Kreloff, Elliot

Personal

Male.

Addresses

Home and office—New York, NY.

Career

Author and illustrator.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

My Big Kitten Book, Learning Horizons, 1993.

My Big Puppy Book, Learning Horizons, 1993.

Trucks, Learning Horizons, 1993.

Trains, Learning Horizons, 1993.

Found an Apple, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 1993.

Harry Bear and Friends: Opposites, Blue Apple Books (Maplewood, NJ), 2007.

Harry Bear and Friends Count Fish, Blue Apple Books (Maplewood, NJ), 2007.

Play Colors = Colores del Juego, Begin Smart Books (Maplewood, NJ), 2007.

All Gone!, Begin Smart Books (Maplewood, NJ), 2008.

Where Are We Going?, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2008.

ILLUSTRATOR

Vicki Cobb, The Trip of a Drip, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1986.

Harriet Ziefert, Fish Wish, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2005.

Harriet Ziefert, No More TV, Sleepy Cat, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2005.

Harriet Ziefert, Mommy, I Want to Sleep in YOUR Bed!, Blue Apple Books (Maplewood, NJ), 2005.

Harriet Ziefert, Bigger than Daddy, Blue Apple Books (Maplewood, NJ), 2006.

Harriet Ziefert, Night-Night, Fuzzy, Blue Apple Books (Maplewood, NJ), 2006.

Harriet Ziefert, There Was a Little Girl, She Had a Little Curl, Blue Apple Books (Maplewood, NJ), 2006.

Harriet Ziefert, Tic and Tac, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

Harriet Ziefert, Tic and Tac Clean Up, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2007.

Marjorie Hakala, Picnic Buddies, Blue Apple Books (Maplewood, NJ), 2008.

Naomi Danis, Splish-Splash, Begin Smart Books (Maplewood, NJ), 2008.

Sidelights

Elliot Kreloff has contributed illustrations to several children's picture books and has also created original self-illustrated works such as All Gone! and Harry Bear and Friends Count Fish.

Kreloff's playful pastel-colored illustrations are a feature attraction in Harriet Ziefert's picture book Bigger than Daddy, which follows a father and son as they share some special time together. Little Edward wishes he were as big as his father so that he could do all the things that his father does. Given the chance to be the father in a role-reversal game he and his dad play, the boy scolds his father for not finishing his juice, but the game ends when Edward wants to drink juice as well. In Booklist Todd Morning noted that "Kreloff's colorful, childlike, crayon-and-collage illustrations convey Edward's exuberance and the story's humor," and Mary Hazelton wrote in her School Library Journal review that the illustrator effectively uses "simple lines and strong colors" to intensify a child's point of view.

Kreloff also contributes art to Ziefert's Mommy, I Want to Sleep in YOUR Bed!, a children's book that encourages youngsters to sleep independently. The story begins at bedtime at a beagle family's home, as young Charlie is reluctant to sleep in his own bed. The pup's parents try to persuade him to sleep on his own and will not allow Charlie in their bed. Ultimately, Charlie learns to lull himself to sleep by playing bedtime games and telling stories to his stuffed animal. Kreloff's characteristic collage artwork "soften[s] the somewhat uncompromising message," noted Booklist critic Jennifer Mattson, while a Kirkus Reviews writer concluded that Kreloff's simple, crayon-like images "suit the mood and topic perfectly."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 15, 2005, Jennifer Mattson, review of Mommy, I Want to Sleep in YOUR Bed!, p. 52; May 1, 2006, Todd Morning, review of Bigger than Daddy, p. 94.

Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2005, review of Mommy, I Want to Sleep in YOUR Bed!, p. 1149; May 1, 2006, review of Bigger than Daddy, p. 471.

School Library Journal, July, 2005, Susan Lissim, review of Fish Wish, p. 85; November, 2005, Maryann H. Owen, review of Mommy, I Want to Sleep in YOUR Bed!, p. 111; August, 2006, Mary Hazelton, review of Bigger than Daddy, p. 100; October, 2006, Sally R. Dow, review of There Was a Little Girl Who Had a Little Curl, p. 131.

Teacher Librarian, April, 2007, John Peters, review of Bigger than Daddy, p. 15.