MILWAUKEE (AP) — Lois Ehlert, whose cut-and-paste shapes and vibrant hues in books including “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” put her among the most popular illustrators of books for preschoolers of the late 20th century, has died. She was 86.
Publisher Simon & Schuster said that Ehlert died of natural causes on Tuesday in Milwaukee. In 1989′s “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom,” Ehlert created the hyper-simple brown-and-green coconut tree and the multicolored capital letters who try to gather at the top of it, threatening to bring it tumbling to the ground.
The Wisconsin native was a graphic designer when she began illustrating children's books in her 50s. Her other books include 1989's “Color Zoo" and 2001's ”Waiting for Wings."
