Author Description

Product Description<br/><br/><br/>Colorful drawings illustrate the traditional nursery rhyme that tells the story of a schoolgirl and her faithful pet lamb<br/><br/><br/>From Publishers Weekly<br/><br/><br/>McMillan, the accomplished photographer/creator of many innovative concept picture books, has imaginatively adapted this classic rhyme into an effective contemporary photo-essay. Mary is a perky bespectacled black child who sports yellow overalls; her lamb is snowy white and understandably lovable. The children pictured throughout this fresh, appealing presentation seem relaxed and unposed, and McMillan has coaxed wonderful expressions from all his subjects--even the surprisingly personable lamb. An intriguing afterword includes the history of the poem, the original 1830 version and an excerpt from the 1857 edition of McGuffey's Old Second Reader. Ages 2-6.<br/>Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.<br/><br/><br/>About the Author<br/><br/><br/>Tomie dePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1934 to a family of Irish and Italian background. By the time he could hold a pencil, he knew what his life's work would be. His determination to create books for children led to a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and an MFA from the California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland, California.<br/>It drove him through the years of teaching, designing greeting cards and stage sets, and painting church murals until 1965, when he illustrated his first children's book, Sound, by Lisa Miller for Coward-McCann. Eventually, freed of other obligations, he plunged full time into both writing and illustrating children's books.<br/>He names Fra Angelico and Giotto, Georges Rouault, and Ben Shahn as major influences on his work, but he soon found his own unique style. His particular way with color, line, detail, and design have earned him many of the most prestigious awards in his field, among them a Caldecott Honor Award for Strega Nona, the Smithsonian Medal fro