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James Marshall (author)

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James Edward Marshall (October 10, 1942 – October 13, 1992) was an American illustrator and writer of children's books, probably best known for the George and Martha series of picture books (1972–1988). He illustrated books exclusively as James Marshall; when he created both text and illustrations he sometimes wrote as Edward Marshall. In 2007, the U.S. professional librarians posthumously awarded him the Children's Literature Legacy Award for "substantial and lasting contribution" to American children's literature.[1][2]

Life and death

James Marshall was born in 1942, in San Antonio, Texas, where he grew up on his family's 85-acre farm. His father worked on the railroad and had a band. His mother sang in the local church choir. The family later moved to Beaumont, Texas. Marshall said: "Beaumont is deep south and swampy and I hated it. I knew I would die if I stayed there so I diligently studied the viola, and eventually won a scholarship to the New England Conservatory in Boston."[3] He entered the New England Conservatory of Music but injured his hand, ending his music career. He returned to Texas, where he attended San Antonio College, and later transferred to Southern Connecticut State University where he received degrees in French and history. He lived between an apartment in the Chelsea district of New York City and a home in Mansfield Hollow, Connecticut. He died on October 13, 1992, three days after his 50th birthday. His obituary states that he died of a brain tumor;[4] however, his sister has since clarified that he died of AIDS.[5][6]

Career

It is stated that he discovered his vocation on a 1971 summer afternoon, lying in a hammock and drawing. His mother was watching Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and the main characters, George and Martha, ultimately became characters in one of his children's books (as two hippos). Marshall continued creating books for children until his untimely death in 1992 from AIDS-related complications. In 1999, George and Martha became the stars of an eponymous animated TV show, which aired on HBO Family and Canadian YTV. Marshall was a friend of the late Maurice Sendak, who called him the "last in the line" of children's writers for whom children's books were a cottage industry. Sendak said that Marshall was "uncommercial to a fault" and, as a consequence, was little recognized by the awards committees. (As illustrator of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Marshall was a runner-up for the Caldecott Medal in 1989; the "Caldecott Honor Books" may display silver rather than gold seals.[7] He won a University of Mississippi Silver Medallion in 1992. Over his career, he was three times recognized by the New York Times Book Review as one of the best illustrated children's book of the year.[8]) Sendak said that in Marshall you got "the whole man", who "scolded, gossiped, bitterly reproached, but always loved and forgave" and "made me laugh until I cried." In introduction to the collected George and Martha, Sendak called him the "last of a long line of masters" including Randolph Caldecott, Jean de Brunhoff, Edward Ardizzone, and Tomi Ungerer.[2]

Beside the lovable hippos George and Martha, James Marshall created dozens of other uniquely appealing characters and illustrated over 70 books.[8] He is well known for his Fox series (which he wrote as "Edward Marshall"), as well as the Miss Nelson books (or Miss Viola Swamp, written by Harry Allard), The Stupids (written by Allard), the Cut-ups, and many more.[9] James Marshall had the uncanny ability to elicit wild delight from readers with relatively little text and simple drawings. With only two minute dots for eyes, his illustrated characters are able to express a wide range of emotion, and produce howls of laughter from both children and adults.

