Andrew Glass

Author and artist Andrew Glass illustrates his own stories, as well as those of other authors, and has been commended for his versatile approach to children's books. Art is so much a part of Glass's life that the first book he wrote and illustrated, Jackson Makes His Move, features a raccoon artist, rendered by Glass in pencil and watercolor. When Jackson realizes that he is no longer inspired by the country around him, and when he tires of his realistic paintings, he heads for the busy, chaotic city. There, instead of painting what he sees, he paints what he feels, and the resulting works are large and abstract. According to Kenneth Marantz of School Library Journal, Glass's illustrations help young readers "come to grips with some of the rationale of such movements as Abstract Expressionism." Since Jackson Makes His Move, Glass has gone on to write and illustrate such books as Folks Call Me Appleseed John, Mountain Men: True Grit and Tall Tales, and The Wondrous Whirligig: The Wright Brothers' First Flying Machine, often drawing on U.S. history for inspiration.

My Brother Tries to Make Me Laugh provides an example of the author-illustrator's penchant for whimsy. In crayon-colored illustrations, Glass portrays alien siblings traveling to Planet Earth on their spaceship. Odeon, a bright purple alien with a snout and stalk-eyes, attempts to get his sister to laugh to break up the monotony of a long journey. "How could this miss?" asked a critic from the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books.

Another of Glass's works recalls the classic children's story "Tom Thumb." In Chickpea and the Talking Cow a tiny boy named Chickpea is swallowed up by his father's cow. Despite his misfortune, the boy is determined to make his father rich by speaking from within the cow and tricking the emperor into believing that the cow can talk. According to Patricia Dooley in School Library Journal, "everyone should enjoy" the book's line-and-wash illustrations, which are "warm, fuzzy, and light-struck."

Glass adopts a cartoon style, with natural colors and bright blues, to create illustrations for his retelling Folks Call Me Appleseed John. Narrated by John Chapman—also known as Johnny Appleseed—the book tells of winter travels and adventures. A Publishers Weekly critic remarked that the text has a "rough-hewn tone," and that the "homespun, almost unfinished appearance" of the illustrations "express a variety of moods."

Glass has produced several other works on figures from American history and folklore. Bad Guys: True Stories of Legendary Gunslingers, Sidewinders, Fourflushers, Drygulchers, Bushwhackers, Freebooters, and Downright Bad Guys and Gals of the Wild West profiles such figures as Jesse James, Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Billy the Kid, and Belle Starr. With "wit and finesse," according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer, Glass provides "appropriately hyperbolic caricatures of these likable lawbreakers." Also, noted John Peters in Booklist, he manages to portray their quirks "without ennobling them."

A more admirable figure is at the center of Bewildered for Three Days: As to Why Daniel Boone Never Wore His Coonskin Cap. Mixing history and fiction, the story has frontiersman Boone explaining to a portrait painter why he does not wear such a cap; it turns out that as a boy, he bonded with a mother raccoon and her babies while hiding from pursuers in a hollow log. "Glass tells the tale in an amiable, folksy way, and the dappled oil-paint art reflects the humor," commented Booklist contributor Peters. Similarly, School Library Journal contributor Steven Engelfried remarked that Glass's "impressionistic oil paintings are well suited to the tall-tale genre." Engelfried also called the story "lively and fast paced."

Mountain Men: True Grit and Tall Tales introduces readers to other denizens of the frontier, including Jim Bridger, Mike Fink, and Kit Carson, their histories put into perspective by a discussion of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition. Glass "tells fascinating stories based on real facts" that also reflect the mountain men's tendency to embellish, noted a reviewer for Children's Digest. In Booklist, GraceAnne A. DeCandido observed, "The pictures are as full of color and exaggeration as the text, but both the mountain men and the Indians seem oddly generic." She also objected to the exclusion of Sacajawea from the segment on Lewis and Clark. In School Library Journal Engelfried thought some younger children might have trouble distinguishing what is factual from what is fictional in the text, but he nonetheless praised Glass's "energetic narrative" and "vibrant paintings," concluding that much of the book's appeal results from "embracing both history and legend."

