Jim LaMarche
Jim LaMarche says that he grew up in a nice little Norman Rockwell town-Kewaska, Wisconsin. His father was a high school biology teacher and his mother taught elementary school. Jim was a normal sort of kid, although he did spend time sitting naked out in the chicken coop clucking with the chickens.
A lot of his work reflects the landscapes he grew up with-forests of lush birch trees. He also spent some time nearly every day on the river. In the summer, it was boating and in the winter, skating. The family had a summer cabin near Lake Superior. The Raft was influenced by his summers at the cabin. It is the first book that Jim has both written and illustrated.
He began his career as an illustrator in advertising. He did portrait work and books for Carolrhoda. His first book for a major trade publisher was Rainbabies (1992, Lothrop, Ages 4 up, $16.00) written by Laura Krauss Melmed. He advertised for models but wasn't successful. One day, he glanced at his mother-in-law and realized he had the look for the book. It also helped having a new baby at home. Rainbabies has been extremely successful and was recently turned into a video for which Jim created a few extra paintings.
Jim went to college at the University of Wisconsin where he studied science. Then he joined VISTA and worked on a high school curriculum for an Indian community. It was there that he was first introduced to art. He works in watercolor and colored pencil and uses thinned acrylics to give a watercolor feel. Dramatic lighting is a feature of his work. While Jim prefers to use live models, he finds that making photographs of the models and working from them is quite sufficient. Interestingly, most of his work is about 125% larger than the actual book page.
Jim has had a few tussles with publishers and several ideas for covers were rejected or modified. In the case of Grandmother's Pigeon (1996, Hyperion, Ages 4 to 8, $15.95), he felt that the changes-placement of the art and type- didn't fit the book. With Little Oh (1997, Lothrop, Ages 4 up, $16.00), the art on the back was his original cover-the crane overwhelms the heroine. He felt that the change in this cover was definitely for the better.
Reviews
The CarouselLiz Rosenberg
Illustrated by Jim LaMarche
Fantasy figures large in this tale of two sisters who go to visit a broken down carousel on their way home from school. The wooden animals come alive and carry the two of them off on a rainy night adventure through parks and across the sky. The sisters' close relationship is the foreground of the book, but in the background there is a constant echo of their mother's poetic wisdom. It is her words ("carousel horses slept all winter and woke in spring") that initiate the fantasy, her words that lead the girls to get her red toolbox to repair the horses ("Take good care of your tools and they'll take good care of you"), and finally a remembrance of her playing "Claire de Lune" that tames the horses and comforts the girls. This is an enduring book about relationship: the caring of the girls for each other, the nurturing of their father, and their mother's love that reaches beyond death. 1995, Harcourt, Ages 6 up, $16.00. Reviewer: Susie Wilde
ISBN: 0-15-200853-5
Grandmother's Pigeon
Louise Erdrich
Illustrated by Jim LaMarche
This story combines fantasy and realism in a world or wonder. When their unconventional grandmother sails away on the back of a 'congenial porpoise' for Greenland, her family waits eagerly for her return. After a year, they venture into her room to discover a nest with birds' eggs about to hatch. An ornithologist identifies them as passenger pigeons, extinct since 1914. When word leaks out, the family is harassed by the media and scientists. Their final decision about the birds is in keeping with grandmother's philosophy and lifestyle. LaMarche is a master at portraying characters who look like people you'd like to know. This is pure magic with a Grandmother who is truly a 'rara avis.' 1996, Hyperion, Ages 5 to 9, $15.95, $15.89 and $4.95. Reviewer: Jan Lieberman
ISBN: 0-7868-0165-4
ISBN: 0-7868-2137-X
ISBN: 0-7868-1204-4
Little Oh
Laura Krauss Melmed
Illustrated by Jim LaMarche
The story of Little Oh is a fairytale of an origami doll that comes to life. Readers follow Little Oh on her adventures, discovering just how dangerous a dog or water can be to someone made of paper. Little Oh becomes the tie that brings a family together. It is a book that stretches the imagination. Creative, colorful illustrations make the book even more appealing. 1997, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, Ages 7 to 10, $16.00. Reviewer: Sheree Van Vreede
ISBN: 0-688-14208-7
Mandy
Barbara D. Booth
Illustrated by Jim LaMarche
Mandy may be missing her sense of hearing, but she is certainly not missing the love of her grandmother. We glimpse them one afternoon and begin to know them quickly. We see them enjoy dancing, cookie making and especially sharing memories through a photo album. They pause at the pictures of Mandy's grandfather who lovingly pins an anniversary circlet on his wife and holds his granddaughter lovingly. We see Mandy's grandmother understanding her limitations and soothing her with sensual experiences. We feel what it is like to be frustrated, confused and afraid, caught in a world without sound. The book's climax shows Mandy braving her fear of darkness to recover the circlet that her grandmother has misplaced. Feeling is well-noted on both levels as well as in the realistic illustrations of LaMarche. 1991, Lothrop, Ages 4 to 8, $16.00 and $15.93. Reviewer: Susie Wilde
ISBN: 0-688-10338-3
ISBN: 0-688-10339-1
The Raft
Jim LaMarche
Nicky is far from enthusiastic about being dropped off in the north woods to spend the summer with his grandmother. But grandma is an artist and free thinker. She gives the quiet boy lots of space and maybe even a very special gift. When an old raft bumps up next to Nicky along the river one day, he begins to explore its possibilities. Along the way, he finds a love for the river, for nature and art, and for his grandmother, too. All summers should pass this way. LaMarche's story and lovely pictures are based on his own childhood experiences. He tells and illustrates his tale gently and with much affection. This is a keeper. 2000, HarperCollins, Ages 4 to 7, $15.95. Reviewer: Kathleen Karr
ISBN: 0-688-13977-9
The Rainbabies
Laura Melmed
Illustrated by Jim LaMarche
Rhythmical and vivid, Melmed's language calls to mind the classic fairy tales, which she says she loved as a kid. In this story, an elderly couple's yearning for a child is fulfilled when twelve tiny babies appear after a moonlit rain. 1992, Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, Ages 3 to 8, $16.00 and $15.93. Reviewer: Mary Quattlebaum
ISBN: 0-688-10755-9
ISBN: 0-688-10756-7
Added 2000
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