McPHAIL, David M(ichael) 1940-

PERSONAL: Born June 30, 1940, in Newburyport, MA; son of Bernard E. (in sales) and Rachel (a secretary; maiden name, Cutter) McPhail; married Janis Lazarian, July 2, 1966 (divorced); married second wife, Mickey; children: (first marriage) Tristian, Joshua, Gabrian; (second marriage) Jaime; three stepchildren. Education: Attended Vesper George University (now Vesper George School of Art), 1957-58, and Boston Museum of Fine Arts School, 1963-66.

ADDRESSES: Home—Newburyport, MA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Harcourt 525 B St., Ste. 1900, San Diego, CA 92101.

CAREER: Illustrator of books for children, 1967—; author of books for children, 1971—. Worked variously as a guitarist in rock bands, as a factory worker, as a truck driver, and as a shipping clerk.

AWARDS, HONORS: Fifty Books of the Year selection, American Institute of Graphic Arts, 1974, for Sailing to Cythera and Other Anatole Stories; Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book for illustration, 1975, for The Bear's Bicycle; Outstanding Books of the Year selection, New York Times, 1975, for One Winter Night in August and Other Nonsense Jingles; Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, 1977, for Sailing to Cythera and Other Anatole Stories, and 1979, for The Island of the Grass King: The Further Adventures of Anatole; Book Show selection, American Institute of Graphic Arts, 1978, for Captain Toad and the Motorbike, and 1989, for Grandfather's Cake; Children's Choice selection, Children's Book Council and International Reading Association, 1980, for Pig Pig Grows Up; Best Books selection, School Library Journal, 1982, for Pig Pig Rides; Parents' Choice Award for Literature, Parents' Choice Foundation, 1982, for Great Cat; Children's Books of the Year selection, Child Study Association, 1985, for Farm Morning and The Dream Child; Children's Booksellers Choices Award, Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC), 1998, for Edward and the Pirates; Best Books of the Year, Publishers Weekly, 1999, and Children's Booksellers Choices Award, ABC, 2000, both for Mole Music; Silver Honor Award, Parents' Choice Foundation, 2000, for Sail Away. McPhail also has received many child-selected awards, including the Kentucky Bluegrass Award and the Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award. A small chain of bookstores in the Boston area is named Henry Bear's Park, after McPhail's book of the same name.

WRITINGS:

SELF-ILLUSTRATED, EXCEPT AS NOTED

In the Summer I Go Fishing, Addison-Wesley (Reading, MA), 1971.

The Glerp, Ginn (Lexington, MA), 1972, Silver Burdett Press (Parsippany, NJ), 1995.

The Bear's Toothache, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1972.

Oh, No, Go (play), Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1973.

The Cereal Box, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1974.

The Train, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1977.

The Magical Drawings of Moony B. Finch (also see below), Doubleday (New York, NY), 1978.

Mistletoe, Dutton (New York, NY), 1978.

Captain Toad and the Motorbike, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1978.

Yesterday I Lost a Sneaker and Found the Great GoobSick, Ginn (Lexington, MA), 1978, Silver Burdett Press (Parsippany, NJ), 1995.

Where Can an Elephant Hide?, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1979.

Grandfather's Cake, Scribner (New York, NY), 1979.

Those Terrible Toy-Breakers, Parents Magazine Press (New York, NY), 1980, Gareth Stevens (Milwaukee, WI), 1992.

Bumper Tubbs, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1980.

Alligators Are Awful (and They Have Terrible Manners, Too), Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1980.

Surprise!, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1981.

A Wolf Story, Scribner (New York, NY), 1981.

Great Cat, Dutton (New York, NY), 1982.

That Grand Master Jumping Teacher Bernard MeetsJerome, the Great Jumping Glump, Frederick Warne (New York, NY), 1982.

Snow Lion, Parents Magazine Press (New York, NY), 1982, Gareth Stevens (Milwaukee, WI), 1992.

Andrew's Bath, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1984.

Lorenzo, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1984.