Works

Title Author Illustrator City Publisher Year
A Day With Whisker Wickles Cynthia Jameson James Marshall New York Coward McCann 1975
A Summer in the South James Marshall James Marshall New York Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 1977
A Frog and Her Dog James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1977
All the Way Home Lore Segal James Marshall New York Farrar, Straus, Giroux 1973
Bonzini! The Tattooed Man Jeffrey Allen James Marshall Boston Little, Brown and Co 1976
Bumps in the Night Harry Allard James Marshall New York Bantam Doubleday Dell 1979
Carrot Nose Jan Wahl James Marshall Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 1978
Choosing Books For Children: A Commonsense Guide Betsy Hearne James Marshall New York Delacorte 1990
Cinderella Barbara Karlin James Marshall New York Dial Books 1989
Dinner at Alberta's Russell Hoban James Marshall New York Thomas Y. Crowell 1975
Dinosaur's Housewarming Party Norma Klein James Marshall New York Crown Publishers 1974
Eugene James Marshall James Marshall 1975
Four Little Troubles James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1975
Four on the Shore Edward Marshall James Marshall New York Dial 1985
Fox all Week Edward Marshall James Marshall New York Penguin 1984
Fox and His Friends Edward Marshall James Marshall New York Penguin 1982
Fox at School Edward Marshall James Marshall New York Dial 1983
Fox Be Nimble James Marshall James Marshall New York Dial 1990
Fox in Love Edward Marshall James Marshall New York Penguin 1982
Fox on Stage James Marshall James Marshall New York Penguin 1993
Fox on the Job James Marshall James Marshall New York Dial 1988
Fox on Wheels Edward Marshall James Marshall New York Dial 1983
Fox Outfoxed James Marshall James Marshall New York Penguin 1992
Fox Tales (Fox Outfoxed, Fox Be Nimble, Fox on Stage) James Marshall James Marshall New York Dial Books For Young Readers 1990
George and Martha James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1972
George and Martha Encore James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1973
George and Martha Back in Town James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1984
George and Martha One Fine Day James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1978
George and Martha Rise and Shine James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1976
George and Martha Round and Round James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1988
George and Martha Tons of Fun James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1980
Go, Go, Go James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1981
Goldilocks and the Three Bears James Marshall James Marshall New York Dial Books 1988
Hansel and Gretel James Marshall James Marshall New York Dial Books 1990
Haunted House Jokes Louis Phillips James Marshall USA Puffin 1988
Hey Diddle Diddle James Marshall James Marshall New York Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1979
How Beastly! A Menagerie of Nonsense Poems Jane Yolen James Marshall New York Collins 1980
I Will Not Go to Market Today Harry Allard James Marshall New York Dial 1979
It's So Nice to Have a Wolf Around the House Harry Allard James Marshall Garden City Doubleday 1977
James Marshall's Mother Goose James Marshall James Marshall New York Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1979
Lazy Stories Diane Wolkstein James Marshall New York Seabury Press 1976
MacGoose's Grocery Frank Asch James Marshall New York Dial 1978
Mary Alice Operator Number 9 Jeffrey Allen James Marshall Boston Little Brown & Co. 1975
Miss. Dog's Christmas Treat James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1973
Merry Christmas, Space Case James Marshall James Marshall New York Dial 1986
Miss Nelson Has a Field Day Harry Allard James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1985
Miss Nelson is Back Harry Allard James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin Co. 1982
Miss Nelson is Missing Harry Allard James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1977
My Friends the Frogs James Marshall James Marshall Lexington, Mass. D.C. Heath 1989
Nosey Mrs. Rat Jeffrey Allen James Marshall New York Viking Kestrel 1985
Old Mother Hubbard and Her Wonderful Dog James Marshall James Marshall New York Farrar, Straus & Giroux 1991
Plink Plink Plink Byrd Baylor James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1971
Pocket Full of Nonsense James Marshall James Marshall New York Golden Books 1992
Portly McSwine James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1979
Rats on the Range James Marshall James Marshall New York Dial Books for Young Readers 1993
Rats on the Roof James Marshall James Marshall New York Dial Books for Young Readers 1991
Rapscallion Jones James Marshall James Marshall New York Viking 1983
Red Riding Hood James Marshall James Marshall New York Dial 1987
Roger's Umbrella Daniel Pinkwater James Marshall New York Dutton 1982
Space Case Edward Marshall James Marshall New York Dial 1980
Speedboat James Marshall James Marshall Middletown, Connecticut Xerox Education Publications 1976
Sing Out, Irene James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1975
Snake, His Story James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin Co. 1975
Someone is Talking About Hortense Laurette Murdock James Marshall Boston Houghton 1975
Swine Lake James Marshall Maurice Sendak New York HarperCollins 1999
Taking Care of Carruthers James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton 1981
The Night Before Christmas Clement C. Moore James Marshall New York Scholastic 1985
The Owl and the Pussycat Edward Lear James Marshall S.l. HarperCollins 1991
The Adventures of Isabel: a Verse Ogden Nash James Marshall Boston Little, Brown 1991
The Big Jump / el salto James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflen 1981
The Boy Who Cried Wolf Freya Littledale James Marshall New York Scholastic 1975
The Cut-ups James Marshall James Marshall New York Viking Kestrel 1984
The Cut-ups at Camp Custer James Marshall James Marshall New York Viking Penguin 1989
The Cut-ups Carry On James Marshall James Marshall New York Viking 1990
The Cut-ups Crack Up James Marshall James Marshall New York Viking Penguin 1992
The Cut-ups Cut Loose James Marshall James Marshall New York Viking Kestrel 1987
The Frog Prince Edith H. Tarcov James Marshall New York Scholastic 1974
The Exploding Frog and Other Fables From Aesop John McFarland James Marshall Boston Little, Brown 1981
The Piggy in the Puddle Charlotte Pomerantz James Marshall New York Simon & Schuster 1974
The Stupids Die Harry Allard James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1981
The Stupids Have a Ball Harry Allard James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1978
The Stupids Step Out Harry Allard James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1974
The Stupids Take Off Harry Allard James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1989
The Three Little Pigs James Marshall James Marshall New York Dial 1989
There's a Party at Mona's Tonight Harry Allard James Marshall Garden City Doubleday 1981
Three by the Sea Edward Marshall James Marshall New York Dial Press 1981
Three Up a Tree James Marshall James Marshall New York Dial 1986
Troll Country Edward Marshall James Marshall New York Dial 1980
What's the Matter With Carruthers James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1972
Willis James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1974
Wings: a Tale of Two Chickens James Marshall James Marshall New York Viking 1986
Yummers! James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1972
Yummers Too: the Second Course James Marshall James Marshall Boston Houghton Mifflin 1986

See also

References

  1. ^ "Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, Past winners". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA).
    "About the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
  2. ^ a b "Welcome to the (Laura Ingalls) Wilder Award home page!". ALSC. ALA. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  3. ^ "James Marshall (a. k. a. Edward Marshall)". January 2001. Picture Books Author of the Month. Greenville (RI) Public Library. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
  4. ^ "James Marshall, 50, an Illustrator And an Author for Children, Dies". Oct 15, 1992. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
  5. ^ "Finding the Artist in His Art: A Week with the James Marshall Papers." Archives and Special Collections Blog. June 15, 2016. Accessed February 7, 2019. https://blogs.lib.uconn.edu/archives/2016/06/15/finding-the-artist-in-his-art-a-week-with-the-james-marshall-papers/.
  6. ^ "James Marshall." Wandervogel Diary. November 07, 2010. Accessed February 08, 2019. https://wandervogeldiary.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/james-marshall/.
  7. ^ "Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938–Present". ALSC. ALA.
    "The Randolph Caldecott Medal". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  8. ^ a b Bruce Lambert, "James Marshall, 50, an Illustrator And an Author for Children, Dies", The New York Times, October 15, 1992
  9. ^ "About the Author", Penguin Random House]
Authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults — directory including Marshall
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