James Howe | |
---|---|
Born | Oneida, New York, U.S. | August 2, 1946
Occupation | Writer |
Genre | Juvenile fiction, picture books, young adult fiction, Horror |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
James Howe (born August 2, 1946) is an American children's writer who has written more than 79 juvenile and young adult fiction books. He is best known for the Bunnicula series about a vampire rabbit that sucks the juice out of vegetables.
Howe was born in Oneida, New York. At the age of nine or ten, Howe wrote a play based on the "Blondie" comic strip as well as a variety of short stories and self-published newspapers. Of the latter his favorite is The Gory Gazette which he made for a self-founded club, Vampire Legion. [1]
Howe continued to write plays during his theater studies at Boston University, and eventually moved to New York City to pursue a career as an actor and model while directing plays and working as a literary agent.[ citation needed ]
In the mid-1970s, Howe's mother-in-law encouraged him and his wife, Deborah Howe, to create a children's story based on a character the two had created while watching older Dracula movies, which at the time were played late at night on TVs. [2] With his wife, he created Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery, about a pet rabbit suspected of being a vampire. The book went on to win more than ten Children's Choice awards, including the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award and the Nene Award, and eventually evolved into a series. Ten months before Bunnicula was published Deborah died, inspiring the creation of The Hospital Book. [3]
In 1981, Howe began writing full-time. In addition to the Bunnicula series, Howe has written picture books, children's novels, nonfiction, adaptations of classic stories, and screenplays for movies and television. In 1997, he published his first young adult novel, The Watcher. [4] [ better source needed ] The Misfits , itself inspired by his child’s difficult experiences in middle school, was the inspiration behind GLSEN's annual No Name-Calling Week. [5]
After the death of his first wife, Howe remarried and had one child. [6] Howe and his second wife divorced after Howe came out as gay. [7] In 2007, James Howe was the recipient of The E.B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Books for his book Houndsley and Catina, illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay, and published by Candlewick Press.
On September 17, 2011, Howe married Mark Davis, a lawyer. [8]
Howe was a consulting producer for the animated adaptation of the books. [9]
Audiobook versions were also released featuring narrators Victor Garber and Patrick Mulvihill.
All illustrated by Leslie H. Morrill (except Rabbit-Cadabra! which was illustrated by Alan Daniel).
All illustrated by Brett Helquist. Audiobook versions of many titles in this series were released featuring narrator Joe Grifasi.
Many of these titles are re-workings of previously released Bunnicula books rewritten by James Howe for younger readers and featuring new illustrations by Jeff Mack.
One Bunnicula related pop-up book was released. It features a unique story and it is illustrated by Alan Daniel and Lea Daniel.
All illustrated by Alan Daniel.
All illustrated by Melissa Sweet.
All illustrated by Amy Walrod.
All illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay.
Book based on Jim Henson's Muppets and Muppet Babies :[ clarification needed ]
Andrew Elborn Clements was an American author of children's literature. His debut novel Frindle won an award determined by the vote of U.S. schoolchildren in about 20 different U.S. states. In June 2015, Frindle was named the Phoenix Award winner for 2016, as it was the best book that did not win a major award when it was published.
Verna Norberg Aardema Vugteveen, best known by the name Verna Aardema, was an American writer of children's books.
Vampire pumpkins and watermelons are a folk legend from the Balkans, in southeastern Europe, described by ethnologist Tatomir Vukanović. The story is associated with the Romani people of the region, from whom much of traditional vampire folklore originated.
Bunnicula is a children's novel series written by James and Deborah Howe, featuring a vampire rabbit named Bunnicula who sucks the juice out of vegetables. The series consists of seven books, published between 1979 and 2006. Deborah Howe died in June 1978, months before the book first saw print.
Brett L. Helquist is an American illustrator best known for his work in the children's books A Series of Unfortunate Events. As such, his illustrations for that series have appeared in multiple media, including the books, the audio book covers, and the calendars.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a series of three collections of short horror stories for children, written by Alvin Schwartz and originally illustrated by Stephen Gammell. In 2011, HarperCollins published editions featuring new art by Brett Helquist, stirring some controversy among fans. Subsequent printings have restored the original Gammell art. The titles of the books are Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1981), More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (1984), and Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones (1991).
Paul Stewart is a writer of children's books, best known for three series written in collaboration with the illustrator Chris Riddell: The Edge Chronicles, the Free Lance novels, and the Far Flung Adventures series.
Aladdin Paperbacks is one of several children's-book imprints owned by Simon & Schuster. It was established by Jean E. Karl at Atheneum Books where she was the founding director of the children's department (1961). Atheneum merged with or was acquired by Scribner's in 1978, then MacMillan in 1984, before the acquisition by Simon & Schuster in 1994.
Atheneum Books was a New York City publishing house established in 1959 by Alfred A. Knopf, Jr., Simon Michael Bessie and Hiram Haydn. Simon & Schuster has owned Atheneum properties since its acquisition of Macmillan in 1994 and it created Atheneum Books for Young Readers as an imprint for children's books in the 2000s.
The E.B. White Read Aloud Award was established in 2004 by The Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC) to honor books that its membership felt embodied the universal read aloud standards that were created by the work of the author E.B. White.
Deborah Smith Howe was an American children's writer and actress. She and her husband James Howe wrote two books, Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery and Teddy Bear's Scrapbook, but she died of cancer at age 31 before they were published in 1979 and 1980, respectively.
Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery is a children's novel written by Deborah Howe and James Howe, illustrated by Alan Daniel, and published by Atheneum Books in 1979. It inaugurated the Bunnicula series and Bunnicula universe. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the novel as one of the "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children." The series chronicles the adventures of the Monroe family and their pets, Harold the dog, Chester the cat, and Bunnicula the rabbit. The novels are narrated by Harold the family dog.
The Seattle Children's Theatre (SCT) is a resident theatre for young audiences in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1975. Its main performances are at the Seattle Center in a 482-seat and a 275-seat theatre, from September through June. SCT also has a drama school with its own performances during the summer. Total annual attendance is about 220,000.
Goosebumps video games are a series of action-adventure games based on Goosebumps book series.
Mac Barnett is an American writer of children's books living in Oakland, California.
Creepy Carrots! is a 40-page children 's picture book written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown. It was published on August 21, 2012, by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. In 2013 a 10-minute animated film based on the book was made by Weston Woods Studios and narrated by James Naughton.
Bunnicula is an American animated television series from Warner Bros. Animation developed by Jessica Borutski, produced by Borutski and Maxwell Atoms, and distributed by Warner Bros. Television. It premiered on Cartoon Network on February 6, 2016, and then premiered on Boomerang on the same day. The show is loosely based on the children's book series of the same name by James and Deborah Howe. It is a dark comedy about a vampire rabbit named Bunnicula who drinks carrot juice instead of blood to strengthen his super abilities in new paranormal adventures. New episodes aired same-day on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. In 2017, the series was picked up for a second and third season.
Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl is a 2003 picture book by Virginia Hamilton and illustrated by James Ransome. It is a retelling by Hamilton, in the Gullah dialect, of the classic story of Bruh Rabbit outwitting Bruh Wolf.
James E. Ransome is an American illustrator of children's books.