Rhoda Janzen was born in 1902 in Whitefish, Montana. She studied art at the University of Wisconsin, and after she graduated, she went on to teach art at the University of Redlands. The illustrations that she painted for her books were among the best of their day. The style that she used for her illustrations was widely imitated by other illustrators
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Her first book, "Babes in Toyland", which was published in 1921, became the best-selling children's book of all time after it was illustrated by Janzen. Many of her books were characterized by anthropomorphic animals, which were based on research she had done on the characteristics of various animals. The most popular character that she created was an owl named "Owl Eyes".
The owl became so well-known that there was even an owl named after her. One of Janzen's most famous books is called "The Mouse and His Child", which has been translated into many languages around the world.