Boniface, William 1963-

Personal

Born October 17, 1963, in Yankton, SD. Education: University of Minnesota, B.S. (marketing).

Addresses

Agent—Jon Anderson, 313 W. 22nd St., No.2B, New York, NY 10011.

Career

Publisher and children's author.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN

Welcome to Dinsmore, the World's Greatest Store, illustrated by Tom Kerr, Andrews McMeel (Kansas City, MO), 1995.

Mystery in Bugtown, illustrated by Jim Harris, Accord (Denver, CO), 1997.

The Adventures of Max the Minnow, illustrated by Don Sullivan, Accord (Denver, CO), 1997.

The Treasure Hunter, illustrated by Jim Harris, Accord (Denver, CO), 1998, board-book edition, 2006.

Trim the Tree for Christmas, illustrated by Debbie Palen, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2000.

Christmastime Is Cookie Time, illustrated by Ronnie Rooney, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2001.

What Do You Want on Your Sundae?, illustrated by Debbie Palen, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2001.

What Do You Want in Your Cereal Bowl, illustrated by Ronnie Rooney, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2002.

Santa's Sleigh Is Full!: A Top This! Book, illustrated by Ronnie Rooney, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2002.

The Stars Came out on Christmas, illustrated by Stephen Waterhouse, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2002.

Five Little Pumpkins, illustrated by Jerry Smath, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2002.

Five Little Ghosts, illustrated by Jerry Smath, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2002.

Easter Bunnies Everywhere: A Top This! Book, illustrated by Ronnie Rooney, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2003.

Five Little Bunny Rabbits, illustrated by Lynn Adams, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2003.

Five Little Candy Hearts, illustrated by Lynn Adams, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2003.

Five Little Christmas Angels, illustrated by Lynn Adams, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2003.

Five Little Easter Eggs, illustrated by Lynn Adams, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2003.

Five Little Christmas Trees, illustrated by Lynn Adams, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2003.

Five Little Christmas Turkeys, illustrated by Lynn Adams, Price, Stern, Sloan (New York, NY), 2003.

Max Makes Millions (sequel to The Adventures of Max the Minnow), illustrated by Dan Vasconsellos, Accord (Riverside, NJ), 2005.

"EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ORDINARY BOY" SERIES: FOR CHILDREN

The Hero Revealed, illustrated by Stephen Gilpin, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2006.

The Return of Meteor Boy?, illustrated by Stephen Gilpin, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2007.

Sidelights

William Boniface is the author of several amusing stories for young children, among them novelty books such as Trim the Tree for Christmas, a series of holiday-themed books that include Five Little Ghosts and Five Little Christmas Trees, the elementary-grade novels The Adventures of Max the Minnow, and several books in the "Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy" series. Boniface's first book, Welcome to Dinsmore, the World's Greatest Store, combines the author's background in marketing with a rhyming story. In this picture book, a doorman takes the reader—along with the story's young hero—on a tour of all nine floors of an imaginary department store. Applauding Boniface's "rhyming text" in a Booklist review, Lauren Peterson added that, "as a read-aloud … the book can't be beat."

In The Adventures of Max the Minnow and Max Makes Millions Boniface focus on a tiny fish. Readers meet Max in The Adventures of Max the Minnow as the little fish tries to find a way to gain in stature before realizing that he is just fine the size he is. The minnow's passion for weight lifting results in a far more husky hero in Max Makes Millions. Known as the "King of Fitness Fun," Max's enthusiasm for fitness is contagious among his deep-sea friends … that is, until Sharky enters the picture.

In his "Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy" novels, Boniface transports upper-elementary-grade readers to Superopolis, a town where everyone is a superhero of one sort or another … everyone, that is, except for Ordinary Boy. The series begins in the pages of The Hero Revealed, which finds Ordinary Boy aided by his junior-superhero friends in foiling a nefarious scheme hatched by Professor Brain-Drain. Ordinary Boy returns in The Return of Meteor Boy, as our hero investigates the mysterious disappearance of Meteor Boy while the young superhero was in the middle of a dangerous mission. In Booklist, Ed Sullivan called The Hero Revealed "fast-paced and silly," while Walter Minkel concluded in School Library Journal that, in the amusing novel, "Boniface wields a cynical, but definitely kid-friendly, sense of humor." Popular with reluctant readers, the novels in the "Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy" are heavily illustrated by Steven Gilpin and were described by Minkel as "a send-up and a celebration of the comics genre."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 1, 1996, Lauren Peterson, review of Welcome to Dinsmore, the World's Greatest Store, p. 936; June 1, 2006, Ed Sullivan, review of The Hero Revealed, p. 67.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2006, review of The Hero Revealed, p. 568.

Publishers Weekly, September 25, 2000, review of Trim the Tree for Christmas!, p. 74; September 24, 2001, review of Christmastime Is Cookie Time, p. 55; September 23, 2002, review of Five Little Ghosts, p. 24; December 23, 2002, review of Five Little Easter Eggs, p. 72; December 15, 2003, review of Five Little Candy Hearts, p. 75.

School Library Journal, June, 2006, Walter Minkel, review of The Hero Revealed, p. 146.

ONLINE

HarperCollins Web site,http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/ (August 16, 2007), "William Boniface."