Jean Marzollo (June 24, 1942 – April 10, 2018) was an American children's author and illustrator. She wrote more than 100 books, including the best-selling and award-winning I Spy series for children, written completely in rhythm and rhyme.

Biography

Born and raised in Connecticut, Marzollo was a graduate of Manchester High School (1960), the University of Connecticut (1964) where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education (1965). Marzollo was a high school English teacher in Arlington, MA (1965–1966) and the assistant director of Harvard's Project Upward Bound (1967). In New York City, she worked on early childhood research projects for General Learning Corp. (1967–1969) and was the Director of Publications for the National Commission on Resources for Youth (1970–1971). For 20 years (1972–1992), she edited Scholastic's "Let's Find Out" Magazine, working closely with art director Carol Devine Carson. She has written books for teachers and parents, as well as articles about children for Parents Magazine, Redbook, and other parenting magazines. Marzollo was known for her best-selling and award-winning I Spy series with photographic illustrator Walter Wick. Among her other children's books are: Help Me Learn Addition, Help Me Learn Numbers 0-20, The Little Plant Doctor, Pierre the Penguin, Mama Mama/Papa Papa, Close Your Eyes, Pretend You're a Cat, Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, and the Shanna Show books. After more than twenty years of writing children's books, she also began to illustrate them. She retold and illustrated five Bible stories and three Greek myths, as well as writing and illustrating two counting books for preschoolers: Ten Little Eggs and Ten Little Christmas Presents.

Death

Marzollo died on April 10, 2018, in her sleep due to natural causes at the age of 75. She was survived by her husband, Claudio Marzollo, a retired sculptor who co-authored some of her children's science fiction and fantasy books, her two sons, Daniel and David Marzollo, her two Grandsons, Gabriel and Westley Marzollo, and daughter-in-law, Melia Marzollo.

Published works

Sources