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Dear LM_Netters,
I am forwarding this message to you in hopes that you will enjoy it
as much as I did. (I received it through my news "subscription" to
Amazon.com. I am not associated in any way with this business; this is NOT
an endorsement, paid advertisement, etc. If, however, you are interested,
you can subscribe through their web page to get news about various
categories of the publishing world. I just elected to receive news about
children's lit., but there are many other choices. The how-to's are at the
end of their message.)
"James Marshall (1942-1992), creator of the much-beloved
George and Martha books, was a dear friend of Maurice
Sendak, world-renowned illustrator of "Where the Wild
Things Are." For "George and Martha: The Complete
Stories of Two Best Friends," the 25th-anniversary
collection of Marshall's work, Sendak wrote a touching
foreword, and gave permission to Amazon.com to excerpt
this moving tribute from one extraordinary man to
another.
******
The picture book is a peculiar art form that thrives on
genius, intuition, daring, and a meticulous attention
to its history and its various, complex components. The
picture book is a picture puzzle, badly misunderstood
by critics and condescended to by far too many as
merely a trifle for "the kiddies." Children are
routinely patronized, and thus so are we who spend our
creative lives entertaining them and nourishing their
spirit. Given this minefield of confusions and
uncertainties, when such a work turns out looking as
easy as a James Marshall picture book, it says
everything about the man....
If I remember with terrible pain my lost friend and
colleague, it is only because James raised the art of
friendship to an exhilarating height. I think myself
the luckiest of men to have shared his sweet warmth and
confidence. There is a small army of people who, I'm
certain, feel the same way. He made me laugh until I
cried. No one else could ever do that. He was a wicked
angel and will be missed forever.
James scolded, gossiped, bitterly reproached, but
always loved and forgave. All these qualities were
generously funneled into his work, and there is no
better example than the George and Martha books to
showcase the dazzling kaleidoscope of Marshalliana.
The inspiration for these two tender hippos goes back
to James' shrewd appraisal of those books that most
stimulated his impatient, creative intellect. He
relished the extraordinary wit and brevity of the
French children's books of the 1930s and the solemn,
mock-serious tone of the English books of the same
period. He borrowed and swiped--we all do, we all
must--and it was riveting to watch James stalk, attack,
and drain away the riotous madness from a favorite Tomi
Ungerer and skillfully, hilariously, Marshall it....
Marshall's work is undated, fresh and fragrant as a
new spring garden. Nothing says this better than this
twenty-fifth anniversary edition of all thirty-five
George and Martha stories. If one of James' most
remarkable attributes was his genius for friendship,
then George and Martha are the quintessential
expression of that genius. Those dear, ditzy,
down-to-earth hippos bring serious pleasure to
everybody, not only to children. They are time-capsule
hippos who will always remind us of a paradise in
publishing, and--both seriously and comically--of the
true, durable meaning of friendship under the best and
worst conditions....
Detailing the George and Martha stories, though
irresistible, is certainly unnecessary. Old fans will
renew acquaintance in this volume, but it is the new
fans I am counting on. The hippos are charming--that's
plain. The surprise will come to the young artists
amidst those young fans when they discover the
exquisite artistry, the architecture behind the "easy"
look of it all; the quiet dignity of Marshall's work,
the astonishing integration of style and form, the hint
of history; the animal gestures that betray their
passionate sources, opera and ballet and vaudeville and
TV and movies, cartoons, paintings, travel; the gamut,
simply, of the fertile genius of James Marshall.
As I write this on a lovely spring afternoon and
glimpse out the window the miracle of my old weeping
cherry tree cascading pink blossoms, after having spent
many happy hours studying and recollecting and missing
James, I am reminded of a line, now full of new
meaning, from "The Last Story" in "George and Martha
Encore." Out of love for Martha, and to ease her misery
over a messy garden, George stuffs store-bought tulips
into the ground. Martha catches him, and George is
embarrassed. But Martha is moved. "Dear George," she
says, "I would much rather have a friend like you than
all the gardens in the world."
Maurice Sendak, May 1997
******
In the mood for a wild rumpus? Don't miss Maurice
Sendak's marvelous books. You'll find them at
http://www.amazon.com/sendak
Experience James Marshall's graceful subtlety and humor
with this splendid list of his books:
http://www.amazon.com/marshall
You'll find more great childrens books, articles,
excerpts, and interviews in Amazon.com's Children's
section at http://www.amazon.com/childrens
******
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******
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******
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Copyright 1997 Amazon.com, Inc. All rights reserved."
______________________________________
Jamie Murphy Boston, Librarian
Davis Joint Unified School District
Birch Lane Elementary, 1600 Birch Ln. & Pioneer Elementary, 5212 Hamel St.
Davis, CA 95616
916-757-5395/5413(FAX)
& 757-5480/5423(FAX)
jamieb@dcn.davis.ca.us
Visit the Birch Lane Home Page at http://www.birchlane.davis.ca.us
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