Prince, Joshua

Personal

Married; children: three. Education: University of Vermont, B.A. (English).

Addresses

Home—CT.

Career

Writer and author of children's books. Copywriter for advertising firms; Cline, Davis & Mann (advertising agency), New York, NY, 1986—, began as copy writer, currently managing partner and chief creative officer.

Writings

I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track, illustrated by Macky Pamintuan, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2006.

I Saw an Ant in a Parking Lot, illustrated by Macky Pamintuan, Sterling Publishing (New York, NY), 2007.

Sidelights

Although Joshua Prince has established a successful career in advertising, his love of books and his belief in the importance of reading inspired him to channel some of his skill as a writer into children's books. Featuring colorful cartoon illustrations by Macky Pamintuan, Prince's books include I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track and I Saw an Ant in a Parking Lot.

In I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track Jack is a railroad switchman who is in charge of pulling the lever to shift ongoing trains from one track to another. When he spots a tiny black ant scurrying along a length of track in the path of an oncoming freight train, Jack quickly jumps to pull the switch, but the lever is stuck. The tension quickly mounts through Prince's rhyming prose as readers worry over the ant's safety. In Booklist Ilene Cooper found the story's "sprightly rhyme" effective, writing that "Prince's text is rhythmically perfect." "The big, bold color caricatures have a timeless feel, in keeping with the text," noted Susan E. Murray in her School Library Journal review of the book. Praising Pamintuan's "slick" and energetic art, a Publishers Weekly contributor also concluded that Prince's "percussive, theatrical text" combines with these "larger-than-life pictures" to make I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track "a made-to-order read-aloud."

Presenting their story "with mock-epic flair," according to Booklist critic Shelle Rosenfeld, Prince and Pamintuan return in I Saw an Ant in the Parking Lot. Here parking-lot attendant Dorothy Mott has her work cut out for her when she spots an ant looking for crumbs in the middle of a busy parking lot. Their story is infused "with mega silliness and suspense," Rosenfeld added, citing Pamintuan's digitally enhanced, large-scale illustrations and Prince's rhyming text. While noting that parking lots do not have the "timeless appeal" of train yards, Rachel G. Payne added in School Library Journal that Prince's creative use of "rhyme and wordplay make [I Saw an Ant in a Parking Lot] … a buoyant read-aloud."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 1, 2006, Ilene Cooper, review of I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track, p. 56; April 1, 2007, Shelle Rosenfeld, review of I Saw an Ant in a Parking Lot, p. 60.

Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2006, review of I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track, p. 299; January 15, 2007, review of I Saw an Ant in a Parking Lot, p. 80.

Publishers Weekly, May 22, 2006, review of I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track, p. 50.

School Library Journal, July, 2006, Susan E. Murray, review of I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track, p. 84; July, 2007, Rachel G. Payne, review of I Saw an Ant in a Parking Lot, p. 84.

ONLINE

Cline, Davis & Mann Web site,http://www.clinedavis.com/ (March 27, 2008), "Joshua Prince."

First Book Blog,http://blog.firstbook.org/ (May 19, 2006), interview with Prince.