Sisters, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1984.

The Dream Child, Dutton (New York, NY), 1985.

Farm Morning, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1985.

Adam's Smile, Dutton (New York, NY), 1987.

First Flight, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1987.

Something Special, Joy Street Books (Boston, MA), 1988.

David McPhail's Animals A to Z, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1988.

The Story of James, Dutton (New York, NY), 1989.

Lost!, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1990.

The Party, Joy Street Books (Boston, MA), 1990.

Ed and Me, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1990.

Annie and Company, Holt (New York, NY), 1991.

Farm Boy's Year, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1992.

Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore (also see below), Dutton (New York, NY), 1993.

Ping Pong (adapted from a poem by Dennis Lee), HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1994.

Moony B. Finch, Fastest Draw in the West (sequel to The Magical Drawings of Moony B. Finch), Artists & Writers Guild (New York, NY), 1994.

Annie and Company, Holt (New York, NY), 1994.

Pigs Ahoy! (sequel to Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore), Dutton (New York, NY), 1995.

The Day the Dog Said, "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo!," Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.

In Flight with David McPhail: A Creative Autobiography (nonfiction), Heinemann (Portsmouth, NH), 1996.

Those Can-Do Pigs, Dutton (New York, NY), 1996.

The Great Race, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

A Bug, a Bear, and a Boy, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

The Puddle, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1998.

The Day the Sheep Showed Up, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1998.

Tinker and Tom and the Star Baby, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1998.

Big Brown Bear (also see below), Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1999.

A Bug, a Bear, and a Boy Go to School, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1999.

Mole Music, Holt (New York, NY), 1999.

Drawing Lessons from a Bear, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2000.

A Girl, a Goat, and a Goose, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2000.

The Sled and Other Fox and Rabbit Stories (also see below), illustrated by John O'Connor, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2000.

Big Pig and Little Pig, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2001.

The Blue Door: A Fox and Rabbit Story (sequel to The Sled and Other Fox and Rabbit Stories), illustrated by John O'Connor, Fitzhenry & Whiteside (Allston, MA), 2001.

Jack and Rick, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2002.

Piggy's Pancake Parlor, Dutton (New York, NY), 2002.

The Teddy Bear, Holt (New York, NY), 2002.

Big Brown Bear's Up and Down Day (sequel to BigBrown Bear), Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2003.

"HENRY BEAR" SERIES; SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Henry Bear's Park, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1976, reprinted with full-color illustrations, Atheneum (New York, NY), 2001.

Stanley, Henry Bear's Friend, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1979.

Henry Bear's Christmas, Atheneum (New York, NY), 2003.

"PIG PIG" SERIES; SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Pig Pig Grows Up, Dutton (New York, NY), 1980.

Pig Pig Rides, Dutton (New York, NY), 1982.

Pig Pig Goes to Camp, Dutton (New York, NY), 1983.

Pig Pig and the Magic Photo Album, Dutton (New York, NY), 1986.

Pig Pig Gets a Job, Dutton (New York, NY), 1990.

Pig Pig Rides Again, Dutton (New York, NY), 1992.

"EMMA" SERIES; SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Fix-It, Dutton (New York, NY), 1984, reprinted as a board book, Dutton (New York, NY), 2002.

Emma's Pet, Dutton (New York, NY), 1985.

Emma's Vacation, Dutton (New York, NY), 1987.

RETELLINGS; SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Goldilocks and the Three Bears: A Retelling of a Classic Tale, Heath (Lexington, MA), 1989, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1995.

Little Red Riding Hood, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1995.

The Three Little Pigs, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1995.

"EDWARD" SERIES; SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Santa's Book of Names, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1993.

Edward and the Pirates, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1997.

Edward in the Jungle, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2001.

ILLUSTRATOR

Robert Brooks, The Run, Jump, Bump Book, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1971.

Alma Marchak Whitney, Leave Herbert Alone, Addison-Wesley (Reading, MA), 1972.

