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Earlier Books Illustrated by Michael McCurdy
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Christmas
Present by
Jan Wahl For Recent McCurdy books, click here
Iron Horses by Verla Kay "Kay and McCurdy create a wonder-working setting for their book on the story behind the first transcontinental rail line. Words and image are of equal dramatic value, with McCurdy using his signature scratchboard illustrations washed in color, and Kay picking and choosing her words with such care that every one of them sparkles." Kirkus Reviews ("Pointer Review," "An exciting, well-paced package..." School Library Journal ("Starred Review") "Their [the art work] stark beauty has the feeling of old-fashioned woodcuts, their drama heightened by the use of the color black, which runs through the pages like a visual basso continuo." Publishers Weekly "McCurdy's scratchboard illustrations ..convey the excitement, the powerful technology, and the exhausting work that built the transcontinental railroad. With extraordinary depth and realistic detail, the double-page spreads show the individual men laboring to lay the tracks across the huge, open prairie and through the granite mountains, until finally the rails from east and west meet in Utah and the iron horses steam across the land, smoke stretching back like billowing hair in the wind." Booklist " McCurdy provides fascinating detail and striking, bold vistas, conveying the dramatic scale of the enterprise." Horn Book "Dramatically illustrated in scratchboard and watercolor by Michael McCurdy." Los Angeles Times (FIFTH printing) Order from Amazon.com
The Sailor's Alphabet A nineteenth-century sea chantey describes the parts of a naval ship from A to Z. An underlying visual story that McCurdy has created accompanies what appears to be a simple alphabet book. The Houghton Mifflin publication includes an introduction and notes by the illustrator. "Michael McCurdy illustrates a traditional alphabet chantey--along with the sailors' life--with tremendous good humor and charm. In irresistible scratchboard drawings that have the look of old, hand-colored woodcuts." The Washington Post (March 1, 1998) "This a scratchboard version of a real 19th-century sea chantey is a revelation...as rich in emotion as it is in detail..." New York Times (July 19, 1998) [Read the Times review here] "Word buffs and nautical enthusiasts will find plenty to pore over..." Kirkus Reviews (March 15, 1998) "Starred Review" in Publishers Weekly, The New York Public Library has chosen the book to be on their list of 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing. The Sailor's Alphabet has been named one of Parenting Magazine's "Books of the Year for 1998". Order from Amazon.com
A Yankee Magazine "Top 100 New England
Book." Order from Amazon.com
A Yankee Magazine "Top 100 New England Book."
Order from Amazon.com
A Childhood: The
Biography of a Place by Harry Crews This 1995 reprint of
Crews' 1978 rough and tumble autobiography is replete with strong
McCurdy drawings, commissioned by the University of Georgia Press in
1995. Crews is a distinctly southern voice, and his description of his
hardscrabble young life as the son of a sharecropper is a gripping
classic.
Earth Apples
by Edward Abbey
This posthumous collection by the maverick cult figure, Abbey, is his
only book of poetry. (See
McCurdy's drawings from this book by clicking here to access "Abbey's
Web".) The book was edited by David Petersen (McCurdy illustrated
his book Racks in 1991), and is illustrated with McCurdy's
scratchboard drawings. St. Martin's Press published both the hardcover
and paperback
versions.
