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

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

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 complicate ...

of books for children.

Early life

Brandenberg was born in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, to James Peter and Stella (née Lagakos) Liacouras. Her parents, who lived in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, were originally from

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, 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 A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

lessons.

Career

After graduating from the Philadelphia Museum School of Art in 1951, Brandenberg worked briefly at the J. C. Penney Company 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 continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

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

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, 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 Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus.'' They lived from the late Miocene epoch (from around 6.2 million years ago) into the Holocene until about 4,000 years ago, with mammoth species at various times inhabi ...

s, book manufacturing,

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 natio ...

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

, 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

Brandenberg and her husband Franz moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England in 1977, and after 35 years they moved back to New York City, 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 science, agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was one of the most prominent bla ...

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 broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

TV series

Reading Rainbow ''Reading Rainbow'' is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS and afterward PBS Kids from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 30-minute episodes ...

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

Feelings According to the '' APA Dictionary of Psychology'', a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations, thoughts, or images evoking them". The term ''feeling'' is closel ...

'' (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'' *''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) *''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 LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

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) *''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

*
Aliki Brandenberg PapersSpecial Collections
at The University of Southern Mississipp
(de Grummond Children's Literature Collection)
{{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 Writers who illustrated their own writing Writers from Cape May County, New Jersey