Frané Lessac

Frané Lessac is a U.S born author, illustrator and painter who currently lives and works in Western Australia. Frané Lessac has published over 35 books for children and won numerous awards for her illustrations.^[1] Frané Lessac currently resides in Fremantle, Western Australia.

Early life

Frané Lessac grew up in New Jersey and was influenced by weekends spent exploring the artistic and cultural milieu of New York city. As a teenager Lessac moved to California to study film, and then in 1978 to the Caribbean island of Montserrat, which was to become the subject of her first children's book, My Little Island in 1984. The bright colors and patterns of the old-style West Indian architecture and culture of Montserrat proved to be a continuing influence in many of Lessac's subsequent books, and Naïve art style paintings.^[2]

Career

After My Little Island, Lessac went on to publish a number of children's books, initially in the U.K, the U.S and later in Australia where she relocated with her husband, author and musician, Mark Greenwood.^[3] Her first book, My Little Island, was named Children's Book of the Year by the St Martins Children's Book Council and also became a feature book on the popular U.S television program Reading Rainbow. In 2002 Lessac won the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards for The Legend of Moondyne Joe^[4] was nominated as an Honor book in the Children's Book of the Year Award: Eve Pownall Award for Information Books ^[5] for Simpson and his Donkey both of which were written by her husband and frequent collaborator, Mark Greenwood. In 2002 Frané Lessac founded a Western Australian Branch of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.^[6] For her contribution to children's literature in Western Australia Lessac was awarded the 2010 Muriel Barwell Award by The Children's Book Council of Australia WA Branch.^[7]

Books

As illustrator

• The Dragon of Redonda by Jan Jackson (1986)
• The Chalk Doll by Charlotte Pomerantz (1989)
• The Bird Who Was An Elephant by Aleph Kamal (1989)
• The Turtle and The Island by Barbra Ker Wilson (1990)
• Nine O'Clock Lullaby by Marilyn Singer (1990)
• Caribbean Carnivalsongs by Irving Burgie (1992)
• The Fire Children retold by Eric Maddern (1993)
• Little Gray Oneby Jan Wahl (1993)
• Not A Copper Penny by Monica Gunning (1993)
• Magic Boomerang by Mark Greenwood (1994)
• Wonderful Towers of Wattsby Patricia Zelver (1994)
• Outback Adventure by Mark Greenwood (1994)
• The Distant Talking Drum by Isaac Olaleye (1994)
• Good Rhymes Good Times by Lee Bennett Hopkins (1995)
• Our Big Island by Mark Greenwood (1995)
• O Christmas Tree! by Vashanti Rahaman (1996)
• Queen Esther Saves Her People Rita Gelman (1998)
• On the Same Day in March by Marilyn Singer (2000)
• The Legend of Moondyne Joe Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac (2002)
• Capital! Washington D-C from A-Z by Laura Melmed (2003)
• Maui and the Big Fish by Barbra Ker Wilson (2003)
• New York- The Big Apple from A-Z by Laura Melmed (2005)
• Monday on the Mississippi by Marilyn Singer (2005)
• The Day of the Elephant by Barbra Ker Wilson (2005)
• Simpson and his Donkey Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac (2008)
• Clouds by Anne Rockwell (2008)
• Heart of Texas by Laura Melmed (2009)
• Ned Kelly and the Green Sash Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac (2010)
• The Greatest Liar on Earth Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac (2012)
• The Drummer Boy of John John Mark Greenwood & Frané Lessac (2012)
• "The Book Boat's In" Cynthia Cotten & Frané Lessac (2013)
• A is for Australia; A Factastic Tour (2015)^[8]

As author and illustrator

• My Little Island (1984)
• Caribbean Canvas (1987)
• Caribbean Alphabet (1989)
• Camp Granada (2003)
• Island Counting 1-2-3 (2005)

References