Kay Chorao
Personal Information
Description
Kay Chorao was born as Ann McKay Sproat in Elkhart, Indiana, into a middle-class, suburban family. As a child, she loved to draw. In 1958 she received a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Wheaton College. After graduating, she went to Chelsea School of Art from 1958-1959. She married and had three children, then moved to New York City with her family. She studied book illustration at School of Visual Arts in New York from 1966-1968. Her first book, The Repair of Uncle Toe, was published in 1972. Since then, she has written and illustrated more than fifty books. In 1975, she illustrated Albert's Toothache by Barbara Williams. The book was critically successful, being given the American Library Association's notable book citation and Children's Book Showcase title. In 1979, her 1974 book Ida Makes a Movie was adapted into a short film by the same name. In 1988, she published Cathedral Mouse, which was well-received by critics and featured among the ten best children's picture books of the year, by New York Times.
Books
Lester's Overnight
Lester was spending his first night away from home. And what a difference between Auntie Belle's house and the one where he lived. Not only did she have broccoli instead of carrot sticks and purple soap instead of white soap — there was a tiger in the living room and a good knight upon the house! But what Lester minded most was that there was no mother and no father at Auntie Belle's. Any child who has or is about to experience pangs and the fun of a first "overnight" will take Lester's story to heart — and want to hear its reassuring happenings read many times.
A magic eye for Ida
Running away because she feels ordinary and ignored, Ida meets a palmist who helps her find a special talent of her own.
Number one number fun
Pigs, chickens, and other farm animals prance and balance in piles, while the reader is invited to add and subtract their numbers.
Baby's Christmas treasury
A collection of poems, stories, and songs about Christmas.
Oink and Pearl
Presents the adventures of two piglets, Pearl and her little brother Oink.
The cherry pie baby
Bored with her doll and longing for a real baby brother, Annie swaps five of her father's pies for a baby from another dog family and finds out just how much trouble an infant can be.
Lemon moon
Grams has difficulty believing her grandchild who is convinced that the moon grew stars and a cat on a cloud ate the stars with a spoon.
The repair of Uncle Toe
A little boy is lonely when he goes to live with his busy shoemaker uncle.
Annie and Cousin Precious
When Cousin Precious comes for a visit, Papa expects Annie to be a good hostess. But it's hard, because Precious is not a good guest. For one thing, her fancy dance shoes go tippy-tap, tippy-tap all the time. She plays too rough with Annie's dollies. And she insists on always having her own way. Cousin Precious starts wreaking havoc in the special playhouse that Papa built, and Annie decides she has had enough of being a hostess. Nothing is resolved until the two girls confront their differences-and finally discover that maybe they can get along after all.
Pig and Crow
Crow tricks Pig by trading him supposedly magic items for food, but in the process Pig discovers the value of hard work, patience, and an appreciation for beauty and joy.
Molly's Moe
Through a process of systematic deduction, Molly finds not only her lost stuffed dinosaur, Moe, but lots of other things she's misplaced.
The Baby's Story Book
Includes fifteen familiar folk tales and fables, such as "The Gingerbread Boy," "The Hare and the Turtle," "The Little Red Hen," and "The Lion and the Mouse."
Here comes Kate
In four stories, Kate, a young elephant, plays in the snow, learns to appreciate her new quilt, fusses over a lost toy, and quiets the crying of her baby cousin.
Ralph and the Queen's Bathtub
Provoked by his family, Ralph runs away from his apartment to a tall scary house where he is sure a giant witch lives, peeks in the window, and has the adventure of his life.
Carousel Round and Round
The sun goes down, the moon comes up, and the carousel moves slower and slower. The animals push and shove, but they can't get it turning again. Then a giant lifts the carousel high in the air, and disaster seems certain. Surprise! Music rises, the "giant" goes back to bed, and the carousel animals again circle happily round and round. Sprightly rhyme, finely painted illustrations, and a surprise ending make this a perfect bedtime story for very young children.