Order from Amazon.com
Giants in the Land by Diana Appelbaum Powerful black-and-white drawings by McCurdy enhance this fascinating history of early logging in the colonies which explains how New England's trees became ship masts for the Royal Navy. A New England Book Show winner *Starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist and Kirkus Reviews. The Bulletin (A Blue Ribbon winner). Booklist's Top Choice for Youth Non-Fiction and "Best of the Best". An ALA Notable Book Published by Houghton Mifflin Company in 1993 Available in paperback A Yankee Magazine "Top 40 Children's Books
about New
England." Order
from Amazon.com
American Buffalo by David Mamet Printed letterpress by Arion Press, San Francisco, CA (Telephone: 415-561-2542), this famous Mamet play was published in 1992 as a limited, signed edition (both author and artist) to which McCurdy contributed five wood engravings. A quarto of 117 pages, it is bound in blue-green cloth with an embossed cover inlaid with a lettered silver disc, and an actual "Buffalo" nickel. Obtain more information by clicking here (1802 Hays Street, The Presidio, San Francisco, CA 94129 Telephone 415-561-2542 / Fax 415-561-2545 arionpress@arionpress.com)
The Way West:
Journal of A Pioneer Woman
by Amelia Stewart Knight McCurdy
created colored scratchboard drawings for this best-selling authentic
diary written about a trek west in 1853. (Simon and Schuster,1993) Also
available in an Aladdin Picture Books paperback. Order
from Amazon.com
McCurdy's World: A Postcard Book by Michael McCurdy Published by Capra Press in 1992, this collection of McCurdy's wood engravings and drawings in postcard format is available directly from the artist. McCurdy also contributed an introduction. $12.00 (includes postage) The artist will sign this book as well. (Limited quantities) [For order inquires, click here] |
Tarzan Retold
by Robert D. San Souci This
stirring retelling of Edgar Rice Burroughs' first Tarzan adventure of
1914 is published to coincide with the release of the Disney animated
feature of the same name. Acclaimed writer San Souci's Tarzan is
illustrated by McCurdy with fourteen full-color/full-page
illustrations. Burroughs' story of the boy raised by apes is now
accessible to a new generation of young readers in this exciting
picture book. Tarzan, whose name means "white skin," is adopted by a
tribe of apes, but as he grows older,
he begins to realize that he is not like the others. This story of
Tarzan
from infancy to adolescence is from Hyperion Books for Children. "...a thoroughly and engagingly personal
account of Tarzan lore...[McCurdy's] illustrations lend dignity to
Tarzan's often violent adventures." The Horn Book 
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
The exciting story
of a Boston boy caught in the tumultuous pre-Revolutionary
world of Boston, Johnny Tremain is now available in a new
format. This revival of the 1943 Newbery Award classic features twelve
full-page black-and-white interior illustrations in addition to jacket
art by Michael McCurdy. One of the best historical novels ever written
for children, Forbes's book is the second publication in Houghton
Mifflin's "Illustrated American Classics" series. This edition replaces
the version illustrated by Michael McCurdy's late friend, Lynd Ward.
War and the Pity of War Compiled by Neil Philip
This third
collaboration between Neil Philip and Michael McCurdy (following Singing
America and American Fairy Tales) includes
more than 70 poems inspired by the horror and heroism of war. With
poetry from the eleventh century B.C. to the present day, including
poems translated from Chinese, Latin, Greek, French, Russian, and
Japanese,
this moving and thought-provoking anthology is ideal for all ages.
McCurdy
contributed many black-and-white drawings. Clarion Books Winner of an
Internationale Jugend Bibliothekaward (the only American book
selected for Special Honors), Munich, 2000 
The Bone Man: A Native American Modoc Tale by Laura Simms
This story
from the Modoc tribe, retold with McCurdy's full-color scratchboard
drawings,
is published by Hyperion Books. Laura Simms is a well-known storyteller
and
the 1996 recipient of the Circle of Excellence Award in Storytelling.
This book was named an ALA (American Library Association)
"Notable
Book" for 1997. A Parents Choice Award winner" 
American Fairy
Tales Compiled by Neil Philip
From Rip Van Winkle to the Rootabaga Stories, this collection of twelve
diverse American classics by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, L.
Frank Baum, Washington Irving, Howard Pyle, Frank Stockton, Will
Bradley, Laura Richards, Ruth Thompson, M. S. B., Horace Scudder, and
Carl Sandburg was published by Hyperion Books for Children. The
hardcover and paperback editions were designed and packaged by Albion
Press of England and contain fifty-four McCurdy drawings, all in black
and white. "It's been a long time since there's been a representative
collection like this one. Making it widely available may well be a
patriotic duty. "McCurdy's precise black-and-white drawings perfectly
capture the idiomatic spirit of the stories..." The Bulletin "McCurdy's
forceful illustrations, capture the brash spirit of a newly minted
country caught between acknowledgment of its
past and anticipation of its future." Kirkus Reviews Also
reviewed in the Horn Book. 
