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Charlotte Steiner (1898-1981), author and illustrator of children's books, published more than seventy books between 1939 and 1972 in the USA. She both wrote and illustrated most of them, and she illustrated the texts of other authors. Her books demonstrate remarkable insight into the psyche of the children for whom she created wonderful stories.
Her first Doubleday title, Lulu, published in 1939, consists of exquisite drawings of a young girl, Lulu, sitting on a chair and drawing a picture of a dog. The dog comes to life and becomes her companion, eating a meal with Lulu, going to the pond with her, and catching fish with her. When Lulu does not succeed in catching a fish, she cries and the dog comforts her, and tries to catch a fish in order to console her. It succeeds, and both Lulu and the dog happily walk back home. The only text is on the first page, giving the name of Lulu and her adventures, and on the end page announcing the end of the story. This moving story, told only with simple, repetitive drawings of Lulu, in white overalls with "Lulu" embroidered on the bib, the dog, and simple objects, captures perfectly the egocentric imagination of preschoolers then and always. Knowing her intended audience and creating books that appealed to them is the keystone of her entire opus.
Charlotte Klein was born on November 17, 1898 in Nový Bydzov, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia. In 1911, she moved with her parents, Adele and Bernard Klein, and her older brother Ernst, to Vienna. By the age of ten, Charlotte was fluent in Czech, German, English and French. She subsequently studied in Prague, Vienna, and Paris. In 1922 she married Friedrich Steiner, a businessman, in Vienna....