Aaron Zenz Books In Order

Publication Order of Picture Books

Aaron Zenz is an American author and illustrator who writes and draws children’s picture books. He is best known as the author of The Hiccupotamus and Chuckling Ducklings.

Zenz has a love of storytelling and he has a deep understanding of the craft which he has explored in his roles as an author, illustrator, fine artist, college instructor, graphic recorder, and designer of multimedia, characters, and toys. He has always had a love of children’s books and has a personal collection of over 3,500 children’s books in his home in Michigan.

The process in which he creates his books varies as he creates illustrations with colored pencil, employing unusual methods to achieve rich vivid colors, but he is also talented in creating art digitally. He keeps a website at aaronzenz.com where he shares much of his art and the creative process for each of his books. Aaron shares “dummies” which are an early, sketchy version of the book where the illustrator lays out plans for how the story will follow. The site also features extensive character bios for the cast of The Hiccupotamus.

While he writes and illustrates his own books, he has also contributed to some books as just an illustrator. He was the credited illustrator on the NASCAR ABCs. There are over 30 books that he has served as either an author or illustrator on.

Aaron has a degree in art and has used this to work in a number of careers in the world of art. He has been an illustrator, a graphic designer, a multimedia designer, a toy designer, and a fine artist. His love of children’s books was always there though and in a way these jobs just trained him for his future as an author/illustrator of children’s books. Zenz is married and lives with his wife and children in Spring Lake, Michigan.

The Hiccupotamus is arguably Aaron Zenz’s most popular book. The book was written and illustrated by Zenz who used colored-pencil artwork to create this book. The book tells the story of a “hippopotamus who hiccupped quite-a-lotamus”. Every time the hippo sneezes, he falls on his bottom. The book sees an elephant, a centipede, and a rhinoceros banding together to try and find the cure for the Hiccupotamus’s epic case of the hiccups. The book is fun and silly and perfect for younger children and read-alouds.

Zenz mined similar territory when he released Chimpansneeze. The chimpanzee who stars in this one causes comical chaos with his sneezing and there is a question of if anything can stop him from sneezing. His friends will work together to try and help him cure this before more chaos happens. Much like The Hiccupotamus, this book is filled with beautiful hand-drawn art and funny sneezing sound-effect noises for the readers to read-aloud.

Another popular book by Zenz is Monsters Go Night-Night. This is a bed-time book that shows how monsters go about going to bed and how much different it is than it is for us. We brush our teeth and monsters do too, but they don’t use a toothbrush. They get dressed for bed, but they don’t put on slippers and nightcaps like humans do. Monsters don’t use a teddy bear or a blankie to snuggle. The story, drawn by Zenz, takes the readers through the bedtime rituals of seven friendly monsters. The book is a real guessing game as the monsters seem to never do quite what you would expect them to do.