Glass has illustrated the stories of other authors, including stories in the "Spooky" series by Natalie Savage Carlson. Ann A. Flowers in Horn Book commented on the variety of techniques Glass incorporates into his illustrations, dubbing the art in Spooky and the Ghost Cat "vibrant" and "textured," while describing the illustrations for Spooky Night as "crosshatched" and "shadowy." In a review of Spooky and the Wizard's Bats, a critic in Kirkus Reviews noted that Glass captures the "essence of ... Halloween without being trite." Susan H. Patron in School Library Journal found the illustrations for the same book to be "dramatic and colorful."

The award-winning The Legend of Strap Buckner: A Texas Tale, a piece of Western folklore retold by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge, is about a Texan so large and strong he knocks people down without trying. Eventually Strap's ego swells so much that he picks a fight with the devil. Glass's artwork for this 2001 book "captures the humor" of the story, with "bright, colorful appeal and action," related Mary Elam in School Library Journal. The Wondrous Whirligig: The Wright Brothers' First Flying Machine, written and illustrated by Glass, takes true events from the childhood of Orville and Wilbur Wright and weaves them into a tall tale. Fascinated by a whirligig their father gives them, the two boys decide to build a large whirligig that they can ride into the air. Other family members help as young Orv and Wil construct their flying machine and cheer them on even when their first attempts fail. In her Horn Book review of The Wondrous Whirligig, Betty Carter concluded that Glass "wraps the wonder of discovery and invention into an energetic tale that celebrates small joys while hinting of larger ones." Carolyn Phelan in Booklist commented that the "spirited tale" captures the many qualities "that helped the Wright brothers succeed."

Career

Author and illustrator.

Awards, Honors

Newbery honor book, American Library Association (ALA), 1983, for Graven Images: Three Stories, written by Paul Fleischman, and 1984, for The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree, written by Bill Brittain; Spur Award for storytelling, Western Writers of America, 2002, for The Legend of Strap Buckner: A Texas Tale, written by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge.

Writings

For Children; Self-Illustrated

• Jackson Makes His Move, Warne (New York, NY), 1982.
• My Brother Tries to Make Me Laugh, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1984.
• Chickpea and the Talking Cow, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1987.
• Charles T. McBiddle, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1993.
• Folks Call Me Appleseed John, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1995.
• The Sweetwater Run: The Story of Buffalo Bill Cody and the Pony Express, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1996.
• A Right Fine Life: Kit Carson on the Santa Fe Trail, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1997.
• Bad Guys: True Stories of Legendary Gunslingers, Sidewinders, Fourflushers, Drygulchers, Bushwhackers, Freebooters, and Downright Bad Guys and Gals of the Wild West, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1998.
• Bewildered for Three Days: As to Why Daniel Boone Never Wore His Coonskin Cap, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2000.
• Mountain Men: True Grit and Tall Tales, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2001.
• The Wondrous Whirligig: The Wright Brothers' First Flying Machine, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2003.

