Elise Primavera
Elise Primavera (born 19 May 1955) is an American author and illustrator of children's novels. She arrived on the literary scene in 1981 as an illustrator for Atheneum, Putnam, and other publishing houses. Over the course of the last three decades, she has been a prolific illustrator and has written and illustrated several well-received books of her own. Biography Primavera was born in West Long Branch, New Jersey. As a young girl, her brother, whom she admired greatly as an artist, taught her to draw a tree and a simple cartoon. She began copying cartoons she found in comic books, drawing on anything she could find, including her school books, her desks, and even getting in trouble for drawing on her clothing. Her interest in art grew more serious during the summer after she turned 11, when she contracted rheumatic fever and was confined to bed for the entire summer. During the enforced physical inactivity, she used the time to refine her drawing ability by working through several "learn-to-draw" books. Her childhood goal was to become an Olympic rider, and after she recovered from her illness and was no longer bedridden, she was rekindled her love for horseback riding. During