Marc Tolon Brown (born November 25, 1946) is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complic ...

of children's books. Brown writes as well as illustrates the ''

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

'' book series and is best known for creating that series and its numerous spin-offs. The names of his two sons, Tolon Adam and Tucker Eliot, have been hidden in all of the ''Arthur'' books except for one. He also has a daughter named Eliza, whose name appears hidden in at least two books. He is a three-time

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

award winner; the ''

'' TV series adapted from the books was named number one on PBS for three years (1997, 2000, 2001). He also served as an executive producer on the show during seasons ten through twenty-five. He currently lives in Hingham,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

Early life and education

While growing up in

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, with his three sisters, Brown was told many stories by his grandmother Thora. This inspired Brown to write stories of his own in the later years of his life. An example of this was the "borrowing" of his 7th grade algebra teacher's name Mr. Rathbun for the character Mr. Ratburn. It was Grandma Thora who also fueled Brown's affinity for drawing, which was discovered at the age of six. While attending McDowell Senior High School, his art teacher, Nancy Bryan, introduced him to

watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

, which he now uses for the majority of his illustrations. Brown was inspired by other artists like

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

Maurice Sendak Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He became most widely known for his book '' Where the Wild Things Are'', first published in 1963.Turan, Kenneth (October 16, 20 ...

, the author of the children's book '' Where the Wild Things Are'', also influenced Brown in deciding on a career choice. With the help of his Grandma Thora, Brown was able to major in graphic design at the

Cleveland Institute of Art The Cleveland Institute of Art, previously Cleveland School of Art, is a private college focused on art and design and located in Cleveland, Ohio. History The college was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women, at firs ...

. Even with the opposition from his colleagues, Brown continued with his dream to be a children's book illustrator. After graduating, Brown presented a sample of his drawings to the publishing company

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, who offered him a USD$5,000 deal. This offer allowed Brown to confirm his decision of making professional illustrating his career. In 1969, he began part-time teaching at Garland Junior College in

and illustrated textbooks.

Career

He had many different jobs before focusing solely on his writing career. He was a truck driver, a short-order cook, a TV art director, and finally a college professor. Brown said his professorship was short-lived as the college went bankrupt one semester into his hiring.

Bibliography

''Arthur'' Adventure Series

*1976 - ''

Arthur's Nose ''Arthur's Nose'' is a 1976 children's book written and illustrated by writer Marc Brown, focusing on the experiences of Arthur Read, a fictional anthropomorphic bipedal aardvark. The character of Arthur later acquired fame and inspired several ...

'' *1979 - ''Arthur's Eyes'' *1980 - ''Arthur's Valentine'' *1981 - ''The True Francine'' *1982 - ''Arthur Goes to Camp'' *1982 - ''Arthur's Halloween'' *1983 - ''Arthur's April Fool'' *1983 - ''Arthur's Thanksgiving'' *1984 - ''Arthur's Christmas'' *1985 - ''Arthur's Tooth'' *1986 - ''

Arthur's Teacher Trouble ''Arthur's Teacher Trouble'' is a book in the ''Arthur'' series, released in 1986. It was written by Marc Brown and published by Little, Brown and Company and The Living Books Company. Plot On the first day of school, Arthur and his classmate ...

'' *1987 - ''D.W. Flips'' *1987 - ''Arthur's Baby'' *1988 - ''D.W. All Wet'' *1989 - ''Arthur's Birthday'' *1990 - ''Arthur's Pet Business'' *1991 - ''Arthur Meets the President'' (Early Moments) *1992 - ''Arthur Babysits'' *1993 - ''D.W. Thinks Big'' *1993 - ''D.W. Rides Again'' *1993 - ''Arthur's Family Vacation'' *1993 - ''Arthur's New Puppy'' *1994 - ''Arthur's Chicken Pox'' *1994 - ''Arthur's First Sleepover'' *1995 - ''D.W., the Picky Eater'' *1995 - ''Arthur's TV Trouble'' *1995 - ''Arthur Goes to School'' *1996 - ''Arthur Writes a Story'' *1996 - ''Arthur's Reading Race'' *1996 - ''Glasses for D.W.'' *1996 - ''Arthur's Neighborhood'' *1996 - ''Arthur and the True Francine'' *1997 - ''Arthur's Computer Disaster'' *1997 - ''Say the Magic Word'' *1997 - ''D.W.'s Lost Blankie'' *1997 - ''Arthur's Really Helpful Word Book'' *1997 - ''Arthur Tricks the Tooth Fairy'' *1998 - ''Arthur Lost and Found'' *1998 - ''Arthur's Really Helpful Bedtime Stories'' *1998 - ''Arthur Decks the Hall'' *1999 - ''Arthur's Underwear'' *2000 - ''Arthur's Teacher Moves In'' *2000 - ''Arthur's Perfect Christmas'' *2002 - ''Arthur, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll'' *2006 - ''Arthur Jumps into Fall'' *2011 - ''Arthur Turns Green''

