Bernard Waber

Bernard Waber was an author and illustrator whose picture books pair expressive animal characters with familiar family concerns. The House on East 88th Street introduced Lyle, the crocodile discovered in a New York brownstone by the Primm family, and began the Lyle the Crocodile series in 1962. Waber wrote and illustrated the book, later extending Lyle's story through a sequence that includes Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. His other works include Ira Sleeps Over and Courage. His path to picture-book authorship included art studies and magazine design work. The family's biographical account notes later screen and stage adaptations of Lyle's first story, reflecting the character's long life beyond the original picture book.