Nancy Willard, Sailing to Cythera and Other AnatoleStories, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1974.

Emilie Warren McLeod, The Bear's Bicycle, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1975.

X. J. Kennedy, One Winter Night in August and Other Nonsense Jingles, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1975.

Nancy Willard, Stranger's Bread, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1977.

Marjorie W. Sharmat, A Big Fat Enormous Lie, Dutton (New York, NY), 1978.

Nanine Elisabeth Vallen, The Devil's Tale: Based on an Old French Legend, Scribner (New York, NY), 1978.

X. J. Kennedy, The Phantom Ice Cream Man: More Nonsense Verse, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1979.

Nancy Willard, The Island of the Grass King: TheFurther Adventures of Anatole, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1979.

Genie Iverson, I Want to Be Big, Dutton (New York, NY), 1979.

Nancy Willard, Uncle Terrible: More Adventures ofAnatole, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1982.

Nancy Willard, The Nightgown of the Sullen Moon, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1983.

Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1986.

Mary Pope Osborne, Moonhorse, Knopf (New York, NY), 1988.

Tom Glazer, compiler and arranger, The Mother Goose Songbook, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1990.

Dennis Lee, The Ice Cream Store: Poems, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1991.

Nancy White Carlstrom, Who Gets the Sun Out ofBed?, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1993.

Rosemary Wells, Night Sounds, Morning Colors, Dial (New York, NY), 1994.

Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, On a Starry Night, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Jean Mazzollo, Ten Cats Have Hats: A Counting Book, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1994.

Kristin Avery, The Crazy Quilt, Goodyear Publishing (Los Angeles, CA), 1994.

Dee Lifeguard, Potatoes on Tuesday, Goodyear Publishing (Los Angeles, CA), 1995.

Kate McMullan, If You Were My Bunny, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.

Margo Lundell, The Furry Bedtime Book: LoveyBear's Story, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.

Laura J. Numeroff, Why a Disguise?, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1996.

Jan L. Waldron, Angel Pig and the Hidden Christmas, Dutton (New York, NY), 1997.

Claudia Mills, Gus and Grandpa, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1997.

Jan L. Waldron, John Pig's Halloween, Dutton (New York, NY), 1998.

Margot Austin, A Friend for Growl Bear, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1999.

Anne Carter, Tall in the Saddle, Orca Books (Custer, WA), 1999.

Holly Young Huth, Twilight, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1999.

Laura J. Numeroff and Wendy S. Harpham, The HopeTree: Kids Talk about Breast Cancer, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1999.

Florence McNeil, Sail Away, Orca Books (Olympia, WA), 2000.

Dennis Lee, Bubblegum Delicious, Key Porter Books (Toronto, ON), 2000, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

Steven MacDonald, Just Clowning Around: Two Stories, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2000.

Liza Baker, I Love You Because You're You, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2001.

Betsy Byars, Little Horse, Holt (New York, NY), 2001.

Catherine Anne Cullen, The Thirsty Baby, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2002.

Kathleen Krull, editor, A Pot o' Gold: A Treasury ofIrish Stories, Poetry, Folklore, and (of Course) Blarney, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2002.

Pam Muñoz Ryan, Mud Is Cake, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2002.

OTHER

Some of McPhail's books have been translated into Spanish. A collection of his manuscripts and sketches is housed in the Children's Literature Festival Gallery Collection, Keene State College, Keene, NH.

