Born in Georgia in 1920, Martha Alexander moved to Ohio at the age of nine and later attended the Art Academy of Cincinnati. She lived in many places, including Hawaii, New York, Alaska, and Washington state, before settling back in Hawaii. She passed away in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the age of 85. Alexander had a wide range of artistic interests, including pottery, textile design, portrait painting, doll-making, interior design, and gardening.

Known for her ability to tap into the emotional world of a child with her soft pencil-and-watercolor illustrations, Alexander was already a grandmother when she started her career in children’s books. This career was to span the next forty years. Her first book as illustrator was Charlotte Zolotow's Big Sister and Little Sister (Harper), published in 1966 and named Children’s Book of the Year. Her first work as both author and illustrator was Out! Out! Out! (Dial), published in 1968. She went on to publish over 50 children's books, including the popular Blackboard Bear series (Dial/Candlewick), working with such notable children’s editors as Ursula Nordstrom, Phyllis Fogelman, and Amy Ehrlich. Alexander believed that illustrations are capable of expressing a story in a way that words cannot, stating, “I take great pride in telling as much of the story as I can without text, but rather through gestures and expressions.”

Books by Martha Alexander