Celebrating Tana Hoban

Tana Hoban was born on this day in 1924. Long before she began writing and illustrating books for children, she was a well-known photographer. A master of the concept book, many of them wordless, Hoban created books on a variety of subjects including the alphabet, numbers, shapes, sizes, colors, opposites and animals. Many of her early books were in black-and-white, but the more recent works are in color.

Hoban once said of her work, “I like to draw the child into my photographs and say, ‘Come closer, take another look,’ and most important, ‘See everything!’”

Some of my favorite works by this amazing author/illustrator include:

• So Many Circles, So Many Squares
• Shapes, Shapes, Shapes
• Circles, Triangles and Squares - This one is out of print, but you may be able to find it in your school or public library.
• Is It Larger? Is It Smaller?

Ms. Hoban died in January, 2006 at the age of 88. You can read a wonderful tribute to her in the article Tana Hoban: She Made You Look Again and Again, courtesy of The Horn Book Magazine.