Fields, Bryan W. 1958(?)-

Personal

Born c. 1958, in MO; married; wife's name Lesli; children: five.

Addresses

Home and office—Denton, TX.

Career

Author. Worked previously as a copy writer, customer-service representative, business manager, janitor, music teacher, and professional musician.

Member

Oklahoma Writers Federation, Lonestar Nightwriters.

Awards, Honors

Best Juvenile Book designation, Oklahoma Writers Federation, 2006, for Lunchbox and the Aliens.

Writings

Lunchbox and the Aliens, illustrated by Kevan J. Atteberry, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2006.

Froonga Planet, illustrated by Kevan J. Atteberry, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2008.

Contributor to periodicals, including Denton Record-Chronicle, Absolutewrite.com, Writers Weekly, Writing for Dollars, Imperfect Parent, and Byline.

Sidelights

Bryan W. Fields has dabbled in many different careers, including that of music teacher, copy writer, business manager, and professional musician. He has also lived in many different places, including Japan, New Mexico, Missouri, Colorado, Florida, Arizona, and Mississippi. Now based in Denton, Texas, Fields has also settled into a career as a freelance writer and author, and his first published children's book, Lunchbox and the Aliens, was published in 2006.

Labeled a "zany tale" by a Children's Bookwatch reviewer, Fields' eccentric story centers on a pup named Lunchbox who is abducted by two otherworldly beings. Frazz and Grunfloz are on a mission to find the food they need to survive. When the aliens discover that the garbage of Earthlings meets their dietary needs, they employ Lunchbox as their garbage scout. The dog is fitted with a special helmet which enhances his mental capabilities, and soon Lunchbox's owner, a boy named Nate, is also assisting in the garbage-scouting process. Their efforts yield a surprising result: as Nate and Lunchbox feed the aliens, they also help clean up the Earth. However, Fields also presents them with a few obstacles, including an antagonistic town mayor and some local bullies. In School Library Journal, Cynde Suite noted that Lunchbox and the Aliens includes a "fast-moving plot and satisfying conclusion" and added that the book is a prime selection for "any child who enjoys a good book about a boy and his dog."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

School Library Journal, October, 2006, Cynde Suite, review of Lunchbox and the Aliens, p. 110.

ONLINE

Bryan W. Fields Home Page,http://www.bryanwfields.com (March 3, 2008).

Children's Bookwatch Web site,http://www.midwestbookreview.com/ (November, 2006), review of Lunchbox and the Aliens.