Fran Manushkin (born November 2, 1942) is an American children's book author. She originally began as a children's book editor before transferring to an author. She attended the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

and

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university enrolls arou ...

. Manushkin has authored over 20 children's books receiving high critical acclaim. She received the Notable Children's book citation award from the

Association of Jewish Libraries The Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) is an international organization dedicated to the production, collection, organization and dissemination of Judaic resources as a library, media, and information service. AJL has members in the United St ...

in 2000, for her book ''Come Let Us Be Joyful: The Story of Hava Nagila''.

Biography

Upon graduating high school, Manushkin attended college and earned a teaching certificate. After four months of being a substitute teacher, she decided to live in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and become a publisher. Manushkin worked for many publishers including

Henry Holt and Company Henry Holt and Company is an American book-publishing company based in New York City. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt (publisher), Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt. The company publishes in ...

, Rinehart & Winston,

Harper & Row Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper and his brother John, the company operated as J. & J. Harper until 1833, when ...

, and

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

. The first book that she wrote was ''Baby'', and was published in 1972. Manushkin would later author many more books and also team up with celebrity boxer George Forman on the book ''Let George Do It!'', which recounts misadventures in the real-life Foreman family. She still resides in New York City.

List of books

* ''Let George Do It!,'' Authored by Fran Manushkin and

George Foreman George Edward Foreman (January 10, 1949 – March 21, 2025) was an American professional boxer, businessman, minister, and author. In boxing, he competed between 1967 and 1997, and was nicknamed "Big George". He was a two-time world heavyweig ...

, Illustrated by Whitney Martin. * ''Rachel, Meet Your Angel'', Authored by Fran Manushkin. * '' The Matzah That Papa Brought Home'', illustrated by

Ned Bittinger Edmund Stuart Bittinger (born July 4, 1951), better known by Ned Bittinger, is an American Portrait painting, portrait painter and illustrator who is known for his paintings of prominent American figures. His notable works include the congression ...

. * ''Many Days, One Shabbat'', illustrated by Maria Monescillo. * ''Happy in Our Skin'', Illustrated by Lauren Tobia. * ''Bamboo for Me, Bamboo for You!'', illustrated by Purificación Hernández. * ''THE LITTLE SLEEPYHEAD'', illustrated by Leonid Gore. * ''The Shivers in the Fridge'', illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky. * ''The Belly Book'', illustrated by

Dan Yaccarino Dan Yaccarino (born May 20, 1965) is an American author, illustrator, television writer, and producer, who is known for his animated series, children's books and award-winning imagery. Yaccarino created the Nick Jr. preschool series ''Oswald''. ...

. * ''Peeping and Sleeping CL'', illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. * ''DAUGHTERS OF FIRE: Heroines of the Bible'', illustrated by Uri Shulevitz. * ''How Mama Brought the Spring'', illustrated by Holly Berry. * ''Let's Go Riding in Our Strollers'', illustrated by Benrei Huang. * ''Latkes and Applesauce: A Hanukkah Story'', illustrated by Robin Spowart. * ''HOORAY FOR HANUKKAH!'', illustrated by Carolyn Croll. * ''The Perfect Christmas Picture'', illustrated by Karen A. Weinhaus. * ''Plenty of Hugs'', illustrated by Kate Alizadeh.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manushkin, Fran Living people American children's writers Jewish American children's writers University of Illinois alumni Roosevelt University alumni 1942 births Jews from Illinois