ADAPTATIONS: Leave Herbert Alone was released as a filmstrip and audio cassette by BFA Educational Media, 1975; Pig Pig Grows Up was released as a book and cassette by Live Oak Media, 1985, and as a filmstrip with cassette by Weston Woods, 2000; The Bear's Bicycle was released as a book and cassette by Live Oak Media, 1986; Emma's Pet was issued as a book and cassette by Live Oak Media, 1988; Pig Pig Rides was issued as a book and cassette by Live Oak Media, 1988; Mole Music was issued as a book and cassette by Live Oak Media, 2001. The Bear's Toothache was released on cassette by Random House; Where Can an Elephant Hide? was released as a filmstrip with cassette by Spoken Arts; The Nightgown of the Sullen Moon was issued as a filmstrip with cassette by Random House; Fix-It was issued as a filmstrip with cassette by Random House; The Dream Child was issued as a filmstrip with cassette by Random House. Favorite Author Collections, a selection of videos based on McPhail's works, was released by Live Oak Media, 1999. Mole Music was adapted as a ballet with original music by William Wade and choreography by Bill Hastings, and performed by the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet, Akron, OH.

SIDELIGHTS: A prolific, popular American author/illustrator and illustrator for preschoolers and primary graders, McPhail is noted for creating inventive, attractive picture books, retellings, and beginning readers that range from quiet and reflective to wildly humorous. He also is acknowledged for establishing a distinctive style with his art. McPhail features a large cast of anthropomorphic animal characters in his books—he is especially well known for his pigs and bears—as well as boys and girls, their parents, and other adults. In addition, McPhail is the creator of imaginary characters such as the glerp, a snail-like creature that will eat anything, and the Great Goob, a yellow blob. In his works with children as the main characters, McPhail often blends fact and fancy as he depicts his protagonists acting out their imaginative fantasies by themselves, with their parents, or in dreams. His works in which humans interact with animal characters generally are riotous affairs, with the animals engaged in some surprising, even outrageous, antics; for example, a little boy's stuffed toy turns into a real bear and disrupts a plane ride in First Flight, and a group of anarchic pigs upsets a cruise ship in Pigs Ahoy!. The author has produced several picture book series, including the "Pig Pig" books, which outline the humorous adventures of a childlike pig; the "Emma" books, which feature a little bear and her parents; and the "Edward" books, which detail how a small boy meets Santa Claus, Tarzan, and a band of pirates through the magic of reading. As an illustrator, McPhail has provided the art for the stories and poems of a number of well-known authors, such as Nancy Willard, Betsy Byars, X. J. Kennedy, Rosemary Wells, Dennis Lee, and Laura J. Numeroff. He also has retold and illustrated favorite fairy and folktales, such as The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood, and has provided the pictures for a new edition of Beatrix Potter's classic picture book The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

Thematically, McPhail often describes the satisfaction to be derived from the arts, especially drawing, reading, and playing music. He underscores his works with the implicit directive for his young readers to develop their own individual talents. In addition, McPhail stresses values such as compassion, generosity, the security of family, and the pleasure of friendship in his books, which he writes in both rhyme and straight narrative. Some of the author's works introduce young readers to concepts such as shapes and the alphabet. As an artist, McPhail characteristically uses pen and ink and watercolor to create his works which, like his texts, range from delicate to exuberant; some of the artist's pictures are done in pastels and acrylics and include the technique of crosshatching. McPhail often is praised for his ability to depict character and detail in a few swift strokes; he also is highly regarded for his luminous, full-page illustrations, paintings rendered in the style of fine art. In addition, McPhail is praised for creating subtexts with his illustrations that amplify his words while telling a story of their own. Although McPhail has been accused of repeating himself and of writing some thin texts, he generally is regarded as a talented writer and artist who creates expressive, captivating works that reflect his understanding of children and what appeals to them. Writing in Kirkus Reviews, a critic commented, "The secret ingredient is McPhail's terrific way with words . . . and his ability to craft affecting, soulful characters."