Illustrator

• George E. Stanley, Crime Lab, Avon Books (New York, NY), 1980.
• Nancy Etchemendy, The Watchers of Space, Avon Books (New York, NY), 1980.
• Bill Brittain, Devil's Donkey, Harper (New York, NY), 1981.
• Catherine E. Sadler, adapter, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (four volumes), Avon Books (New York, NY), 1981.
• Elizabeth Charlton, Terrible Tyrannosaurus, Elsevier/Nelson (New York, NY), 1981.
• Theodore Taylor, The Battle of Midway Island, Avon Books (New York, NY), 1981.
• Theodore Taylor, H.M.S. Hood vs. Bismarck: The Battleship Battle, Avon Books (New York, NY), 1982.
• Robert Newton Peck, Banjo, Alfred A. Knopf (New York, NY), 1982.
• Natalie Savage Carlson, Spooky Night, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1982.
• Paul Fleischman, Graven Images: Three Stories, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1982.
• Marilyn Singer, The Fido Frame-Up, Warne (New York, NY), 1983.
• Theodore Taylor, Battle in the English Channel, Avon Books (New York, NY), 1983.
• Joan Lowery Nixon, The Gift, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1983.
• Bill Brittain, The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1983.
• Natalie Savage Carlson, The Ghost in the Lagoon, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1984.
• Marilyn Singer, A Nose for Trouble, Holt (New York, NY), 1985.
• Natalie Savage Carlson, Spooky and the Ghost Cat, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1985.
• Natalie Savage Carlson, Spooky and the Wizard's Bats, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1986.
• Marilyn Singer, Where There's a Will, There's a Wag, Holt (New York, NY), 1986.
• Bill Brittain, Dr. Dredd's Wagon of Wonders, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1987.
• Beverly Major, Playing Sardines, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1988.
• Natalie Savage Carlson, Spooky and the Bad Luck Raven, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1988.
• Susan Beth Pfeffer, Rewind to Yesterday, Delacorte (New York, NY), 1988.
• Susan Beth Pfeffer, Future Forward, Delacorte (New York, NY), 1989.
• Natalie Savage Carlson, Spooky and the Witch's Goat, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1989.
• Robert D. San Souci, Larger Than Life: John Henry and Other Tall Tales, Doubleday, 1991.
• Bill Brittain, Professor Popkin's Prodigious Polish, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1991.
• David Gifaldi, Gregory, Maw, and the Mean One, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 1992.
• Tom Birdseye, reteller, Soap! Soap! Don't Forget the Soap: An Appalachian Folktale, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1993.
• Karen Hesse, Lavender, Holt (New York, NY), 1993.
• Susan Whitcher, Real Mummies Don't Bleed: Friendly Tales for October Nights, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1993.
• Susan Mathias Smith, The Booford Summer, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 1994.
• Tom Birdseye and Debbie Holsclaw Birdseye, adapters, She'll Be Comin' round the Mountain, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1994.
• Al Carusone, Don't Open the Door after the Sun Goes Down: Tales of the Real and Unreal, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 1994.
• Tololwa M. Mollel, reteller, Ananse's Feast: An Ashanti Tale, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 1996.
• Susan Whitcher, The Key to the Cupboard, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1996.
• Emily Herman, Liza and the Fossil, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1996.
• Bethany Roberts, Monster Manners: A Guide to Monster Etiquette, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 1996.
• Eric A. Kimmel, reteller, Easy Work!: An Old Tale, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1998.
• Alan Schroeder, reteller, The Tale of Willie Monroe, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 1999.
• Tynia Thomasie, Cajun Through and Through, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2000.
• Eric A. Kimmel, Grizz!, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2000.
• Gregory Maguire, Crabby Cratchitt, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 2000.
• Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge, reteller, The Legend of Strap Buckner: A Texas Tale, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2001.
• Kathy Price, The Bourbon Street Musicians, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 2002.
• Eric A. Kimmel, The Erie Canal Pirates, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2002.
• Also illustrator of The Glass Ring, by Mary Kennedy, Dandelion Press.

Biographical and Critical Sources

Periodicals

• Booklist, October 15, 1998, John Peters, review of Bad Guys: True Stories of Legendary Gunslingers, Sidewinders, Fourflushers, Drygulchers, Bushwhackers, Freebooters, and Downright Bad Guys and Gals of the Wild West, p. 414; September 1, 2000, John Peters, review of Bewildered for Three Days: As to Why Daniel Boone Never Wore His Coonskin Cap, p. 122; August, 2001, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of Mountain Men: True Grit and Tall Tales, p. 2109; September 15, 2003, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Wondrous Whirligig: The Wright Brothers' First Flying Machine, p. 244.
• Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, October, 1984, p. 25.
• Children's Digest, October, 2001, review of Mountain Men, p. 14.
• Horn Book, October, 1982, pp. 508-509; March-April, 1986, p. 190; November-December, 2003, Betty Carter, review of The Wondrous Whirligig, p. 729.
• Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 1986, p. 1443; February 1, 1993, p. 146.
• New York Times Book Review, June 5, 1983, p. 34.
• Publishers Weekly, July 10, 1995, p. 58; October 19, 1998, review of Bad Guys, p. 80.
• School Library Journal, May, 1982, pp. 52-53; December, 1986, p. 81; October, 1987, pp. 111-112; August, 1995, p. 134; October, 2000, Steven Engelfried, review of Bewildered for Three Days, p. 125; June, 2001, Steven Engelfried, review of Mountain Men, p. 170; September, 2001, Mary Elam, review of The Legend of Strap Buckner: A Texas Tale, p. 222.*