''Arthur'' audiobooks

* 2000 - ''Marc Brown's Arthur Chapter Books: Volume 1'' - (Arthur's Mystery Envelope, Arthur and the Scare-Your-Pants-Off Club, and Arthur Makes the Team) * 2000 - ''Marc Brown's Arthur Chapter Books: Volume 2'' - (Arthur and the Crunch Cereal Contest, Arthur Accused!, and Locked in the Library) * 2000 - ''Marc Brown's Arthur Chapter Books: Volume 3'' - (Buster's Dino Dilemma, The Mystery of the Stolen Bike, and Arthur and the Lost Diary) * 2000 - ''Marc Brown's Arthur Chapter Books: Volume 4'' - (Who's in Love with Arthur?, Arthur Rocks with Binky, and Arthur and the Popularity Contest) * 2000 - ''Marc Brown's Arthur Chapter Books: Volume 5'' - (King Arthur, Francine, Believe It or Not, and Arthur and the Cootie-Catcher) * 2007 - ''Arthur's Audio Favorites Volume 1'' - (Arthur's Tooth, Arthur's Birthday, Arthur's Pet Business, Arthur's New Puppy, and Arthur Writes a Story) * 2009 - ''Arthur's Audio Favorites Volume 2'' - (Arthur's Family Vacation, Arthur Goes to Camp, Arthur Babysits, Arthur Meets the President, Arthur's Baby, and Arthur's Halloween)

Beginner books

*1980 - ''Pickle Things'' *1980 - ''Witches Four'' *1982 - ''Wings on Things'' (Early Moments) *1983 - ''Spooky Riddles'' *1985 - ''The Bionic Bunny Show'' *1985 - ''Hand Rhymes'' - collected and illustrated by Marc Brown *1986 - ''A World Full of Monsters'' (illustrated) *1995 - ''D.W. the Picky Eater'' (Early Moments) *1996 - ''Glasses for D.W.'' *1996 - ''Arthur's Reading Race'' (Early Moments) *1999 - ''Arthur In A Pickle'' (Early Moments) *1998 - ''Arthur Tricks the Tooth Fairy'' (Early Moments) *1999 - ''D.W., Go to Your Room!'' *2000 - ''Arthur's Teacher Moves In'' (Early Moments) *2001 - ''D.W.'s Library Card'' *2002 - ''Arthur's Animal Adventure'' (Early Moments) *2006 - ''D.W. Goes to Preschool'' *2008 - ''D.W. Says Please and Thank You''

Chapter books

*''Arthur's Mystery Envelope'' *''Arthur and the Scare-Your-Pants-Off Club'' *''Arthur Makes the Team'' *''Arthur and the Crunch Cereal Contest'' *''Arthur Accused!'' *''Locked in the Library!'' *''Buster's Dino Dilemma'' *''The Mystery of the Stolen Bike'' *''Arthur and the Lost Diary'' *''Who's in Love with Arthur?'' *''Arthur Rocks with Binky'' *''Arthur and the Popularity Test'' *''King Arthur'' *''Francine, Believe It or Not'' *''Arthur and the Cootie-Catcher'' *''Buster Makes the Grade'' *''Muffy's Secret Admirer'' *''Arthur and the Poetry Contest'' *''Buster Baxter, Cat Saver'' *''Arthur and the Big Blow-Up'' *''Arthur and the Perfect Brother'' *''Francine the Superstar'' *''Buster's New Friend'' *''Binky Rules'' *''Arthur and the Double Dare'' *''Arthur and the No-Brainer'' *''Arthur and the Comet Crisis'' *''Arthur and the 1,001 Dads'' *''Arthur Plays the Blues'' *''Arthur and the Bad-Luck Brain'' *''Arthur Loses His Marbles'' *''Arthur and the Nerves of Steal'' *''Arthur and the World Record''

