James Marshall (author)
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 biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for "substantial and lasting contribution" to American children's literature.[1][2]
Life
Marshall was born in San Antonio, Texas, where he grew up on his family's farm. His father worked on the railroad and was a band member in the 1930s. 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.
Career
It is said 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 hippopotami). Marshall continued creating books for children until his untimely death in 1992 of a brain tumor. In 1998, George and Martha became the stars of an eponymous animated TV show.
Marshall was a friend of 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.[4] He won a University of Mississippi Silver Medallion in 1992.) 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 hippopotami George and Martha, James Marshall created dozens of other uniquely appealing characters. 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. 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 Frog and Her Dog | James Marshall | James Marshall | Houghton Mifflin | 1977 | |
All the Way Home | James Marshall | 1973 | |||
Bonzini! The Tattooed Man | Jeffrey Allen | James Marshall | 1976 | ||
Bumps in the Night | James Marshall | 1979 | |||
Carrot Nose | James Marshall | 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 | 2000 | ||
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 | 1999 |
Hey Diddle Diddle | James Marshall | James Marshall | 2003 | ||
How Beastly! A Menagerie of Nonsense Poesm | 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 | James Marshall | 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 Miffin | 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 | 1982 | ||
Miss Nelson is Missing! | Harry Allard | James Marshall | Boston | Houghton Mifflin | 1977 |
My Friends the Frogs | James Marshall | James Marshall | D.C. Heath | 1989 | |
Nosey Mrs. Rat | James Marshall | 1987 | |||
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 | 1993 | |||
Rats on the Roof | James Marshall | 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 | 1967 |
Sing Out, Irene | James Marshall | James Marshall | 2000 | ||
Snake, His Story | James Marshall | James Marshall | 2000 | ||
Someone is Talking About Hortense | Laurette Murdock | James Marshall | 1975 | ||
Swine Lake | James Marshall | Maurice Sendak | New York | Harper Collins | 1999 |
Taking Care of Carruthers | James Marshall | 2000 | |||
The Night Before Christmas | Clement C. Moore | James Marshall | New York | Scholastic | 1985 |
The Owl and the Pussycat | Edward Lear | James Marshall | 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 | 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 | James Marshall | 1994 | |||
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
- ↑ "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. - 1 2 "Welcome to the (Laura Ingalls) Wilder Award home page!". ALSC. ALA. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
- ↑ "James Marshall (a. k. a. Edward Marshall)". January 2001. Picture Books Author of the Month. Greenville (RI) Public Library. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
- ↑ "Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938–Present". ALSC. ALA.
"The Randolph Caldecott Medal". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
External links
- Authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults — directory including Marshall
- James Marshall Papers in the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
- James Marshall at Library of Congress Authorities, with 128 catalog records
- Edward Marshall at LC Authorities, with 12 records, and Edward at WorldCat
- Edward Marshall in the German national library (with 2 records likely for another Edward Marshall)
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