Author Spotlight

The Following biography of David Shannon was taken from http://www.cbcbooks.org/cbcmagazine/meet/davidshannon.html.

David Shannon is a writer and illustrator of highly praised books for children such as How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year; The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza, an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists; and A Bad Case of Stripes, a selection of the Junior Library Guild. His most recent book is the Caldecott Honor Book No, David! The sequel, David Goes to School, was published in September 1999. Shannon has also illustrated several critically acclaimed books, including Julius Lester's How Many Spots Does a Leopard Have?, an ALA Notable Children's Book, and Audrey Wood's The Bunyans.

Born in Washington, D.C., Shannon grew up in Spokane, Washington. He graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, with a fine arts degree, and then moved to New York City where he continued his illustration work. His editorial illustrations have appeared in The New York Times, Time, and Rolling Stone, and his artwork has graced a number of book jackets.

No, David! is patterned after Shannon's first work. At the age of five, Shannon drew pictures of a young boy doing all the things he wasn't supposed to be doing. Each drawing was accompanied by the two words: No David! Shannon wanted to maintain the spirit of the original as much as possible. In fact, the end papers are even the same color as the paper that the original was drawn on! He feels that this was the most fun he has ever had working on a book.

Shannon lives with his wife, Heidi, their daughter, Emma, and their dog, Fergus, in Los Angeles, California.

David Shannon has written and illustrated such books as:

No, David!, by David Shannon (Scholastic Inc.)

David Goes to School, by David Shannon (Scholastic Inc.)

The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza, by David Shannon (Scholastic Inc.)

A Bad Case of Stripes, by David Shannon (Scholastic Inc.)

The Bunyans, by Audrey Wood (Scholastic Inc.)

How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball, by David Shannon (Scholastic Inc.)

The Rain Came Down, by David Shannon (Scholastic Inc.)

Register now for the 2008 Writing Rally to meet David Shannon.