McPhail was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, a seaside town north of Boston that is one of the largest shipping ports on the East Coast. Although he says that his family was poor, McPhail has claimed that he had a wonderful childhood. He grew up surrounded by his loving extended family: his parents Bernard, a salesman, and Rachel, a secretary; his sister Sue; his brothers Ben and Peter; his grandparents; his aunts, uncles, and cousins; and many friends. McPhail once told CA, "Times were hard in our neighborhood; nobody had that much. My mother did her best to encourage my sister, my two brothers, and myself. She always told us we could do anything we aspired to do." McPhail's father, according to the author, "held down several different jobs. It was his feeling that his children should first of all be able to make a living, that we should accept our lot in life and live with it. Sometimes, however, he would show us glimpses of the dreams and ambitions he had nurtured as a young man." In his youth, Bernard McPhail loved to tinker with radio and to fly airplanes. For his own amusement, McPhail drew pictures. He once told CA, "I always drew from the time I was a child. It was easy for me, but I never took it very seriously. Drawing was something I did for fun and, in my house, work and fun were not supposed to go together. Drawing was always there, however, waiting in the background." While growing up, McPhail especially was influenced by magazine illustrators such as Norman Rockwell, Mark English, and Bernie Fuchs. Besides his drawing, McPhail enjoyed playing in the fields and woods near his home. He spent much of his time alone, pretending that he was Robin Hood; later, McPhail would characterize himself in the "Edward" series and in his books about Moony B. Finch, a little boy who loved to draw.

In junior high and high school, McPhail played baseball and basketball and aspired to the big leagues. When he heard Elvis Presley, he developed a new interest: music. McPhail once told CA, "A friend who had played guitar for years taught me four chords, enough to play about any of the popular rock and roll songs." After graduation, he went to Boston to attend Vesper George University (now the Vesper George School of Art) on an art scholarship. McPhail stayed for a year, then quit to perform professionally with his bands, the Story Tone Trio and the Reveliers. McPhail spent six years playing music, although he says that he never made much money at it. To support himself, McPhail worked in a factory that made fuses and electronic parts—"I hated every minute of my job," he once told CA—and worked on small business ventures with one of his brothers; the pair made arrows and greeting cards, though with no major success. After moving to California to play his music, McPhail found himself becoming more and more interested in drawing. He returned to the East Coast to attend the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School. Since the school did not offer a major in illustration, McPhail majored in graphics "to escape," as he once told CA, "the edict that illustration was not 'art' and also because I wanted to paint what I felt. My work from the beginning was illustration. My paintings told stories and were not just landscapes or portraits."

McPhail spent three years at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School. For a year, his roommate was Michael McCurdy, who also is a well-known illustrator, and the pair shared the printmaking department with popular artist Wallace Tripp. During his last year of college, McPhail married Janis Lazarian; the couple later would have three children, Tristian, Joshua, and Gabrian. To support his family, McPhail drove a truck and worked part-time for a book wholesaler, a position that led him to rediscover children's literature. McPhail once told CA, "My job was reorganizing the shipping of children's books to the Boston Public Library. I used to spend lunch hour by myself reading in the corner of the warehouse. I had an employee discount on books, and bought so many books I nearly went broke. I especially loved [Maurice] Sendak." Several critics have noted Sendak's influence on McPhail and have compared them favorably. "Gradually," McPhail once recalled, "I realized that I wanted to write and illustrate books. So I screwed up my courage and wrote and illustrated a story of my own." McPhail quit his job at the warehouse and took his book to Houghton Mifflin, a publisher in Boston. Although he was not able to sell that particular book, McPhail received some freelance art work based on his illustrations. He also spent several years doing illustrations for textbooks. In 1971, McPhail produced his first picture book for children, In the Summer I Go Fishing. In this work, a little boy tries to sell some of the fish that he has caught. When no one will buy any, he earns money by selling lemonade mixed by an old lady. McPhail's pictures reveal the effect of the potion on the boy's customers. A reviewer in Children's Books and Their Creators noted, "Even in McPhail's debut, a distinctive style is emerging: the illustrations contain an energy and inventiveness that remain a trademark of his work."