Good Sports chapter books

*''Arthur and the Race to Read'' *''Arthur and the Seventh-Inning Stretcher'' *''Arthur and the Recess Rookie'' *''Arthur and the Best Coach Ever'' *''Arthur and the Goalie Ghost'' *''Arthur and the Pen-Pal Playoff''

Books written and illustrated by Marc Brown

* ''Monkey: Not Ready for Kindergarten'' * ''In New York'' * ''Marc Brown's Playtime Rhymes: A Treasury for Families to Learn and Play Together''

Books illustrated by Marc Brown

*''Mary McScary'' by R. L. Stine *''The Little Shop of Monsters'' by R. L. Stine *''Ten Tiny Toes'' by Todd Tarpley *''Wild About Books'' by Judy Sierra (Early Moments) *''Born to Read'' by Judy Sierra *''Farmyard Beat'' by Lindsey Craig *''Dancing Feet'' by Lindsey Craig *''ZooZical'' by Judy Sierra *''Wild About You'' by Judy Sierra *''Little Witch's Big Night'' (Step into Reading) by

Deborah Hautzig Deborah Hautzig (born 1956, New York) is an American author of several children's books, including the ''Little Witch'' series. Biography She is the daughter of Walter Hautzig and Esther Hautzig, who wrote the book '' The Endless Steppe''. S ...

*''Happy Birthday, Little Witch'' (Step into Reading) by Deborah Hautzig *''Rabbit's New Rug'' (Parents Magazine Books) by Judy Delton *''If All the Animals Came Inside'' by Eric Pinder *''What Makes the Sun Shine?'' by

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

*''The Gulps'' by

Rosemary Wells Rosemary Wells (born January 29, 1943) is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. She is well known for using animal characters to address real human issues. Some of her most well-known characters are Max & Ruby (later adapted into ...

*''Read-Aloud Rhymes For the Very Young'' by

Jack Prelutsky Jack Prelutsky (born September 8, 1940) is an American writer of children's poetry who has published over 50 poetry collections. He served as the first U.S. Children's Poet Laureate (now called the Young People's Poet Laureate) from 2006–08 ...

*''The Banza: A Haitian Story'' by

Diane Wolkstein Diane Wolkstein (November 11, 1942 – January 31, 2013) was a folklorist and author of children's books. She was New York City's official storyteller from 1967 to 1971. Biography As New York's official storyteller beginning in 1967, Wolkstein visi ...

Books by Laurene Krasny Brown and Marc Brown

Dino Life Guides for Families *''Dinosaurs Travel'' *''Dinosaurs Alive and Well!: A Guide to Good Health'' *''How to Be a Friend: A Guide to Making Friends and Keeping Them'' *''When Dinosaurs Die: A Guide to Understanding Death'' *''Dinosaurs Divorce'' Other *''What's the Big Secret?: Talking about Sex with Girls and Boys''

Arthur 8x8 paperbacks

*''Arthur's Birthday Surprise'' *''Arthur's Heart Mix-Up'' *''Arthur's Jelly Beans'' *''Arthur and the Big Snow'' *''Arthur Helps Out'' *''Arthur to the Rescue'' *''Arthur and the Dog Show'' *''Arthur Jumps into Fall'' *''Arthur's Tree House'' *''Arthur Off to School'' *''Good Night D.W.'' *''Arthur's Homework'' *''D.W.'s Perfect Present'' *''Arthur's Mystery Babysitter'' *''D.W. The Big Boss'' *''Arthur Tells a Story''

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Marc 1946 births Living people American children's writers Daytime Emmy Award winners American children's book illustrators Writers from Erie, Pennsylvania Artists from Erie, Pennsylvania Cleveland Institute of Art alumni