Fatus, Sophie 1957-

Personal

Born 1957, in Boulogne-sur-Seine, France; immigrated to Italy, c. 1981. Education: École des Beaux Arts (Paris, France), graduated, 1980.

Addresses

Home—Florence, Italy. Agent—Advocate Art Agency, 39 Church Rd., Wimbledon Village, London SW19 5DQ, England.

Career

Artist and illustrator. Exhibitions: Works exhibited throughout Europe.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

(Reteller) I tre porcellini, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1983.

Il brutto anatroccolo, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1987.

Biancaneva e i sette nani, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1988.

L'arca di Noè, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1989.

Domani nasce un fatrellino, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1990.

Domani vado a scuola, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1990.

(Reteller) Cenerentola, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1990.

Cappuccetto Rosso, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1991.

Hansel e Gretel, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1991.

Il principe ranocchio, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1991.

Ali Babà e i guaranta ladroni, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1992.

Stego ha fame, Giunti Editore, 1993.

Brachio ha sonno, Giunti Editore, 1993.

Pelle d'asino, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1994.

Rana Boccuccia, Giunti Editore, 1995.

Il lupo ei 7 capretti, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1995.

(Reteller) Pinocchio e la balena, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1995.

(Reteller) Pinocchio, il gatto e la volpe, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1997.

Pollicino, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1997.

(Reteller) Sindbad il marinaio, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1997.

(Reteller) Pinocchio e Mangiafoco, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1998.

La principessa sul piscello, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1999.

Il cavallino e il fiume, Carthusia, 1999.

Per milo dimmi il vero, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 2001.

Rana boccuccia, Giunti Editore, 2002.

A tutto gatto, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 2003.

White Night, Nuages, 2007.

Here We Go round the Mulberry Bush (with audio CD by Fred Penner), Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2007.

Bugia!, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 2007.

Author/illustrator of other books published in Italian, including Ciuffettino, Pinocchio e il cane Melampo, and Guarda quo, guarda là, all published by Fatatrac.

Author's books have been translated into Spanish.

"SILLY SHAPES" BOARD BOOKS; SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Stripes, Abbeville Kids (New York, NY), 1997.

Squares, Abbeville Kids (New York, NY), 1997.

Spots, Abbeville Kids (New York, NY), 1997.

Holes, Abbeville Kids (New York, NY), 1997.

ILLUSTRATOR

Matteo Faglia, Il gatto con stivali, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1983.

Nicoletta Condignola, La bella addornmentata, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1984.

Nicoletta Condignola, È Natale, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1986.

Matteo Faglia, L'usignolo dell'imperatore, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1990.

Matteo Faglia, reteller, I musicanti di Brema, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1992.

Matteo Faglia, reteller, Le tre caravelle, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1992.

Matteo Faglia, reteller, La lampada di Aladino, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1993.

Matteo Faglia, reteller, Gli abiti nuovi dell'imperatore, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1993.

Matteo Faglia, reteller, Raperonzollo, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1993.

Nicoletta Codignola, reteller, Alice ne paese delle meraviglie, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1996.

Nicoletta Codignola, reteller, Perseo e il mostro Medusa, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1998.

Nicoletta Codignola, reteller, La sirenetta, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1998.

Nicoletta Codignola, reteller, Ulisse nell'isola dei ciclopi, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 1999.

Matteo Faglia, Buon compleanno, ho tre anní!, Giunti Gruppo (Florence, Italy), 1999, translated as Happy Birthday, I'm Three, Kane/Miller (La Jolla, CA), 2001.

Hugh Lupton, reteller, The Story Tree: Tales to Read Aloud, Barfoot Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Nicoletta Codignola, reteller, Orfeo e Euridice, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 2002.

Nicoletta Codignola, reteller, Il gigante egoista, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 2002.

Nicoletta Codignola, reteller, La postrella e lo spazzacamino, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 2002.

(With AnnaLaura Cantone and Anna De Carlo) Prima di Natale, Nuages, 2002.

Sandra Ann Horn, reteller, Babushka, Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2002.

Hugh Lupton, Riddle Me This!: Riddles and Stories to Challenge Your Mind, Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2003.

Nicoletta Codignola, reteller, L'asino d'oro e il bastone castigamatti, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 2004.

Guai a chi mi chiama passerotto! I diritti dei bambini in ospedale, Fatatrac (Florence, Italy), 2004.

Fraziella Favaro, Il cavallino e il fiume. Una storia dalla Cina, Carthusia, 2004.

Joyce Dunbar, The Love-Me Bird, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Baron Baptiste, My Daddy Is a Pretzel: Yoga for Parents and Kids, Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2004.

Margaret Read MacDonald, The Farmyard Jamboree, Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2005.

Margaret Read MacDonald, A Hen, a Chick, and a String Guitar, Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2005.

Giusi Quarenghi, Dove comincia l'arcobaleno, Panini Franco Cosimo, 2005.