McPhail's first—and perhaps foremost—porcine character is Pig Pig, who has become one of the author's most popular creations. In the first book of the series, Pig Pig Grows Up, the title character decides that he likes being a baby so much that he does not want to give up the status. He insists on doing baby-like things, including wearing diapers and riding in a stroller. At the end of the story, Pig Pig rescues a real baby, an event that makes him decide that he is grown up after all. Writing in Horn Book, Ethel L. Heins called Pig Pig Grows Up "a hilarious picture book for the very young." In Pig Pig Rides, Pig Pig tells his mother that he plans to accomplish a number of astounding feats that day, such as driving a car, participating in a race, taking a rocket ship to the moon, and jumping over five hundred elephants on his motorcycle. A reviewer in Books for Keeps commented that McPhail's interpretations of Pig Pig's escapades "are suitably spectacular,. . . when contrasted with this endearing character's true means of transport." In Pig Pig Goes to Camp, the character goes to Camp Wildhog. He enjoys the activities at the camp, but especially likes the frogs that he meets there. In fact, he makes so many friends with the frogs that he gets sent home early with some of his new pals.

In Pig Pig and the Magic Photo Album, Pig Pig looks through an album belonging to the photographer who has come to his house to take his picture. While flipping through the book, he decides to practice saying "Cheese." Pig Pig finds himself transported into one precarious situation after another—for example, being hung from a church steeple by one suspender—until he says the magic word again. Back before the camera in his own living room, he smiles, but he refuses to say "Cheese." A critic in Kirkus Reviews hailed the return of the "irresistible star," while Susan Hepler of School Library Journal concluded that McPhail's illustrations "increase visual excitement and highlight details which will carry even to the far reaches of story time." Pig Pig Gets a Job finds the little porker dreaming up some imaginative schemes to earn money, such as making mud pies, building houses, and taking care of circus animals, all of which his mother directs into manageable tasks, like making sandwiches, washing the car, and feeding the cat. Deborah Abbott of Booklist noted, "McPhail's full-color artwork meshes perfectly with the tone and theme of his tongue-in-cheek story." Pig Pig is considered one of the most beloved characters in recent juvenile literature. Writing in Horn Book, Karen Jameyson stated that from his first appearance, Pig Pig "has been captivating the picture-book set, for the pudgy protagonist is without question one of the most winsome pigs in children's literature."

With the Edward series, McPhail features another of his most popular characters while celebrating the joys of reading and the imagination. In the first book of the series, Santa's Book of Names, the author/artist introduces Edward, a small boy who is having difficulty with learning to read. On Christmas Eve, Edward finds the book belonging to Santa Claus that lists the names of the children to whom he will be delivering gifts. When Edward returns the book, Santa invites him to come aboard his sleigh and to hold the book while he delivers his presents. However, while they are in the air, Santa drops his glasses into the sea; consequently, he cannot read the names in his book. It is up to Edward to sound out the words, which he does. The last gift in Santa's sleigh is a book for Edward, which he reads to himself on Christmas morning. A critic in Kirkus Reviews noted, "The novel twist on the popular scenario makes an engaging story that's sure to be a hit."

In Edward and the Pirates, Edward has become a voracious reader. When he finds an old book about pirate treasure, he imagines himself at the helm of a pirate ship. Just then, the pirates come into his room and demand the book. Since it is a library book, Edward refuses to give the volume to them. The pirates kidnap Edward, but he is rescued by his mom and dad, who are dressed as Joan of Arc and Robin Hood, both characters from books that Edward has been reading. Finally, the pirates reveal that they cannot read, and that they only wanted the book so that it could to be read to them. After hearing this, Edward honors their request. A critic in Kirkus Reviews commented, "This is a wonderful adventure on the high seas of a child's imagination.... Edward and his large, faithful teddy are irresistible." A reviewer in Publishers Weekly added, "Readers young and old will love the swashbuckling verve and intrepid adventures of this loving tribute to the power of books."

In Edward in the Jungle, Edward takes his toy jungle animals into the backyard to read a book about Tarzan. Suddenly, he finds himself right in the story, where he is being pursued by a crocodile. Tarzan appears, rescues Edward, introduces him to his animal friends, and teaches him his famous cry. When he discovers that the croc that threatened him has been captured by hunters, Edward uses his jungle yell to bring Tarzan's animal friends to the rescue. The grateful crocodile carries Edward to the opposite shore, allowing him to get home just in time for dinner. Describing the illustrations as some of McPhail's best, Booklist's Michael Cart commented that the story's "implied message about adventuring with books is nicely integrated into the narrative."

