Else Minarik was born Else Holmelund on September 13, 1920, in Denmark. Her family moved to the US when she was 4. At first she hated everything American, especially the language. Her dad tried to show her the cool side of American culture by taking her to cowboy movies.
Eventually she acclimated, and now she considers American English "one of the most vigorous and colorful to be found on this planet. Even in its simplest form, the form I use in my reader-picture books for children, it is a wonderful tool for a writer."
She has degrees in psychology and education, and taught first grade for many years. She realized that most little kids don't even think about reading in the summertime, and in the fall, they come back to school far behind in reading skills. With this in mind, she wrote the first Little Bear book, hoping it would be interesting enough to make kids want to read it, even if a teacher weren't bugging them to do so. She submitted it to Harper and Row, and it was accepted immediately. Maurice Sendak illustrated it, and it was made the first of the I Can Read series.
Else enjoys gardening and is looking forward to grandchildren. She lives on a farm in New Hampshire.
Books:
The Adventures of Little Bear
Am I Beautiful?
Cat and Dog
Father Bear Comes Home
A Kiss for Little Bear
Little Bear
Little Bear's Friend
Little Bear's Visit
No Fighting, No Biting
thanks to:
http://www.edupaperback.org/authorbios/minarik.html
www.amazon.com
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