The Seasons Sewn:
A Year in Patchwork
by Ann Whitford
Paul This fascinating
approach to American history is accompanied by twenty-four full color
scratchboard illustrations, four full-page spreads, and forty-eight
examples of patchwork quilt designs. "An attractive combination of
craft and history" Booklist; "What's consistently excellent are
the meticulous scratchboard drawings..." The Bulletin;
"McCurdy's finely etched illustrations...urge upon readers a commanding
vision of American history," Publishers Weekly; "This
is innovative and unexpectedly poignant nonfiction, with
mood-setting scratchboard illustrations by Michael McCurdy" Los
Angeles
Times; Selected by the National Association of Parenting
Publications for a 1996 NAPPA Award, honoring the best in
quality children's media;
a Smithsonian Magazine pick for 1996; Selected
one of the "Ten Best
Illustrated
Children's Books for 1996" by the New York Times;
A 1997 "Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of
Social Studies"; and a Winner of a Print Magazine design
award, 1997. 
The
Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln Illustrated by McCurdy in black-and-white
double-page drawings, this edition includes an Introduction by the
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Garry Wills and an Afterword by the
artist to set it in historical context. An Alternate Selection
by the Children's Book of the Month Club and The History
Book Club. "Everything about the book is admirable" Kirkus
Reviews ;"An American Classic made new again" Publishers
Weekly; "Beautiful and somber" The New Yorker;
"Drawings that powerfully suggest the drama
and poignancy of Lincoln's words..."The New York Times ;
"It
has transcended the usual offerings to become both a historical and
aesthetic
statement "The Horn Book; A New England Book
Show
winner, a 1995 Parents' Choice Honor Award, and a Best
Bets of 1995 from the San Francisco Chronicle. Chosen
by the National Council for Social Studies as a Notable
Children's
Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. A paper edition was
published
by Scholastic in January, 1997--also in a paper edition from Houghton
Mifflin. A Teachers' Choice Selection by the International Reading
Association.
A Japanese edition is also available. 
Lucy's
Summer
by
Donald Hall This delightful sequel to Lucy's
Christmas is illustrated in full-color scratch board drawings, and
published by Browndeer Press/Harcourt Brace. It was chosen for a 1995 Parents'
Choice Honor Award, a Smithsonian Magazine "Notable
Books for Children, 1995" selection, and picked as a Top Choice
by Parents Place.com.
Lucy's
Christmas by Donald
Hall
This charming story of
Christmas preparations in old New Hampshire is illustrated with full
color scratchboard drawings by McCurdy. Published by Browndeer
Press/Harcourt Brace, the book was called a "winner" by Kirkus
Reviews,
and was also among American Bookseller's "Pick of the Lists". It was
also
a 1995 Parents' Choice Honor Award selection. Now
also in paperback 
Escape from Slavery: The Boyhood of Frederick
Douglass In His Own Words
Edited
by Michael McCurdy McCurdy edited
and illustrated this condensed version of Douglass' Narrative of
the
Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. He also provided an
introduction, chapter notes, and an epilogue to put the book in
historical context. Coretta Scott King contributed the foreword. "The
result is eloquent and compelling...a book that belongs in every
library" Kirkus Reviews *Starred
reviews in Booklist and Publishers Weekly,
and
the Horn Book and Booklist's "Editor's
Choice"
Published in 1994 by Alfred A. Knopf, it is available in both a
hardcover
and paperback edition. Over 35,000 copies sold 
American Tall
Tales by Mary Pope
Osborne Michael McCurdy contributed fifty
colored wood engravings for this 1991 best-selling edition from Alfred
A. Knopf. Paul Bunyan, Davy Crockett, Stormalong, Mose the Fireman,
Johnny Appleseed, Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind, Febold
Feboldson, Pecos Bill, and John
Henry make up this exciting book for young readers. Over 75,000
copies sold. One of School Library Journal "Best
Books." 
The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono McCurdy designed, set (on his linotype), and
illustrated this classic with wood engravings. A best seller since it
was published in this format in 1985, it continues to attract readers
of all ages. It is available in hardcover and paperback. The story can
also be heard on cassette and CD, featuring the Paul Winter Consort,
with narration by the late radio personality Robert J. Lurtsema.
(Chelsea Green Publishing Company)