Jemina Lumley, The Journey Home from Grandpa's, Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2006.

Berti M. Cristina and Elena Torre, Gli indovinelli della principessa Turandot, ETS, 2006.

Angela McAllister, Just like Sisters, Atheneum Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Fran Parnell, reteller, The Barefoot Book of Monsters!, Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2006.

Carrie Weston, If a Chicken Stayed for Supper, Simon & Schuster UK (London, England), 2006, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2007.

Alma Flor Ada, One More Friend, Harcourt (Orlando, FL), 2007.

Aleksandr Puskin, Il pescioli d'oro (with audio CD), Fabbri, 2007.

Sidelights

Sophie Fatus is an author and illustrator whose colorful, child-friendly paintings have made her beloved by young children as well as parents, teachers, and critics in her native Italy. In 2000 her work also became sought after by English-language publishers, and authors such as Alma Flor Ada, Angela McAllister, and Fran Parnell have had their stories brought to life in Fatus's images. Original, self-illustrated books by Fatus that are also

available in English-language versions include the "Silly Shapes" board books—Stripes, Spots, Holes, and Squares—in which she collects a whimsical assortment of unusual but related objects. Stripes, for example, portrays everything from striped socks to a zebra, while Spots depicts a ladybug, a giraffe, and even a banana. In a review of the illustrator's contribution to another English-language text, Sandra Ann Horn's Babushka, a Kirkus Reviews praised Fatus's engaging artistic style, writing that her "enchanting acrylic paintings employ a stylized, folk-art style using flattened … perspectives" and "jewel-bright tones." Bringing to life a familiar rhyme, her illustrated version of Here We Go round the Mulberry Bush was described by School Library Journal contributor Blair Christolon as a "multicultural treat" designed to "encourage creative movement as well as creativity" in young storyhour fans.

In her colorful illustrations for Joyce Dunbar's The Love-Me Bird, Fatus's "cheery," flower-filled pastel images "perfectly match this whimsical tale with wisdom at its heart," according to Booklist reviewer Connie Fletcher. Internationally known yoga instructor Baron Baptiste's picture book My Daddy Is a Pretzel: Yoga for Parents and Kids benefits from what Booklist contributor Gillian Engberg described as "cheery, tropical-colored paintings [that] reinforce a sunny mood," while Fatus's artwork for Carrie Weston's humorous If a Chicken Stayed for Supper features "glowing colors and simplified shapes" and "combine[s] a naive look with a sense of form that is sophisticated yet very accessible," according to Booklist critic Carolyn Phelan. Dubbed "a charming celebration of friendship" by School Library Journal contributor Elaine Lesh Morgan, Just like Sisters pairs a story by Angela McAllister with Fatus's "endearing paintings" which, featuring textured backdrops and cartoon characters, "are funny and filled with affection."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 1, 2001, Kathy Broderick, review of The Story Tree: Tales to Read Aloud, p. 321; December 15, 2002, Lauren Peterson, review of Babushka, p. 764; December 1, 2003, Hazel Rochman, review of Riddle Me This!: Riddles and Stories to Challenge Your Mind, p. 663; February 15, 2004, Connie Fletcher, review of The Love-Me Bird, p. 1062; October 15, 2004, Gillian Engberg, review of My Daddy Is a Pretzel: Yoga for Parents and Kids, p. 409; March 15, 2007, Carolyn Phelan, review of If a Chicken Stayed for Supper, p. 55; June 1, 2007, Carolyn Phelan, review of Here We Go round the Mulberry Bush, p. 76.

Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2002, review of Babushka, p. 1619; April 15, 2005, review of A Hen, a Chicken, and a String Guitar, p. 477; May 15, 2006, review of Just like Sister, p. 521; March 1, 2007, review of If a Chicken Stayed for Supper, p. 234.

Publishers Weekly, March 10, 1997, review of "Silly Shapes" series, p. 67; December 15, 2003, review of The Love-Me Bird, p. 46; April 2, 2007, review of If a Chicken Stayed for Supper, p. 56.

School Library Journal, October, 2002, Eva Mitnick, review of Babushka, p. 59; September, 2003, Bina Williams, review of The Barefoot Book of Monsters!, p. 204; January, 2004, Sally R. Dow, review of The Love-Me Bird, p. 97; April, 2004, Cynde Suite, review of Riddle Me This!, p. 139; January, 2005, Joyce Adams Burner, review of My Daddy Is a Pretzel, p. 85; May, 2004, Kathleen Whalin, review of A Hen, a Chick, and a String Guitar, p. 111; June, 2005, Elaine Lesh Morgan, review of Just like Sisters, p. 121; March, 2007, Susan Moorhead, review of If a Chicken Stayed for Supper, p. 190.

ONLINE

Bibliotecafossano Web site,http://www.bibliotecafossano.it/ (September 25, 2003), "Sophie Fatus."