Amy Krouse Rosenthal (April 29, 1965 – March 13, 2017) was an American author of both adult and children's books, a short film maker, and radio show host. She is best known for her memoir ''Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life'', her children's picture books, and the film project ''The Beckoning of Lovely''.
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', May 8, 2009; accessed March 29, 2011.Sally Lodge, (May 21, 2009
"Q & A with Amy Krouse Rosenthal"
''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'', accessed March 20, 2017."Amy Krouse Rosenthal Readies 'Beckoning of Lovely' Project"
''Chicago Magazine'', November 2010
accessed May 16, 2011. She was a prolific writer, publishing more than 30 children's books between 2005 and her death in 2017. She is the only author to have three

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

make the Best Children's Books for Family Literacy list in the same year."The Pennsylvania Center for the Book presents the 2010 A Baker's Dozen: The Best Children's Books for Family Literacy,
Pennsylvania State University, 2010
, accessed March 30, 2011. She was a contributor to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

affiliate

WBEZ WBEZ (91.5 FM) – branded ''WBEZ 91.5'' – is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois, and primarily serving the Chicago metropolitan area. Financed by corporate underwriting, government funding and lis ...

, and to the

TED conference TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

.''Mission Amy KR'' blog, WBEZ
; accessed May 16, 2011."TEDActive 2011: Projects: Public Heart"
''Ted Conferences'' website, May 9, 2011
, accessed May 16, 2011.

Books

Amy Krouse Rosenthal wrote for both adults and children. Rosenthal had several books on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list: ''I Wish You More, Uni the Unicorn, Plant a Kiss, Exclamation Mark,'' '' Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons'', and '' Duck! Rabbit!''. ''Duck! Rabbit!'' was read at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

during the 2010 Easter Egg Roll. She was selected as the 2015 author for 'The Global Read Aloud', an eight-week program for classrooms around the world to engage with each other by reading the same books. Her alphabetized memoir ''Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life'' (published in 2005) was named one of Amazon's top ten memoirs of the decade. Her follow-up, ''Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal'', was published by Dutton Penguin Random House on August 9, 2016. It is the first book to include an interactive text-messaging component. Along with her adult and children's work, Rosenthal had a keepsake journal line (ten titles in all) including ''Encyclopedia of Me: My Life from A to Z'' and ''The Belly Book: A Nine-Month Journal for You and Your Growing Belly''. Rosenthal's picture book ''Yes Day!'', written by Tom Lichtenheld, has been adapted as a live-action

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Original film, ''

Yes Day ''Yes Day'' is a 2021 American family comedy film directed by Miguel Arteta, from a screenplay and screen story by Justin Malen, based upon the children's book of the same name by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld. It stars Jennifer Garner ...

'', released in March 2021.

Films

Rosenthal made short films using her iPhone or Flip camera. Some invite further interaction from viewers, some are social experiments, and some build upon each other to become something else entirely. Her films include ''17 Things I Made'', ''Today is a Gift'', ''ATM: Always Trust Magic'', ''The Kindness Thought Bubble'', ''The Money Tree'' and ''The Beckoning of Lovely''.Bridget Kinsella (May 17, 2010)
"Amy Krouse Rosenthal: Putting All Her Books Under a Yellow Umbrella
, ''Publishers Weekly'', accessed March 30, 2011.'' She held 'Beckoning of Lovely' events at the bean in Chicago's

Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in 2004 and intended to celebrate the third millennium, is a prominent civic center near ...

on August 8, 2008, September 9, 2009, October 10, 2010, and November 11, 2011. ''Chicago Magazine'' described ''The Beckoning of Lovely'':

Other work

Rosenthal was a frequent contributor to TED. In 2011, 2012, and 2015, she was brought on as an "experiential designer", creating ideas and experiences implemented at the annual TEDActive conference. Additionally, she has given talks at TEDxSanDiego 2011 and at TEDxSMU 2012; she gave her first and most well-known TED talk, 'Notes on Life', at TEDxWaterloo (Canada) in 2010. Her essays and articles have appeared in ''

'', ''Hallmark Magazine'', ''

Parenting Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a ...

'', '' O: The Oprah Magazine'', and ''

McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. Initially publishing the literary journal'' Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', the company has moved to n ...

''. Her website, whoisamy.com, was named one of the best official author websites, alongside

Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver (born April 8, 1955) is an American novelist, essayist and poet. She was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in the Congo in her early childhood. Kingsolver earned degrees in biology at DePauw University and the Univers ...

and

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

Personal life

Rosenthal, a graduate of

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

, lived in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. She had three children: Justin, Miles and Paris. On March 3, 2017, at the age of 51, she announced that she was terminally ill with

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

, by way of a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' "Modern Love" essay. The essay was in the form of a dating profile for her husband Jason, to help him remarry after her death. "I am wrapping this up on Valentine’s Day," she wrote, "and the most genuine, non-vase-oriented gift I can hope for is that the right person reads this, finds Jason, and another love story begins." She died ten days later at her home in Chicago, which was where she was born.Amy Krouse Rosenthal Obituary
''

'', March 13, 2017; accessed July 28, 2018.

