= Robert_Kraus =

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= Robert_Kraus =
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Introduction
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Robert Kraus (June 21, 1925 – August 7, 2001) was an American
children's author illustrator, cartoonist and publisher. His
successful career began early at the New Yorker Magazine, producing
hundreds of cartoons and nearly two dozen covers for the magazine over
15 years. Afterwards, he pivoted his career to children's literature,
writing and illustrating over 100 children’s books and publishing even
more as the founder of publishing house Windmill Books (later an
imprint of Simon & Schuster). His body of work is best remembered
for depicting animal heroes who always try their best and never give
up, which were ideals important to him at an early age.

Personal
==========
Robert Kraus was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1925 to parents Jack,
who was in the real estate business, and Esther (Rosen) Kraus. His
mother nurtured lessons in him that appear as important themes in
Kraus’s later written work in the children’s literature genre. He
graduated from Milwaukee’s Layton School for the Arts in 1942 and the
Arts Student League of Manhattan, NY in 1945. During that time, Kraus
was excluded from the military during WWII because of vision problems.
He met his wife, Pamela (formerly Pamela Vivienne Evan-Wong), while at
the Art Students League and they were married on December 11, 1946.
Together they had two sons, Bruce and Bill. In 1965, he moved into
the 1865 Colonial Revival House in Ridgefield, Connecticut on the
corner of Main Street and Branchville Road where he was often seen in
the community walking his pug, Hoover.

Early career
==============
At age 10, Kraus won a cartoon contest from his local paper the
'Milwaukee Journal'. By age 12, he was hired by that same journal to
contribute a weekly cartoon entitled "Public Nuisances." At age 16,
he made his first cartoon sale to 'The New Yorker,' which was the most
prestigious platform for cartoon prints in the nation at the time
Kraus also freelanced for other publications such as 'Collier's', the
old 'Life, Esquire Magazine'',' and 'The Saturday Evening Post.' He
continued both his education and freelance work at the Arts Student
League of Manhattan, NY until he became a full-time employee at the
New Yorker on contract.

Cartoons
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He became a regular 'New Yorker' contributor as both a cartoonist and
cover artist beginning in the 1950s. Kraus contributed 50 cartoons in
his first year at the "New Yorker." Most of his cover art reflected
his romantic idea of the City (artists' studios and supplies, a chess
club, a gypsy fortune teller, the Chinese New Year parade, the Coney
Island roller coaster, a grand cafe, St. Patrick's Cathedral, a fancy
dress ball) and he recorded his rural surroundings in Danbury,
Connecticut, with its farmer's markets and county fairs. Many of his
cartoons embodied the stereotypes of their day: drunks, crooks,
convicts, pirates, clowns, mythological characters, millionaires
dating floozies, big businessmen, prizefighters, etc. An important
part of his cartooning career was a multi-page spread on the New York
World's Fair of 1963-64. In his 15 years at the New Yorker, Kraus
produced over 450 cartoons and 21 covers. In 1983, after taking an
extended break from cartooning to work on children’s literature, Kraus
created a Sunday feature called “Zap! The Video Chap,” targeted at
children who were growing addicted to playing video games.

Children's books
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In 1954, Kraus decided to pivot his career. He began writing and
illustrating children's books, beginning with 'Junior the Spoiled
Cat', 'The Littlest Rabbit', 'The Trouble with Spider' (later expanded
into the Spider, Fly and Ladybug series), 'I, Mouse', 'Mouse at Sea',
'The Bunny's Nutshell Library', Carla Stevens' 'Rabbit and Skunk'
series, and the haunting and critically acclaimed 'Amanda Remembers'.
The book 'Leo the Late Bloomer,' an encouraging story about making
one's own pace, is a continuing legacy. He utilized his extensive
network of creators from the New Yorker to team up with illustrators
like William Steig and Charles Addams.

Kraus could speak directly to children without a trace of
artificiality or condescension, naturally embodying both them and
himself in a variety of small but plucky animal protagonists. His
stories often centered on animal heroes with humanistic qualities,
teaching lessons like “never give up” and always do your best even if
you don’t at first succeed,” which Kraus learned from his mother. He
once explained that he wrote children’s books to console himself,
encourage himself and others, and investigate problems he observed in
society. The story, “Miranda’s Beautiful Dream” was inspired by the
life of Martin Luther King. The book Leo the Late Bloomer, an
encouraging story about making one's own pace, is a continuing legacy.
Kraus once said that “the greatest compliment anyone can give you is
to buy your stuff.”

Academia
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The Windmill Books and Robert Kraus Papers are among the University
of Minnesota's Children's Literature and Art Collections.