As he did with literature in the Edward series, McPhail celebrates the power of music in Mole Music, a picture book that is regarded as one of the author/artist's most successful works. While watching a television program in his underground home, solitary Mole hears the strains of a violin for the first time. He is so impressed that he decides to send away for a violin of his own. Mole practices for years and gets progressively better; finally, he can make beautiful, powerful music. McPhail depicts the second part of his tale strictly through his illustrations. Mole's music attracts birds, farmers, presidents, and queens. Even a pair of fighting armies lay down their arms to listen to the lovely melodies that waft upward from Mole's violin. However, since Mole practices underground, he does not see the effects of his music but simply plays for the love of it. Comparing the character of Mole with Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad, a critic in Kirkus Reviews claimed, "the beloved Mole will easily win the affections of readers and inspire young hopes for a better world."

With The Teddy Bear, McPhail created a picture book that is credited for successfully combining tenderness, sensitivity, and social conscience. The story begins when a small boy accidentally leaves behind his beloved teddy bear in the diner where he and his parents have eaten. Accidentally thrown out, the bear is rescued by a homeless man, who tucks it in his pocket. Gradually, the boy begins to adjust to life without his bear, while the man becomes more and more attached to it. In one illustration, the man is shown sleeping in a dumpster with the bear beside him. One day, the man puts the bear on a park bench while he goes to forage for food. While he is away, the boy and his parents walk by and see the bear. The boy rejoices to find his lost companion. As he begins to walk away with the bear, he hears the homeless man cry out. The boy approaches the man, who tells him that he would not know what to do without the bear; the boy understands and gives the bear to its new owner. Hazel Rochman of Booklist thought that The Teddy Bear "works because McPhail's beautiful soft-toned watercolor pictures . . . tell the elemental story of shelter and love through the child's eyes." Helen Foster James of School Library Journal concluded that "discussion is sure to follow as the artist gives a face and emotion to the homeless population."

McPhail has written several picture books about characters who like to draw. For example, in Drawing Lessons from a Bear, the author features a bear who narrates the story of how he became an artist. As a young cub, the bear discovered a passion for drawing when he began to scratch marks with his claw on the floor of his cave. He receives encouragement from his mother and teachers and gains inspiration from trips to the local art museum. As an adult, the bear realizes that, even after fame, prizes, and offers of mansions and fancy cars, his calling is best fulfilled in his forest den, drawing pictures and encouraging children to draw. A critic in Kirkus Reviews remarked, the "powerful message of personal affirmation . . . is one all parents will welcome and all children appreciate." Ken Marantz of School Arts called Drawing Lessons from a Bear a "great book for every early elementary classroom," while Susan Marie Pitard of School Library Journal added, "This fine title will find a home anywhere."

With In Flight with David McPhail: A Creative Autobiography, McPhail wrote a picture-book autobiography about his life as an artist. He talks about his early years, explains how the ideas for some of his books came about, and mentions some of his writing habits. McPhail also outlines the steps involved in illustrating a book for publication, taking it through the stages of final production. In a review in Horn Book, Nancy Vasilakis called In Flight with David McPhail "distinctive for [its] attractiveness, accessibility, and clear focus" before concluding that the volume is "superior and inspirational."

