Robin Preiss Glasser has had two successful careers, the first as a ballet dancer and the second as a best-selling children’s book illustrator. It is the years Robin spent studying dance that have infused her illustration style with movement and joy. Drawing the body in motion comes very naturally to Robin and the exaggerated movement and expression a dancer needs to tell a story without words has also been a lesson that translated well to Robin’s second career. Now, with over 100 titles to her credit and more than 50 million books sold, this winner of the Children’s Book Council’s “Illustrator of the Year Award” in 2013 is best known as the illustrator of Fancy Nancy, the “more is always better” heroine of the New York Times best-selling series with author Jane O’Connor.
Originally from Poughkeepsie, New York, Robin was the eldest of four sisters in a family that valued the arts, and who regularly visited museums and cultural performances in New York City. She began ballet lessons at a young age, and at 13, spent a summer studying dance at Interlochen National Music Camp. The next year, she declined a full scholarship to return to Interlochen, to study at Balanchine’s School of American Ballet. At 15, Robin moved to New York City after being accepted into the American Ballet Theatre’s full time scholarship apprentice program, all while attending the Professional Children’s School until graduation.
At 19, she danced in the Israeli Ballet, then became a soloist with the Pennsylvania Ballet (now the Philadelphia Ballet).
She was most known for dancing dramatic character roles and humorous ballets. Throughout the 12 years Robin performed and toured as a dancer, she continued to study drawing. Like a professional athlete, a ballet dancer’s career is rarely long-lasting, so when a back injury forced Robin to quit, she took her stacks of sketchbooks – filled over the years while the dance company was not in rehearsal or touring – to Parsons School of Design/The New School, in New York City. Hoping for admission at the ripe old age of 30, Robin was offered a full scholarship to study children’s book illustration and she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1990.
It took five years before Robin landed her first book. During that time, she designed posters, theatrical costumes, and greeting cards. When the call came, it was for the opportunity to imitate the style of Ray Cruz, who could no longer illustrate a new Alexander book by Judith Viorst due to health reasons. She jumped at the chance, even though she was about to give birth to her son just hours before Simon & Schuster called to hire her. This became her first book, Alexander, Who’s Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move (1995).
This marked the beginning of a long and varied career, leading to numerous collaborations with other authors. She continued to work on books with Judith Viorst, including You’re Officially a Grown-Up (1999) and Super Completely and Totally the Messiest (2001).
Her work on You Can’t Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum (1998), created with her sister Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman, won an ALA Notable Book Award and gained recognition for its clever use of parallel storytelling and intricate detail. There were two more books in the series. These wordless books display Robin’s signature humor and clever ability for controlling chaos on the page as the reader follows two parallel stories – that of a runaway balloon flying around a city, and the mirrored images of real paintings and sculpture that the balloon’s owner is viewing inside a museum. Using a pen-and-ink cross-hatching style she had developed on the Viorst books, Robin then highlighted the stories’ action in watercolor as narrative. The first book in the series, also earned her a Phoenix Award in 2018, which celebrates books from the previous 2 decades.
This series brought her work to the attention of former Second Lady, Lynne Cheney. That connection led to illustrating America, A Patriotic Primer (2002), A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women (2003), and Our 50 States (2006) with Mrs. Cheney. Robin’s illustrations for these books helped bring important historical themes to young readers. All of them became New York Times Best Sellers and sold over one million copies.
Robin has always created characters based on people in her life, and her next book, Daddy’s Girl (Hyperion, 2005) by radio star Garrison Keillor, is no exception. The Manhattan-savvy little girl in the four story-songs that make up this picture book was based on her curly-headed nephew Alex, who willingly posed for the many photographs on which Robin could model the little girl. Alex and her niece Jessie, are the inspiration, as well, for the character of Nancy.
Robin’s big breakthrough came in 2005 with the creation of Fancy Nancy, written by Jane O’Connor. The first book in the series introduced readers to Nancy, a young girl who loves all things “fancy.” The book’s success was immediate, staying on the New York Times Best Seller list for 99 weeks. Since then, more than 80 titles in the Fancy Nancy series have been published, with over 48 million copies sold worldwide. The series has been translated into 22 languages including Bulgarian and Hebrew.
Soon after the first book came out, the Fancy Nancy® brand was picked up by a major licensing company and within just a few years’ time, more than 30 licensees signed on, including dolls, puzzles and games, clothing, accessories, apparel, party goods and home decor.
Fancy Nancy: The Musical, by New York’s Vital Theatre, lead to an original Off-Broadway cast recording, which won the 2013 “CD of the Year Award” from Creative Child Magazine’s annual Creative Child Awards Program. The stage show toured America and Canada. A number of ballet productions of the Fancy Nancy story have been performed nationally. A second musical, Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas was also created and is still preformed nationally.
In March of 2016, Disney Junior signed for the rights to create an animated television series starring Fancy Nancy, which premiered in July 2018 to rave reviews, and lasted 3 seasons. It was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards for both writing and directing, and is being shown worldwide, having been dubbed into over 18 languages. In addition, new merchandise is available with Fancy Nancy’s new look with the Fancy Nancy character greeting fans at Disney’s theme parks, touring shows, and on Disney’s cruise line.
While Fancy Nancy remains her best-known work, Robin’s career includes many other beloved books. Robin illustrated Tea for Ruby (2008), written by Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, A Sock is a Pocket for your Toes (2004) by poet Elizabeth Garton Scanlon, and You Made Me a Mother (2016) by Laurenne Sala.
And life after Fancy Nancy continues to be gratifying for Robin with her recently released series of books with international best-selling author Ann Patchett. Besides finding an extraordinary new collaborator and luminous friend, their books together, Lambslide (HarperCollins, 2019), Escape Goat (HarperCollins 2020), and The Verts: A Story of Introverts and Extroverts (HarperCollins 2024) share important messages – the power of the vote, the importance of taking responsibility for one’s actions, and celebrating ones differences. Their latest story, Button at the Bookstore, will be available in 2026, (Random House Studio) about a rescue dog who finds a new home in a bookstore.
In addition to her work with Patchett, Robin has also returned to her ballet roots with Grand Jéte and Me (2022), a semi-autobiographical story by ballet legend, Allegra Kent, about a ballerina and her granddaughter attending a performance of The Nutcracker, a role Allegra famously danced as at New York City Ballet.
Celebrating the 80th anniversary of American Ballet Theatre, Robin also co-wrote and illustrated Gloria’s Promise: A Ballet Dancer’s First Step (2023) with her sister Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman. This personal story brought back Robin’s thrilling early memories of auditioning for the ABT school.
Robin’s latest collaboration with her sister Jacqueline is Flower Girls: A Story of Sisters (2025), is a tale about the bonds of sisterhood and the flourishing roots of individuality.
To celebrate Nancy’s 20th anniversary, Robin and Jane O’Connor are back together with a new adventure, Fancy Nancy: Besties for Eternity, where Nancy meets a new friend and discovers the true meaning of enduring friendship. (HarperCollins, September 2025)
With over 100 titles and 50 million books sold worldwide, Robin’s work continues to connect with readers of all ages. Whether it’s through the imaginative world of Fancy Nancy, the humor of the balloon books, or the heartwarming messages in her collaborations with Ann Patchett, Robin remains passionate about creating stories that entertain, inspire, and educate.
For the past 3 decades Robin has lived in southern California. She has 2 grown children; Sasha, who is a special effects makeup artist, and Ben, who is a digital designer. Her husband Bob is an attorney, and their dog, Pablo Picasso, is a very good boy.