Professor Paul Fry has used one of Kraus's lesser works, 'Tony the Tow
Truck', tongue-in-cheek to teach a popular English course at Yale,
Introduction to the Theory of Literature, using its hundred-word text
to illustrate topics such as Hermeneutics, Semiotics, Structuralism,
Deconstruction, Queer Theory and Gender Performativity.

Windmill Books publishing company
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Tapping his friendships with other New Yorker artists, Kraus launched
a small publishing company, Windmill Books in 1965, publishing The
Chas. Addams 'Mother Goose', and William Steig's 'Roland the Minstrel
Pig', followed by Steig's Caldecott Medal-winning 'Sylvester and the
Magic Pebble'. The prestige of Windmill even attracted renowned
painter Jacob Lawrence, whose Harriet and the Promised Land (with
verse by Kraus) became the first children's book reviewed in the Art
section of the 'New York Times' and was recently featured in the
Lawrence retrospective at the Guggenheim. Kraus soon quit the New
Yorker to run Windmill full-time, as publisher, and wrote and
illustrated books for Windmill as well as for Scholastic and other
publishers. Windmill artists included Fred Gwynne (the actor), Edna
Eicke, Robert Byrd, Hans Kraus (no relation), VIP (Virgil Partch) and
Mischa Richter. Windmill published a set of Norman Rockwell covers
with original backstories (which Kraus wrote in consultation with
Rockwell) as 'The Norman Rockwell Storybook' and with filmmaker Robert
Flaherty produced a children's book version of Flaherty's 'Nanook of
the North'. Windmill also pioneered "board" and "bathtub" books that
doubled as toys for very small children, and dabbled in pop culture
with its Elvis calendar and 'Encyclopedia Galactica'.

In spite of its flirtations with the mass market, in the end Windmill
Books proved to be more of a wikt:succès d'estime than anything else.
The company struggled through legal difficulties with its distributor
and was forced to sign over to Simon & Schuster in the 1980s.
Steig's best-known children's book, 'Shrek', was published elsewhere.
Kraus and Windmill are probably best remembered as the author and
publisher of 'Leo the Late Bloomer', 'Whose Mouse Are You', 'Milton
the Early Riser', and other books imaginatively illustrated by Jose
Aruego and Arianne Dewey, as well as the seasonal favorite 'The
Christmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher', illustrated by VIP. Kraus wrote
stories, but his passion was drawing and illustrating--He once said,
"I love drawing...Giving my stories to somebody else was like giving a
way a child." In total before its sale, Windmill House had published
over two hundred books on three continents.

Honors and reception
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Reviewers from the New York Times praise Kraus’ simple but meaningful
style and tone. In regards to his book “Old-Fashioned Raggedy Ann
& Andy ABC Book,” illustrated by Johnny Gruelle, they write
“Evoking nostalgia, this simple--yet elegant--dictionary is based on
the-way-it-used-to-be stylized illustrations and delightful rhymes.”
His stories, Whose Mouse Are You?, Milton the Early Riser, and Owliver
were named notable children’s books by the American Library
Association. His book Herman the Helper was a Trade Book Award Winner
and appeared on the Horn Book Honor List. In the more visible public
domain, his story Leo the Late Bloomer was read on national television
by former First Lady Barbara Bush during her campaign to promote
children’s literacy. A collection of his manuscripts are stored and
preserved at Syracuse University.

End of life
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Kraus died of heart failure in a nursing home in 2001 in Kent,
Connecticut. He is buried at Fairlawn Cemetery in Ridgefield,
Connecticut, and etched on his gravestone is an image of a spider, a
character from one of his books. He is survived by his wife of more
than 50 years, the former Pamela Vivienne Evan-Wong, of Georgetown,
British Guiana, a fellow student at the New York Art Students' League,
and by their two sons, Bruce and Bill and four grandchildren Parker,
Jack, Margaret and Vivienne.

