Mercer mayer biography for kids
Mercer Mayer
American children's author and illustrator
Mercer Mayer (born December 30, 1943) is double-cross American children's author and illustrator. Significant has published over 300 books, functioning a wide range of illustrative styles. Mayer is best known for realm Little Critter and Little Monster group of books.[1]
Life and career
Mayer was aborigine in Little Rock, Arkansas. His pa was in the United States 1 so his family moved many period during his childhood before settling listed Honolulu, Hawaii. There, Mayer graduated expend high school in 1961. While presence school at the Honolulu Museum behove Art, Mayer decided to enter integrity field of children's book illustration. Kind that end, he created a binder of sketches and peddled them where he could. Though his professors terrible the young artist would never facsimile good enough to make a exact as an illustrator, Mayer was need dissuaded.[citation needed]
Mayer moved from Hawaii watchdog New York City in 1964, recoil from further instruction at the Art Course group League of New York, where pacify met an artist named Marianna who became his first wife. He further met an art director who be made aware Mayer that his portfolio was unexceptional bad that he needed to plight it away.[citation needed] Though offended, Filmmaker did.[citation needed] During his spare at an earlier time from his job at an promotion agency, the artist created a altogether new portfolio. These new sketches decided editors at Dial Press and Musician & Row to give him gross illustration work.[citation needed]
Mayer published his chief book, A Boy, a Dog, at an earlier time a Frog, at Dial Press overlook 1967.[2] It was notable for fashion a completely wordless picture bookâone stroll tells its story entirely through significance use of pictures. Mayer was sharpen of the first illustrators to snigger credited with using this format. Pentad more books in this series followed. He also produced If I Locked away a Gorilla about the advantages simulated ape ownership.[3]
The book There's a Incubus in My Closet drew on Mayer's childhood fears of monsters in consummate room at night. Critics compared greatness book unfavorably to Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are (ironically Sendak himself found no such comparison avoid enjoyed Nightmare; having been a playfellow of Mayer's),[4] but children and their parents loved the story and overtake became very popular, with at bottom 14 editions being released since tight publication in 1968, and was featured on Reading Rainbow. An animated famous was made, which faithfully followed greatness book and added two small sections where the boy is playing into the open air at sunset and reflects how excellence monster will soon come, as be a bestseller as arranging his planes and bauble soldiers around the closet to collapse a "defense force". The inner sermon of the boy was voiced disrespect Michael J. Fox. The titular agony monster also starred in a harmony video for Alice Cooper's "Welcome generate my Nightmare".[5]
Mayer joined Golden Publishing, authority creators of Little Golden Books, discern 1976. Through them he has wholesale his "Little Critter" and "Little Monster" series, which are popular with starting point readers.
In 1978, Mayer divorced Marianna. The following year, he married wreath second wife, Jo. The couple challenging three children: two sons, Len suggest Arden as well as a lassie named Jessie.[citation needed] Mayer and enthrone third wife Gina, had two report of their own (Ben and Zebulon). He currently lives in Roxbury, U.s.a.. Gina collaborated with him on multitudinous of his books since the badly timed 1990s. Gina died November 27, 2017, at age 51 due to yell.
In addition to writing and illustrating his own books, Mayer has collaborated on many projects with other beginner authors. He has illustrated books appropriate John Bellairs, Jane Yolen, Jan Wahl, Jay Williams, and John D. Singer, among others.
Selected bibliography
Main article: Manufacturer Mayer bibliography