McPhail once told CA, "Some of my stories relate to my own childhood or, in some small way, to my children, who play a role in my work. Their influence on my drawing has been considerable and, in some subtle way, the books they like tend to inspire me." Many of the boys in his books are based on his oldest son, Tristian. McPhail also has used sketches of his youngest daughter, Jaime, a child who is the daughter of the artist and his second wife, Mickey, as the inspiration for some of his pictures. Although he is an author, McPhail does not consider himself a writer. He once told CA, "Writing for me is purely inspirational.... With writing, I get a sudden and wonderful feeling, as if I'm about to win something. There's a story building in my mind and I know I have to open myself up to it, because it's about to happen." On the other hand, art is a bit more of an effort for McPhail; he once noted, "Even though I can't force myself to write, I can force myself to draw." Writing in In Flight with David McPhail, the author/artist recalled, "I've always loved to draw. I loved to draw when I was a young child, and I still love to draw as a middle-aged man. I've drawn thousands—even tens of thousands—of pictures, sometimes the same one over and over, but I still love doing it." He concluded that his goal is to do a book a year, or maybe one every two years, "so that I will be able to take the time I need and make the pictures truly special. For me, the most important thing is the process, not the results. If the day ever comes when I find making books either boring or tedious, I hope I have the wisdom to quit and find another line of work. But the way things are going, I don't see that happening any time soon. I love to write and draw pictures, and I get paid to do it. You can't beat that!" In assessing his life and career, McPhail once told CA, "I feel each day is an adventure and each book is a new beginning."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

McElmeel, Sharon L., 100 Most Popular Picture BookAuthors and Illustrators, Libraries Unlimited (Englewood, CO), 2000.

McPhail, David, In Flight with David McPhail: A Creative Autobiography, Heinemann (Portsmouth, NH), 1996.

Silvey, Anita, editor, Children's Books and Their Creators, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1995.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 1990, Deborah Abbott, review of Pig Pig Gets a Job, p. 87; April 1, 2002, Michael Cart, review of Edward in the Jungle, p. 1334; May 1, 2002, Hazel Rochman, review of The Teddy Bear, p. 152; June 1, 2002, Lauren Peterson, review of Mud Is Cake, p. 1743; August, 2002, Lauren Peterson, review of Piggy's Pancake Parlor, p. 161; April 1, 2003, Hazel Rochman, review of Sisters, p. 1403; April 1, 2003, Julie Cummins, review of Thirsty Baby, p. 1400.

Books for Keeps, January, 1987, review of Pig PigRides, p. 7.

Horn Book, December, 1980, Ethel L. Heins, review of Pig Pig Grows Up, pp. 635-636; July-August, 1986, Karen Jameyson, review of Pig Pig and the Magic Photo Album, p. 443; November-December, 1990, Ethel R. Twichell, review of Pig Pig Gets a Job, p. 765; September-October, 1996, Nancy Vasilakis, review of In Flight with David McPhail: A Creative Autobiography, p. 609.

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 1986, review of Pig Pig and the Magic Photo Album, p. 635; December 1, 1993, review of Santa's Book of Names, p. 1277; April 1, 1997, review of Edward and the Pirates, p. 559; February 1, 1999, review of Mole Music, p. 235; April 15, 2000, review of Drawing Lessons from a Bear, p. 564; May 15, 2002, review of Piggy Pancake's Parlor, p. 737.

Publishers Weekly, January 15, 1987, review of PigPig Goes to Camp, p. 79; February 10, 1997, review of Edward and the Pirates, p. 82; January 13, 2002, review of Thirsty Baby, p. 58.

School Arts, October, 2000, Ken Marantz, review of Drawing Lessons from a Bear, p. 64.

School Library Journal, May, 1986, Susan Hepler, review of Pig Pig and the Magic Photo Album, p. 82; May, 2000, Susan Marie Pitard, review of Drawing Lessons from a Bear, p. 149; June, 2002, Wanda Meyers-Hines, review of Piggy's Pancake Parlor, p. 103; June, 2002, Helen Foster James, review of The Teddy Bear, p. 103; August, 2002, Cheryl Scheer, review of The Day the Sheep Showed Up, p. 57.

ONLINE

Education World,http://www.educationworld.com/ (February 12, 2003), Linda Starr, review of Mole Music.

The Scoop,http://www.friend.ly.net/scoop/ (February 12, 2003), "David McPhail."*