Author Only
!Book Title !Publisher !Year
|Harriet and the Promised Land |Windmill Books |1968
|Whitney Darrow, Jr.'s Unidentified Lying Elephant |Windmill Books
|1968
|The Children Who Got Married |Windmill Books |1969
|Animal Etiquette |Windmill Books |1969
|Don't Talk to Strange Bears |Windmill Books |1969
|Rumple-Nose Dimple and the Three Horrible Snaps |Windmill Books
|1969
|The Christmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher |Windmill Books |1969
|The Rabbit Brothers, Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith |1969
|I'm Glad I'm a Boy, I'm Glad I'm a Girl |Windmill Books |1970
|Whose Mouse Are You? |Macmillan |1970
|Vip's Mistake Book |Windmill Books |1970
|Bunya the Witch |Windmill Books |1971
|Shaggy Fur Face |Windmill Books |1971
|Ludwig, the Dog Who Snored Symphonies |Windmill Books |1971
|Pipsqueak, Mouse in Shining Armor |Windmill Books |1971
|Lillian, Morgan and Teddy |Windmill Books |1971
|The Tree That Stayed Up Until Next Christmas |Windmill Books
|Leo the Late Bloomer |Windmill Books |1971
|Milton the Early Riser |Windmill Books |1972
|How Spider Saved Halloween |Parents Magazine Press |1973
|Big Brother |Parents Magazine Press |1973
|Pip Squeaks Through |Springfellow Press |1973
|Poor Mister Splinterfitz! |Dutton |1973
|Rebecca Hatpin |Windmill Books |1974
|Pinchpennny Mouse |Windmill Books |1974
|Owliver |Windmill Books |1974
|Herman the Helper |Windmill Books |1974
|Three Friends |Windmill Books |1975
|I'm a Monkey |Windmill Books |1975
|The Night-Light Story Book |Windmill Books |1975
|The Gondolier of Venice |Windmill Books |1975
|Boris Bad Enough |Windmill Books |1976
|Dinosaur Do's and Don'ts |Windmill Books |1976
|The Good Mousekeeper |Windmill Books |1977
|The Detective of London (co-written with son, Bruce Kraus) |Windmill
Books |1977
|Noel the Coward |Windmill Books |1977
|Springfellow |Windmill Books |1978
|Musical Max |Windmill Books |1979
|Another Mouse to Feed |Windmill Books |809
|Mouse Work |Windmill Books |1980
|Mert the Blurt |Windmill Books |1980
|Puppet Pal Books (a four volume collection) |Windmill Books |1981
|The Old Fashioned Raggedy Ann & Andy ABC Book |Windmill Books /
Simon and Schuster |1981
|The King's Trousers |Windmill Books |1981
|Leo the Late Bloomer Takes a Bath |Windmill Books |1981
|Herman the Helper Cleans Up |Windmill Books |1981
|See the Christmas Lights |Windmill Books |1981
|Box of Brownies (a four volume collection) |Windmill Books |1981
|Tony the Truck |Grosset & Dunlap |1985
|Mrs. Elmo of Elephant House |Delacorte Press |1986
|Where Are You Going, Little Mouse? |Greenwillow Books |1986
|Screamy Mimi |Simon & Schuster |1987
|Come Out and Play, Little Mouse |Greenwillow Books |1987
|The Hoodwinking of Mrs. Elmo |Delacorte Press |1987
|Robert Kraus' A Sunny Day in Babytown |Little Simon |1987
|Robert Kraus' Babytown Express |Little Simon |1987
|Robert Kraus' Meet the Babies |Little Simon |1987
|Robert Kraus' Welcome to Babytown |Little Simon |1987
|Little Beep |Little Simon |1987
|Tiny Tow Truck |Little Simon |1987
|How Spider Saved Easter |Scholastic |1988
|Noah Count Vampire Detective in Mummy Vanishes: A Mummy Dearest
Creepy Hollow Whoooooooodunnit? |Warner Juvenile Books |1988
|How Spider Saved Thanksgiving |Scholastic |1991
|How Spider Saved the Flea Circus |Scholastic |1991
|How Spider Stopped the Litterbugs |Scholastic |1991
|Dr. Mouse, Bungle Jungle Doctor |Western |1992
|All My Chickens |Western |1993
|Dance, Spider, Dance! |Western |1993
|The Adventures of Wise Old Owl |Troll Assosciates |1993
|Jack O'Lantern's Scary Halloween |Western |1993
|Fables Aesop Never Wrote but Robert Kraus Did |Viking |1994
|Near Myths: Dug Up and Dusted Off |Viking |1996
|Big Squeak, Little Squak |Orchard Books |1996
|O'Malley |Orchard Books |1996
|Little Louie the Baby Bloomer |Harper Collins |1998
|The Making of Monkey King (retold with Debby Chen) |Pan Asian
Publications |1998
|Mort the Sport |Orchard Books |2000
|Mouse in Love |Orchard Books |2000
Illustrator Only
!Book !Author !Publisher !Year
