Ruth Heller Gross[1] (1923–2004), professionally known as Ruth Heller, was a children's author and graphic artist known for her use of bright color and detail in both geometric design and the representation of creatures, plants, patterns, and puzzles. She worked primarily with a combination of colored pencil and marker for her book illustrations. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, she grew up in San Francisco, California, USA, where she lived until she died of cancer in 2004.[1]
Heller began her career designing wrapping paper, cocktail napkins, greeting cards, and coloring books. She then went on to start writing and illustrating children's books in 1981. After a 6-year struggle she found a publisher for her first book, Chickens Aren't the Only Ones.[2] Her books are written in a rhyming verse reminiscent of Gilbert and Sullivan, Hilaire Belloc, or Dr. Seuss.
Heller received a degree in Fine Arts from the University of California, Berkeley in 1946. She paid for her own education through secretarial work and proceeded to work as a secretary following graduation.
In the early 1950s she married Henry Heller and had two sons, Paul and Philip. Ms. Heller completed two years of graduate work in design at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland,[3] and got her first art job in the early 1960s, designing napkins, matchboxes, and gift wrap for Cost Plus. Henry died in 1965 and Ms. Heller poured herself into her career from then on, eventually expanding into illustrating puzzle books and coloring books for kids and adults.
In 1980, Ms. Heller visited an artists' colony in upstate New York, called Yaddo. She left that determined to start a new writing career. In 1985 she married Richard Gross who supported her work with enthusiasm until his death in 2002.
Most of Heller's books were published by Grosset & Dunlap. She wrote a brief autobiography called Fine Lines[4] which was published in 1996.
Coloring books
These coloring books have designs in them on a wide range of subjects and are appropriate for children or adults.[5]
Color and Puzzle (1968)
The Oriental Rug Coloring Book (1973)
Designs for Coloring
Designs for Coloring (1976?)
Designs for Coloring: More Designs (1976)
Designs for Coloring: 3 (1977)
Designs for Coloring: 4 (1977)
Designs for Coloring: Jumbo (1980)
Creative Coloring Activity: Designs by Ruth Heller (1981)
Designs for Coloring: Stitch (1984)
Designs for Coloring: Owls (1985)
Designs for Coloring: Geometrics (1990)
Designs for Coloring: Butterflies (1990)
Designs for Coloring: Cats (1990)
Designs for Coloring: Birds (1990)
Designs for Coloring: Flowers (1990)
Designs for Coloring: Snowflakes (1990)
Designs for Coloring: The Hebrew Alphabet (1991)
Designs for Coloring: Optical Art (1992)
Designs for Coloring: Seashells (1992)
Designs for Coloring: Tropical Fish (1997)
Designs for Coloring: The Far East (1997)
Designs for Coloring: Ancient Egypt (1999)
Designs for Coloring: More Flowers (1999)
Designs for Coloring: Prisms (2000)
Designs for Coloring: Insects and Spiders (2000)
Stained Glass Designs for Coloring
Stained Glass Designs for Coloring: Geometrics (1998)
Stained Glass Designs for Coloring: Snowflakes (1998)
Stained Glass Designs for Coloring: More Geometrics (2000)
Children's books
Non-fiction picture books used in schools and especially popular in ESL programs.
World of Nature series
Chickens Aren't the Only Ones (about egg-laying animals, 1981).
Animals Born Alive And Well (about mammals, 1982)
The Reason For A Flower (about plants that have seeds and flowers, 1983)
Plants That Never Ever Bloom (about plants that do not, 1984)
How to Hide - a series on camouflage
How to Hide a Whip-poor-will and Other Birds (1986)
How to Hide a Butterfly and Other Insects (1992)
How to Hide an Octopus and Other Sea Creatures (1992)
How to Hide a Polar Bear and Other Mammals ( 1994)
How to Hide a Crocodile and Other Reptiles (1994)
How to Hide a Meadow Frog and Other Amphibians (1995)
How to Hide a Parakeet and Other Birds (1995)
World of Language - a series on parts of speech
A Cache of Jewels and Other Collective Nouns (1987)
Kites Sail High: A Book About Verbs (1988)
Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives (1989)
Merry-Go-Round: A Book About Nouns (1990)
Up, Up and Away: A Book About Adverbs (1991)
Behind the Mask: A Book About Prepositions (1995)
Mine, All Mine: A Book about Pronouns (1997)
Fantastic! Wow! And Unreal! A Book about Interjections and Conjunctions (1998)
Color (a guide to how art goes through the four-color printing process, 1999)
A Sea within a Sea: Secrets of the Sargasso (2000)
Galapagos Means Tortoises (2003)
Illustration
Heller also illustrated five books by other authors and a Merriam-Webster dictionary for very young children.
The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo (1991)
King of the Birds by Shirley Climo (1991)
King Solomon and the Bee by Dalia Hardof Renberg (1994)
The Korean Cinderella by Shirley Climo (1996)
Blue Potatoes, Orange Tomatoes by Rosalind Creasy (2000)
Merriam-Webster's Primary Dictionary (2005)
Merriam-Webster's Alphabet Book (2005)
References
^ abSan Francisco Chronicle obituary article by Nanette Asimov, July 3, 2004
^"OBITUARIES: Ruth Heller. 2004". The Horn Book Magazine. 80 (6): 742. November 2004.
