# 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 Children's Literature Legacy Award for "substantial and lasting contribution" to American children's literature.

## Life and death

James Marshall was born in 1942, in San Antonio, Texas, where he grew up on his family's 85-acre farm. His father worked on the railroad and had a band. 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." 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. He died on October 13, 1992, three days after his 50th birthday. His obituary states that he died of a brain tumor; however, his sister has since clarified that he died of AIDS.

## Career

It is stated 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 hippos). Marshall continued creating books for children until his untimely death in 1992 from AIDS-related complications. In 1999, George and Martha became the stars of an eponymous animated TV show, which aired on HBO Family and Canadian YTV. Marshall was a friend of the late 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. He won a University of Mississippi Silver Medallion in 1992. Over his career, he was three times recognized by the New York Times Book Review as one of the best illustrated children's book of the year.) 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.
Beside the lovable hippos George and Martha, James Marshall created dozens of other uniquely appealing characters and illustrated over 70 books. 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 Summer in the South | James Marshall | James Marshall | New York | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | 1977 |
| A Frog and Her Dog | James Marshall | James Marshall | Boston | Houghton Mifflin | 1977 |
| All the Way Home | Lore Segal | James Marshall | New York | Farrar, Straus, Giroux | 1973 |
| Bonzini! The Tattooed Man | Jeffrey Allen | James Marshall | Boston | Little, Brown and Co | 1976 |
| Bumps in the Night | Harry Allard | James Marshall | New York | Bantam Doubleday Dell | 1979 |
| Carrot Nose | Jan Wahl | James Marshall | | Farrar, Straus, and Giroux | 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 | | | 1975 |
| 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 | 1988 |
| Hey Diddle Diddle | James Marshall | James Marshall | New York | Farrar, Straus & Giroux | 1979 |
| How Beastly! A Menagerie of Nonsense Poems | 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 | Diane Wolkstein | James Marshall | New York | Seabury Press | 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 Mifflin | 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 | Boston | Houghton Mifflin Co. | 1982 |
| Miss Nelson is Missing | Harry Allard | James Marshall | Boston | Houghton Mifflin | 1977 |
| My Friends the Frogs | James Marshall | James Marshall | Lexington, Mass. | D.C. Heath | 1989 |
| Nosey Mrs. Rat | Jeffrey Allen | James Marshall | New York | Viking Kestrel | 1985 |
| 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 | James Marshall | New York | Dial Books for Young Readers | 1993 |
| Rats on the Roof | James Marshall | James Marshall | New York | Dial Books for Young Readers | 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 | 1976 |
| Sing Out, Irene | James Marshall | James Marshall | Boston | Houghton Mifflin | 1975 |
| Snake, His Story | James Marshall | James Marshall | Boston | Houghton Mifflin Co. | 1975 |
| Someone is Talking About Hortense | Laurette Murdock | James Marshall | Boston | Houghton | 1975 |
| Swine Lake | James Marshall | Maurice Sendak | New York | HarperCollins | 1999 |
| Taking Care of Carruthers | James Marshall | James Marshall | Boston | Houghton | 1981 |
| The Night Before Christmas | Clement C. Moore | James Marshall | New York | Scholastic | 1985 |
| The Owl and the Pussycat | Edward Lear | James Marshall | S.l. | HarperCollins | 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 | New York | 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 | Edward Marshall | James Marshall | New York | Dial Press | 1981 |
| 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 |