|Red Fox and the Hungry Tiger |Paul Anderson |Addison-Wesley |1962
|Rabbit and Skunk and the Spooks |Carla Stevens |Scholastic |1968
|Rabbit and Skunk and the Scary Rock |Carla Stevens |Scholastic |1970
|Cleveland Amory's Animail |Cleveland Amory |Dutton |1976
|Rabbit and Skunk and the Big Fight |Carla Stevens |Scholastic |1976
Author and Illustrator
!Book !Publisher !Year
|Junior the Spoiled Cat |Oxford University Press |1955
|All the Mice Came |Harper |1955
|Ladybug, Ladybug |Harper |1955
|The Littlest Rabbit |Harper |1957
|I, Mouse |Harper |1958
|The Trouble with Spider |Harper |1962
|Miranda's Beautiful Dream |Harper |1964
|Penguin's Pal |Harper |1964
|Mouse at Sea |Harper |1964
|Amanda Remembers |Harper |1965
|"The Bunny's Nutshell" library series: * The Silver Dandelion *
Juniper * The First Robin * Springfellow's Parade |Harper |1965
|My Son, the Mouse |Harper |1967
|Little Giant |Harper |1967
|Hello Hippopotamus (under pseudonym Eugene H. Hippopotamus)
|Windmill Books |1969
|Daddy Long Ears |Windmill Books |1970
|How Spider Saved Christmas |Windmill Books |1970
|The Tale Who Wagged the Dog |Windmill Books |1971
|"The Night Light" library series: * Good Night, Little One * Good
Night, Little ABC * Good Night, Little Richard Ravvit |Sprinfellow
|1972
|Animal Families |Windmill Books |1980
|See the Moon |Windmill Books |1980
|How Spider Saved Turkey |Windmill Books |1981
|The Old-Fashioned Raggedy Ann and Andy ABC Book |Windmill Books /
Simon & Schuster |1982
|Bumpy the Car |Putnam |1985
|Squeaky (under pseudonym S. Silly) |Windmill Books |1982
|Squeaky's One Man Band (under pseudonym S. Silly) |Windmill Books
|1982
|I'm a Little Airplane (under pseudonym I.M. Tubby) |Tubby Books
|1982
|I'm a Little Fish (under pseudonym I.M. Tubby) |Tubby Books |1982
|I'm a Little House (under pseudonym I.M. Tubby) |Tubby Books |1982
|I'm a Little Tugboat (under pseudonym I.M. Tubby) |Tubby Books
|1982
|Freddy and the Fire Engine |Putnam |1985
|How Spider Saved Valentine's Day |Scholastic |1986
|Spider's First Day at School |Scholastic |1987
|Happy City |Simon & Schuster |1987
|Happy Farm |Simon & Schuster |1987
|Spider's Home Town: A Story to Color |Scholastic |1988
|Here Comes Tardy Toad |Silver Press |1989
|Ella the Bad Speller |Silver Press |1989
|Good Morning, Miss Gator |Silver Press |1989
|Buggy Bear Cleans Up |Silver Press |1989
|How Spider Saved the Baseball Game |Scholastic |1989
|Phil, the Ventriloquist |Greenwillow |1989
|Daddy Long Ears Christmas Surprise |Simon & Schuster |1990
|Daddy Long Ears Halloween |Simon & Schuster |1990
|Private Eyes Don't Blink |Warner Books |1990
|Spider's Baby-Sitting Job |Scholastic |1990
|Spider's Draw-a-Long Book |Scholastic |1990
|Creepy Hollow Ghostly Glowing Haunted House |Warner Books |1990
|Boogie Woogie Bears Go Back to Nature |Warner Books |1990
|Boogie Woogie Bears' Picnic |Warner Books |1990
|Jack Galaxy, Space Cop |Bantam |1990
|Klunky Monkey, New Kid in Class |Bantam |1990
|Mixed-Up Mice Clean House |Warner Books |1990
|Mixed-Up Mice in the Big Birthday Mix-Up |Warner Books |1990
|Mummy Knows Best |Warner Books |1990
|Mummy Vanishes |Warner Books |1990
|Musical Max |Simon & Schuster |1990
|The Phantom of Creepy Hollow |Warner Books |1990
|Squirmy's big Secret (with Bonnie Brook) |Silver Press |1990
|Wise Old Owl's Halloween Adventure (with Pamela Kraus) |Troll |1993
|Wise Old Owl's Christmas Adventure (with Pamela Kraus) |Troll |1993

References
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*
*
* Nakamura, ed., Something About the Author, vol.11, Gale Research,
Inc. 1991177-196.----

External links
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*
[http://www.thenewyorkerstore.com/search_results_category.asp?sitetype=1&artist=Robert+Kraus§ion=prints&advanced=1&title=Robert+Kraus
Robert Kraus' covers for the New Yorker]
* [http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/k/kraus_r.htm Robert Kraus
Cartoons (1955-1968)] at Syracuse University (primary source material)

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