the way to the sea. Realizing he is lost, Baby Duck flaps his wings in frustration, discovers he already has the ability to fly, and heads home safely. "Lessons about independence and self-reliance are gently woven into this simple story," observed Booklist contributor Marta Segal and a Publishers Weekly reviewer stated, "A lovely glow radiates from the Asches' digitally enhanced pen-and-ink illustrations."

Frank and Devin Asch teamed up again for Like a Windy Day, "a rollicking testament to the excitement whipped up by the wind," wrote a contributor in Publishers Weekly. After a young girl spies a leaf swept up by the wind, she imagines herself swirling around buildings and zooming down hillsides, just like the wind. "The dreamlike imagery enchants and the simple text is sure to inspire interpretive movement" from youngsters, wrote a critic in Kirkus Reviews, and School Library Journal contributor Marlene Gawron praised the "clever and amusing details" scattered throughout the book. Devin Asch also paired with his father on Mr. Maxwell's Mouse. Howard Maxwell, a furry feline and regular customer at the Paw and Claw Restaurant, decides to celebrate a job promotion by dining on raw mouse. The main course—a tiny white mouse—has other plans, however, and successfully diverts Maxwell's attention away from dinner. A Kirkus Reviews critic remarked that "the period setting …, captivating illustrations, and tongue-in-check dialogue create a delectable tail, er, tale of one-upmouseship to be savored."

Asch's "Class Pets" series of chapter books revolve around the adventures of mouse siblings Molly and Jake. In The Ghost of P.S. 42, the pair decide to leave their crowded family nest and find a new home. Molly ventures into an elementary school and soon makes friends with the animals in Miss Clark's third grade classroom: the white rabbit Peaches, lovebirds Prince and Princess, and the ghostly hamster Gino. Jake, too chubby to squeeze through the crack in the school wall, must find another entrance while avoiding the clutches of a hungry cat named Big Gray and a barn owl named Hooter. A Publishers Weekly reviewer called The Ghost of P.S. 42 an "agreeable romp of a tale" and a "promising start" to the new series. Gillian Engberg, writing in Booklist, stated that Asch "deftly blends the otherworldly elements into the story with vivid, witty language."

In Battle in a Bottle, the second work in the series, Jake and Molly have settled into the walls of P.S. 42. Trouble brews when Big Gray traps Jake inside an empty bottle. Some reviewers found the plot far-fetched, yet Booklist contributor Eva Mitnick observed that "the writing is sprightly and events move quickly." Jake and Molly help Dexter the gerbil adjust to life outside his cage in Survival School, as the trio face a number of obstacles, including a mousetrap and sewer rats. Though School Library Journal critic Teri Markson faulted the work for its "weak characterization," she also remarked that it has "plenty of action."

Monsieur Saguette and His Baguette, a humorous tale about a Frenchman who handles a myriad of problems armed only with a loaf of bread, has also captivated young readers. On his way home from the boulangerie, Monsieur Saguette rescues a kitten from a tree, stops an alligator from munching on an infant, and foils a robbery, all with the help of his baguette. Critics praised Asch for his whimsical tone; according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer, "almost every page has something laugh-out-loud funny," and a Kirkus Reviews critic stated, "Affectionate illustrations marked by compelling touches of absurdity … provide comforting silliness." In the words of School Library Journal contributor Laurie Edwards, Monsieur Saguette and His Baguette is a "lighthearted romp through the streets of Paris."

Imaginative is a word often used to describe Asch's work. As he once explained to SATA, "My work has been a real lifesaver for me. It's been an important thing, a kind of salvation. It's given me a place to do my exploring of who I am. And I think people feel nurtured by that. Kids feel nurtured by that.…The messages, the themes, that children elicit from me in my work, I feel, is really a kind of energy that's coming from the light, bright future—the future where the earth doesn't get blown up or drown in its own pollution."