• Home
  • Books
    • A River’s Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn
    • Planet Ocean
    • Eavesdropping on Elephants
    • Neema’s Reason To Smile
    • Zoo Scientists to the Rescue
    • Sea Otter Heroes: The Predators That Saved an Ecosystem
    • Plastic, Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
    • Ebola: Fears and Facts
    • Jingle the Brass
    • Nugget on the Flight Deck
    • Surviving Animal Attacks
    • Elite Operations series
    • Energy Lab series
    • QuickReads Fluency Library
    • Books for English language-learners
    • Writers write all kinds of things
  • Author Visit Programs
    • FAQs
    • Calendar
  • Blog
  • Educator Resources
    • STEM + Literacy Activities
    • LitLinks
    • Teacher Guides
    • KidLit creators who make kids want to read
  • Writer Resources
    • Manuscript or Proposal Critiques
  • Who is Patricia Newman?
  • Contact
    • Stay In Touch
Patricia NewmanPatricia Newman
Sibert Honor Children's Book Author & Environmentalist
  • Home
  • Books
    • A River’s Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn
    • Planet Ocean
    • Eavesdropping on Elephants
    • Neema’s Reason To Smile
    • Zoo Scientists to the Rescue
    • Sea Otter Heroes: The Predators That Saved an Ecosystem
    • Plastic, Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
    • Ebola: Fears and Facts
    • Jingle the Brass
    • Nugget on the Flight Deck
    • Surviving Animal Attacks
    • Elite Operations series
    • Energy Lab series
    • QuickReads Fluency Library
    • Books for English language-learners
    • Writers write all kinds of things
  • Author Visit Programs
    • FAQs
    • Calendar
  • Blog
  • Educator Resources
    • STEM + Literacy Activities
    • LitLinks
    • Teacher Guides
    • KidLit creators who make kids want to read
  • Writer Resources
    • Manuscript or Proposal Critiques
  • Who is Patricia Newman?
  • Contact
    • Stay In Touch

Elisa Kleven, found object artist

Elisa Kleven
Elisa Kleven's Website

SELECTIONS FROM ELISA KLEVEN’S LIBRARY

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR
A Monster in the House, Dutton Children’s Books, 1998.
The Puddle Pail, Dutton Children’s Books, 1997.
Hooray, A Pinata!, Dutton Children’s Books, 1996.
The Paper Princess, Dutton Children’s Books, 1994.
The Lion and the Little Red Bird, Dutton Children’s Books, 1992.

ILLUSTRATOR
City of Angels: In and Around Los Angeles by Julie Jaskol, Dutton Children’s Books, 1999.
The City by the Bay: A Magical Journey Around San Francisco by Tricia Brown, Chronicle Books, 1998.
Diez Deditos: 10 Little Fingers and Other Play Rhymes and Action Songs from Latin-America translated by Jos¾-Luis Orozco, Dutton Children’s Books, 1997.
“Des Colores” and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children translated by Jos-Luis Orozco, Dutton Children’s Books, 1994.
Abuela by Arthur Dorros, Dutton Children’s Books, 1991.

UPCOMING
Our Big Home by Linda Glaser, Millbrook Press, Fall 2000.
Sunbread, Dutton Children’s Books, Spring 2001.

Meet Elisa Kleven

One of Elisa Kleven’s fans writes: “Thank you for teaching us to have good imaginations. . .Where do you get the imagination?”

Kleven is one of the lucky artists whose imagination comes from within herself. “I’ve had a lifelong urge to make magical worlds out of found objects. The desire to play and imagine and act out stories has always been a part of me. I never quite outgrew it. I translated my play from the world of toys to the worlds I make inside my books.” Scraps of paper, swatches of fabric, ribbons, lace, and yarn have all found their way into Kleven’s deliciously colorful and cluttered art work.

After one of Kleven’s school visits, teachers report an outbreak of collages in the classroom. “My style and my materials are naturally accessible to kids. They’re very childlike and very tactile. I think kids feel like they can do it themselves.”

Although all of Kleven’s book are “her children,” The Paper Princess touches her the most deeply. “I feel like the little girl who makes the paper princess. When I make a book, I have to let it go.” Kleven feels that the paper doll flying away and taking on a life of its own is a metaphor for her books. Just as the world finished the paper doll, “the world finishes my books by reading them.”

Kleven’s characters come alive as she works. “There must be a spirit I’m connected to, otherwise I get bored.” She likes the Paper Princess for her bold, fearless nature and her ability to overcome her limitations; Ernst (The Puddle Pail) is a dreamy, inward character who makes his wish come true in the face of criticism; and the Lion (The Lion and the Little Red Bird) has the power to communicate through art that goes beyond language.

According to Kleven, “ideas come from all over.” There’s a Monster in the House grew out of her daughter’s love and exasperation with her new baby brother. Hooray, A Pinata!started as an experience at a child’s birthday party. Kleven shies away from stories calculated to fit into a curriculum or for their merchandising appeal. “My books aren’t trendy. I write from the heart.” Consequently, the artwork for her stories comes from her home life or her own imagination. Occasionally, research is required for a book. For The City by the Bay, the City of Angels, and Abuela, Kleven journeyed to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York, respectively and “shot rolls of film.” For the Latin American song books by Jos¾-Luis Orozco, Kleven paid special attention to the costumes and scenery to create culturally accurate illustrations.

Writing from the heart works for Kleven. Her books have won numerous awards and have been anthologized in textbooks. Abuela was featured on two PBS television programs:Reading Rainbow and Storytime. The Lion and the Little Red Bird and The Paper Princesswere chosen as Storytime selections.

Kleven lives in Albany, California with her husband, two children, and an aging dog and cat. She studied literature at the University of California, Berkeley and taught fourth grade and art. But then she discovered book making and realized it was the career for her. “It’s part of my nature. I would be unhappy if I couldn’t use my imagination. I’m lucky to have a niche to keep the child in me alive. I get a deep satisfaction and joy when children respond. The kids are my true critics.”

Empowering young readers to act

Latest Blog Posts

  • LitLinks: How time travel will help students reduce single-use plastic
    LitLinks: How time travel will help students reduce single-use plastic
  • LitLinks: An easy lesson to help students write a desert rap
    LitLinks: An easy lesson to help students write a desert rap

What's happening on Twitter

  • It's #internationdayofthegirl 🥳 Celebrate #girlpower w books abt ♀️ #scientists #WomenInSTEM #scicomm #STEM…  http://t.co/ALmXSCYDrs 
  • 5 months ago
  • RT  @mstewartscience : Love seeing all those smiling faces!
  • 5 months ago

Follow @PatriciaNewman

Action Shots

Check out the STEM Tuesday Blog

© 2023 — Patricia Newman

  • Home
  • Books
    • A River’s Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn
    • Planet Ocean
    • Eavesdropping on Elephants
    • Neema’s Reason To Smile
    • Zoo Scientists to the Rescue
    • Sea Otter Heroes: The Predators That Saved an Ecosystem
    • Plastic, Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
    • Ebola: Fears and Facts
    • Jingle the Brass
    • Nugget on the Flight Deck
    • Surviving Animal Attacks
    • Elite Operations series
    • Energy Lab series
    • QuickReads Fluency Library
    • Books for English language-learners
    • Writers write all kinds of things
  • Author Visit Programs
    • FAQs
    • Calendar
  • Blog
  • Educator Resources
    • STEM + Literacy Activities
    • LitLinks
    • Teacher Guides
    • KidLit creators who make kids want to read
  • Writer Resources
    • Manuscript or Proposal Critiques
  • Who is Patricia Newman?
  • Contact
    • Stay In Touch