EPISODE 14 - Exceptional Scribble, Literary Artist Laureate- Childrens literature Author Mercer Mayer. Mercer Mayer (born December 30, 1943) is an American childrens book writer and illustrator. He has published over 300 books using a wide range of illustrative styles (see his bibliography for a list). Mayer is probably best known for his Little Critter and Little Monster series of books. Mayer was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. His father was in the United States Navy, so the family moved many times during his childhood before settling in Honolulu, Hawaii. There, Mayer graduated from high school in 1961. While attending school at the Honolulu Museum of Art, Mayer decided to enter the field of childrens book illustration. To that end, he created a portfolio of sketches and peddled them wherever he could. Though his professors feared the young artist would never be good enough to make a living as an illustrator, Mayer was not dissuaded. Mayer moved from Hawaii to New York City in 1964, pursuing further instruction at the Art Students League of New York, where he met an artist named Marianna who became his first wife. He also met an art director who told Mayer that his portfolio was so bad that he needed to throw it away. Though offended, Mayer did. During his spare time from his job at an advertising agency, the artist created a completely new portfolio. These new sketches persuaded editors at Dial Press and Harper & Row to give him some illustration work. Mayer published his first book, A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog, at Dial Press in 1967. It was notable for being a completely wordless picture book—one that tells its story entirely through the use of pictures. Mayer was one of the first illustrators to be credited for using this format. Five more books in this series were to follow. He also produced If I Had a Gorilla about the advantages of ape ownership. For more about Mercer Mayer visit: LITTLE CRITTER-ALL ABOUT MERCER MAYER littlecritter/about_mercer_mayer2.html
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 04:48:52 +0000
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