Aliki Liacouras Brandenberg or pen name Aliki (born September 3, 1929) is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

books for children Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

Early life

Brandenberg was born in

Wildwood Crest, New Jersey Wildwood Crest is a borough in Cape May County, New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area in the South Jersey region of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 3,101, a decrease ...

, to James Peter and Stella (née Lagakos) Liacouras. Her parents, who lived in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, were originally from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, and they taught her to speak Greek as a first language. She started to draw at an early age, and her parents enrolled her in art classes. She also took

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

lessons.

Career

After graduating from the

Philadelphia Museum School of Art The Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (PMSIA), also referred to as the School of Applied Art, was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on February 26, 1876, as both a museum and teaching institution. This was in response to t ...

in 1951, Brandenberg worked briefly at the

J. C. Penney Company Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain store, chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Women ...

in New York, in that company's display department. She then moved back to Philadelphia and worked as a freelance artist, creating art for advertising and display purposes. She also taught classes in art, worked as a muralist, and started a greeting card company. In 1956 Brandenberg decided to explore her Greek heritage, as well as many other parts of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. During her travels she met Franz Brandenberg, whom she married the following year. After moving to Franz's native

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, Brandenberg wrote her first book, ''The Story of William Tell'', about the legendary Swiss archer. The book, published in 1960, was well received. Brandenberg and her husband moved to New York, where Brandenberg began in earnest her long career as an illustrator and author of books for children. She has written and illustrated many books and she has also illustrated books for other authors, including her husband Franz Brandenberg. Brandenberg's career as an author and illustrator led her to explore many subjects of historic and scientific interest. Her nonfiction books, either written by herself or by others, touch upon matters as varied as

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...

s, book manufacturing,

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

, and growing up. Aliki's fictional works explore such themes as family and friendship. Brandenberg's Greek heritage is also a recurring theme in her works, both fiction and nonfiction.

Personal life

Since 1977 Brandenberg and her husband Franz have lived in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where she continues to write books for children. She has two children, Jason and Alexa. Alexa is a children's book author and illustrator of several books, including
I am Me!
'

Awards

In 1991 she won the Pennsylvania School Librarians' Association Award.

Bibliography

*''A Medieval Feast'' *''A Picnic Hurrah'' *''A Play's the Thing'' *''A Robber, A Robber'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''A Secret for Grandmother's Birthday'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''A Weed is a Flower'' (

George Washington Carver George Washington Carver ( 1864 – January 5, 1943) was an American agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was one of the most prominent black scientists of the ea ...

biography) *''Ah, Music!'' *''All By Myself'' *''At Mary Bloom's'' *''Aunt Nina and her Nephews and Nieces'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''Averages'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Jane J. Srivastava) *''Bees and Beelines'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Judy Hawes) *''Best Friends Together Again'' *''Christmas Tree Memories'' *''Cock-a-Doodle-Doo'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''Communication'' *''Corn is Maize'' *''Digging Up Dinosaurs'' (was used on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

TV series

Reading Rainbow ''Reading Rainbow'' is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS and afterwards PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 3 ...

) *''Dinosaurs Are Different'' *''Dinosaur Bones'' *''Dinosaur Dig'' *''Diogenes'' *''Everyone Ready?'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''

Feelings Feelings are subjective self-contained phenomenal experiences. According to the ''APA Dictionary of Psychology'', a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; and feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations ...

'' (was used on the

TV series

June 25, 1986) *''Five Dolls in a House'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Helen Clare) *''Fossils Tell of Long Ago'' *''Fresh Cider and Pie'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''

Go Tell Aunt Rhody "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" is an English language folk song of nineteenth-century American origin. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3346. The tune is older, dating to the 18th century. It originated as a gavotte in the 1752 opera ''Le devin ...

'' *''Green Grass and White Milk'' *''Hello! Good-Bye!'' *''Home: A Collection Of Thirty Distinguished Authors And Illustrators Of Children's Books To Aid The Homeless'' (illustrated by Aliki, edited by Michael Rosen) *''How a Book Is Made'' *''Hush Little Baby'' *''I Once Knew a Man'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''I Want to Read'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by

Betty Ren Wright Betty Ren Wright (June 15, 1927 – December 31, 2013) was an American writer of children's fiction including '' Christina's Ghost'', ''The Dollhouse Murders'', ''The Ghosts Of Mercy Manor'' and ''A Ghost in The House''. Background Wright l ...

) *''I Wish I Was Sick, Too'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''I'm Growing'' *''It's Not My Fault'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''Jack and Jake'' *''Keep Your Mouth Closed, Dear'' *''Leo and Emily'' *''Manners'' *''Marianthe's Story'' (including ''Painted Words'' and ''Spoken Memories'') *''Milk: From Cow to Carton'' *''Mommy's Briefcase'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Alice Low) *''Mummies Made in Egypt'' (was used on the

TV series

March 30, 1989) *''My Feet'' *''My Five Senses'' *''My Hands'' *''My Visit to the Aquarium'' *''My Visit to the Dinosaurs'' *''My Visit to the Zoo'' *''New Year's Day'' *''Nice New Neighbors'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''No School Today'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''Oh Lord, I Wish I Was a Buzzard'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Polly Greenberg) *''One Little Spoonful'' *''Overnight at Mary Bloom's'' *''Push Button'' *''Quiet in the Garden'' *''Six New Students'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''Tabby'' *''The Eggs'' *''The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus'' *''The King's Day'' (

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

biography) *''The Listening Walk'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Paul Showers) *''The Long Lost Coelacanth and other Living Fossils'' *''The Many Lives of Benjamin Franklin'' *''The Story of Johnny Appleseed'' *''The Story of William Penn'' *''The Story of William Tell'' *''The Twelve Months'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''The Two of Them'' *''Those Summers'' *''Three Gold Pieces: A Greek Folk Tale'' *''Use Your Head, Dear'' *''We Are Best Friends'' *''Welcome, Little Baby'' *''What Can You Make of It?'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''What's For Lunch, Charley?'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by

Margaret Hodges Sarah Margaret Hodges née Moore (July 26, 1911 – December 13, 2005) was an American writer of children's books, librarian, and storyteller. Sarah Margaret Moore was born in Indianapolis, Indiana to Arthur Carlisle Moore and Annie Marie Moo ...

) *''What's Wrong with a Van?'' (illustrated by Aliki, written by Franz Brandenberg) *''Wild and Woolly Mammoths'' *''William Shakespeare and the Globe''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandenberg, Aliki 1929 births Living people People from Wildwood Crest, New Jersey American children's writers American illustrators University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni American writers of Greek descent 20th-century American writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women