Lois Ehlert, the illustrator of the famous children’s book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, died Tuesday. She was 86.
Publisher Simon & Schuster said Ehlert died in Milwaukee from natural causes, ABC News reported.
Ehlert’s cut-and-paste shapes and the vibrant colors she utilized in her illustration style created an iconic look that placed her among the most popular illustrators of books for preschoolers in the late 20th century.
The 1989 Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book, written by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, sold more than 12 million copies, according to Simon & Schuster.
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Ehlert’s illustrative storytelling depicted a simple brown-and-green coconut tree with multicolored capital letters attempting to gather on top of it, threatening to cause the tree to tumble to the ground. The text in the book repeats, “Chicka chicka boom boom! Will there be enough room?”
Born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, Ehlert graduated from Milwaukee’s Layton School of Art. She started her career in graphic design and later began illustrating children’s books in her 50s. She was granted the Caldecott Honor as the author and illustrator of Color Zoo.
Her works include the 1987 book Growing Vegetable Soup, 1988’s Planting a Rainbow, 1989’s Eating the Alphabet, and 2001’s Waiting for Wings.
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The Washington Examiner contacted Simon & Schuster but did not immediately receive a response.