External links
"Talking with Ruth Heller", by Beth W. Leistensnider, Book Links, May 2003
August 22, 2023
ruth, heller, gross, 1923, 2004, professionally, known, children, author, graphic, artist, known, bright, color, detail, both, geometric, design, representation, creatures, plants, patterns, puzzles, worked, primarily, with, combination, colored, pencil, marke. Ruth Heller Gross 1 1923 2004 professionally known as Ruth Heller was a children s author and graphic artist known for her use of bright color and detail in both geometric design and the representation of creatures plants patterns and puzzles She worked primarily with a combination of colored pencil and marker for her book illustrations Born in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada she grew up in San Francisco California USA where she lived until she died of cancer in 2004 1 Ruth HellerBorn1923Winnipeg Manitoba CanadaDied2004 age 81 OccupationAuthor artistGenreChildren s LiteratureHeller began her career designing wrapping paper cocktail napkins greeting cards and coloring books She then went on to start writing and illustrating children s books in 1981 After a 6 year struggle she found a publisher for her first book Chickens Aren t the Only Ones 2 Her books are written in a rhyming verse reminiscent of Gilbert and Sullivan Hilaire Belloc or Dr Seuss Contents 1 Biography 2 Coloring books 3 Children s books 4 Illustration 5 References 6 External linksBiography EditHeller received a degree in Fine Arts from the University of California Berkeley in 1946 She paid for her own education through secretarial work and proceeded to work as a secretary following graduation In the early 1950s she married Henry Heller and had two sons Paul and Philip Ms Heller completed two years of graduate work in design at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland 3 and got her first art job in the early 1960s designing napkins matchboxes and gift wrap for Cost Plus Henry died in 1965 and Ms Heller poured herself into her career from then on eventually expanding into illustrating puzzle books and coloring books for kids and adults In 1980 Ms Heller visited an artists colony in upstate New York called Yaddo She left that determined to start a new writing career In 1985 she married Richard Gross who supported her work with enthusiasm until his death in 2002 Most of Heller s books were published by Grosset amp Dunlap She wrote a brief autobiography called Fine Lines 4 which was published in 1996 Coloring books EditThese coloring books have designs in them on a wide range of subjects and are appropriate for children or adults 5 Color and Puzzle 1968 The Oriental Rug Coloring Book 1973 Designs for Coloring Designs for Coloring 1976 Designs for Coloring More Designs 1976 Designs for Coloring 3 1977 Designs for Coloring 4 1977 Designs for Coloring Jumbo 1980 Creative Coloring Activity Designs by Ruth Heller 1981 Designs for Coloring Stitch 1984 Designs for Coloring Owls 1985 Designs for Coloring Geometrics 1990 Designs for Coloring Butterflies 1990 Designs for Coloring Cats 1990 Designs for Coloring Birds 1990 Designs for Coloring Flowers 1990 Designs for Coloring Snowflakes 1990 Designs for Coloring The Hebrew Alphabet 1991 Designs for Coloring Optical Art 1992 Designs for Coloring Seashells 1992 Designs for Coloring Tropical Fish 1997 Designs for Coloring The Far East 1997 Designs for Coloring Ancient Egypt 1999 Designs for Coloring More Flowers 1999 Designs for Coloring Prisms 2000 Designs for Coloring Insects and Spiders 2000 Stained Glass Designs for Coloring Stained Glass Designs for Coloring Geometrics 1998 Stained Glass Designs for Coloring Snowflakes 1998 Stained Glass Designs for Coloring More Geometrics 2000 Children s books EditNon fiction picture books used in schools and especially popular in ESL programs World of Nature series Chickens Aren t the Only Ones about egg laying animals 1981 Animals Born Alive And Well about mammals 1982 The Reason For A Flower about plants that have seeds and flowers 1983 Plants That Never Ever Bloom about plants that do not 1984 How to Hide a series on camouflage How to Hide a Whip poor will and Other Birds 1986 How to Hide a Butterfly and Other Insects 1992 How to Hide an Octopus and Other Sea Creatures 1992 How to Hide a Polar Bear and Other Mammals 1994 How to Hide a Crocodile and Other Reptiles 1994 How to Hide a Meadow Frog and Other Amphibians 1995 How to Hide a Parakeet and Other Birds 1995 World of Language a series on parts of speech A Cache of Jewels and Other Collective Nouns 1987 Kites Sail High A Book About Verbs 1988 Many Luscious Lollipops A Book About Adjectives 1989 Merry Go Round A Book About Nouns 1990 Up Up and Away A Book About Adverbs 1991 Behind the Mask A Book About Prepositions 1995 Mine All Mine A Book about Pronouns 1997 Fantastic Wow And Unreal A Book about Interjections and Conjunctions 1998 Color a guide to how art goes through the four color printing process 1999 A Sea within a Sea Secrets of the Sargasso 2000 Galapagos Means Tortoises 2003 Illustration EditHeller also illustrated five books by other authors and a Merriam Webster dictionary for very young children The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo 1991 King of the Birds by Shirley Climo 1991 King Solomon and the Bee by Dalia Hardof Renberg 1994 The Korean Cinderella by Shirley Climo 1996 Blue Potatoes Orange Tomatoes by Rosalind Creasy 2000 Merriam Webster s Primary Dictionary 2005 Merriam Webster s Alphabet Book 2005 References Edit a b San Francisco Chronicle obituary article by Nanette Asimov July 3 2004 Chickens Aren t the Only Ones ISBN 9780613734691 Penguin Group Author Profile of Ruth Heller Fine Lines ISBN 1 878450 76 X OBITUARIES Ruth Heller 2004 The Horn Book Magazine 80 6 742 November 2004 External links Edit Talking with Ruth Heller by Beth W Leistensnider Book Links May 2003 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ruth Heller amp oldid 1119465015, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