Children's books

* ''Little Pea'', illustrated by Jen Corace, Chronicle Books, 2005. * ''Little Hoot'', illustrated by Jen Corace, Chronicle Books, 2009. * ''Little Oink'', illustrated by Jen Corace, Chronicle Books, 2009. * ''The OK Book'', illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, HarperCollins, 2007. * ''Spoon'', illustrated by Scott Magoon, Hyperion Books For Children, 2009. * ''One Of Those Days'', illustrated by Rebecca Doughty, Putnam, 2005. * ''Yes Day!'', with Tom Lichtenheld, HarperCollins, 2009. * ''It's Not Fair'', illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, HarperCollins, 2008. * '' Duck! Rabbit!'', with Tom Lichtenheld, Chronicle Books, 2009. * ''Bedtime For Mommy'', illustrated by Leuyen Pham, Bloomsbury, 2010. * ''The Wonder Book'', illustrated by Paul Schmid, HarperCollins, 2010. * ''Cookies: Bite Size Life Lessons'', illustrated by

Jane Dyer Jane Dyer (born 1949) is an American author and illustrator of more than fifty books, including Amy Krouse Rosenthal's ''Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons, Cookies'' series and Jeanne Birdsall's ''Lucky and Squash''. Background Dyer grew up in N ...

, HarperCollins, 2005. * ''Sugar Cookies: Sweet Little Lessons on Love'', illustrated by Jane and Brooke Dyer, HarperCollins, 2010. * ''One Smart Cookie: Bite-Size Life Lessons For The School Years And Beyond'', illustrated by Jane and Brooke Dyer, HarperCollins, 2010. * ''Al Pha's Bet'', illustrated by Delphine Durand, Putnam, 2011. * ''This Plus That'', illustrated by Jen Corace, HarperCollins, 2011. * ''Plant A Kiss'', illustrated by Peter Reynolds, Harper Collins, Winter 2011. * ''Chopsticks'', illustrated by Scott Magoon, Disney Hyperion, 2012. * ''Wumbers'', illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, Chronicle, 2012. * ''Exclamation Mark!'', illus. Tom Lichtenheld, Scholastic, 2013 – winner of the 2015 California Young Reader Medal, primary grades * ''I Scream Ice Cream'': ''A Book of Wordles'', illustrated by Sergio Bloch, Chronicle, 2013. * ''Uni the Unicorn,'' illustrated by Brigette Barrager, Random House, 2014. * ''Little Miss, Big Sis'', illustrated by Peter Reynolds, HarperCollins, 2015. * ''I Wish You More'', illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, Chronicle, 2015. * ''Friendshape'', illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, Scholastic, 2015. * ''Awake Beautiful Child'', illustrated by Gracia Lam, McSweeney's, 2015. * ''That's Me Loving You'', illustrated by Teagan White, Random House, 2016. * ''Uni the Unicorn and the Dream Come True,'' illustrated by Brigette Barrager, Random House, 2017. * ''Dear Girl,'', with Paris Rosenthal, illustrated by Holly Hatam, 2017. * ''Don’t Blink!'' illustrated by David Roberts, Random House, 2018.

Adult books

* ''The Book of Eleven: An Itemized Collection of Brain Lint'', Andrews McMeel, 1998. * ''The Same Phrase Describes My Marriage and My Breasts: Before the Kids, They Used to Be Such a Cute Couple'', Andrews McMeel, 1999. * ''Mother's Guide to the Meaning of Life: What I've Learned on My Never Ending Quest to Become a Dalai Mama'', Rodale Press, 2001. * ''Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life'', Crown/Random House, 2005. * ''Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal'', Dutton/Penguin, 2016

Journal line

* ''The Belly Book: A Nine Month Journal For Baby's First Year'', Potter Style, 2006. * ''Karma Checks: 60 Checks To Keep The World In Balance'', Potter Style, 2007. * ''Your Birthday Book: A Keepsake Journal'', Potter Style, 2008. * ''Words To Remember: A Journal For Your Child's Sweet & Amusing Sayings'', illustrated by Ida Pearl, Potter Style, 2008. * ''The Big Sibling Book: Baby's First Year According To Me, The Big Sib'', Potter Style, 2009. * ''The Grandparent Book: A Keepsake Journal'', Potter Style, 2010. * ''My Baby Book: A Keepsake Journal For Baby's First Year'', Potter Style, 2010. * ''The Bride-to-Be Book: A Journal of Memories from the Proposal to "I Do",'' Potter Style, 2011. * ''Highlights of Your Life'', with Sara Gillingham, Potter Style, 2014. * ''Encyclopedia of Me: My Life from A to Z'', Potter Style, 2014. * ''A Week in the Life of Me'', Chronicle, 2015.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Amy Krouse 1965 births 2017 deaths American children's writers American memoirists American women memoirists American women children's writers Jewish American writers Tufts University alumni Deaths from ovarian cancer Deaths from cancer in Illinois Writers from Chicago 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women