Lillian Hoban (May 18, 1925 – July 17, 1998) was a children's literature author and artist.

The youngest of three children, Hoban was born Lillian Aberman in Philadelphia on May 18, 1925. She attended the Philadelphia Museum School of Art, studied dance for ten years and danced with the Martha Graham troupe, taught Modern Dance and danced professionally in the 1950s.

Hoban learned to draw still life and began to write her own stories only after having four children, Phoebe, Brom, Esme and Julia. She based her tales on their experiences.

Her "I-Can-Read" books about Arthur the Chimpanzee and his little sister Violet, and the Frances the Badger books (illustrated by Hoban but written by her then-husband Russell) continue to be extremely popular among children as time goes by, widely considered to be classics. Charlie the Tramp, about a wayward young beaver and his family, is now unfortunately out of print. She also illustrated the Riverside Kids series including Russell Rides Again, Elisa In The Middle, Superduper Teddy, and Busybody Nora. The last Riverside Kids book she illustrated is Ever-Clever Elisa.

Lillian Hoban died in 1998.

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