Tana Hoban Dies at 88

By Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 3/1/2006

Tana Hoban, who stunned the children’s book world more than 30 years ago with her innovative black-and-white photographs in Count and See died January 27 in Paris, France. She was 88.

Born in Philadelphia, Hoban attended Moore College of Art and Design, where she won a fellowship to study painting in England and Holland. Soon after, she began a career in magazine illustration and photography. In 1949, her photographs of children were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

In 1970, Hoban turned her attention from taking photographs of children to making photographs for children. What followed was a series of books, beginning with Shapes and Things (S & S, 1970), which won rave reviews from the publishing world.

Hoban once said of her work, “I like to draw the child into my photographs and say, 'Come closer, take another look,' and most important, 'See everything!'”

Is It Red? Is It Yellow? Is It Blue? (1978), a book of color photographs, and Take Another Look (1981, both Greenwillow), a book of photos and die-cut images, were named American Library Association notable books.

“[Tana] has given us an extraordinary and innovative body of work, and her books will continue to delight and enrich young children for years to come,” says Virginia Duncan, vice president and publisher of Greenwillow Books.