Gail (Gretchen) Gibbons (1944-) Biography

Born 1944, in Oak Park, IL; Education: University of Illinois, B.F.A., 1967.

Career

Freelance writer and illustrator of children's books, 1975—. WCIA-Television, Champaign, IL, artist, 1967-69; WMAQ-TV, Chicago, IL, promotions and animation artist, 1969; Bob Howe Agency, Chicago, staff artist, 1969-70; WNBC-Television, House of Animation, New York, NY, staff artist, 1970-76; United Press International, New York, NY, freelance artist, 1977-88.

Member

Honors Awards

New York City Art Director Club award, 1979, for The Missing Maple Syrup Sap Mystery; American Institute of Graphic Arts award, 1979, for Clocks and How They Go; National Science Teachers Association/Children's Gail Gibbons Book Council Award, 1980, for Locks and Keys, and 1982, for Tool Book; certificate of appreciation from U.S. Postmaster General, 1982, for The Post Office Book: Mail and How It Moves; American Library Association Notable Book award, 1983, for Cars and How They Go, and 1985, for The Milk Makers; Washington Post / Children's Book Guild Award, 1987, for contribution to nonfiction children's literature; National Council of Social Studies Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1990, and 1992; National Science Teachers Association Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1998; International Reading Association Children's Choice Award, 1989, 1995; American Bookseller Pick of the Lists, 1992.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED JUVENILE NONFICTION, UNLESS NOTED

Willy and His Wheel Wagon, Prentice-Hall (New York, NY), 1975.

Things to Make and Do for Halloween, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1976.

Salvador and Mister Sam: A Guide to Parakeet Care, Prentice-Hall (New York, NY), 1976.

Things to Make and Do for Columbus Day, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1977.

Things to Make and Do for Your Birthday, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1978.

Clocks and How They Go, Crowell (New York, NY), 1979.

Locks and Keys, Crowell (New York, NY), 1980.

The Too Great Bread Bake Book, Warne, 1980.

Trucks, Crowell (New York, NY), 1981.

Tool Book, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1982.

The Post Office Book: Mail and How It Moves, Crowell (New York, NY), 1982.

Christmas Time, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1982.

Boat Book, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1983.

Thanksgiving Day, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1983.

New Road!, Crowell (New York, NY), 1983.

Sun up, Sun Down, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1983.

Department Store, Crowell (New York, NY), 1984.

Fire! Fire!, Crowell (New York, NY), 1984.

Halloween, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1984, revised as Halloween Is …, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2002.

The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1984.

Tunnels, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1984.

Check It Out: The Book about Libraries, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1985.

Lights! Camera! Action! How a Movie Is Made, Crowell (New York, NY), 1985.

Fill It Up! All about Service Stations, Crowell (New York, NY), 1985.

The Milk Makers, Macmillan/Collier (New York, NY), 1985.

Playgrounds, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1985.

Flying, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1986.

From Path to Highway: The Story of the Boston Post Road, Crowell (New York, NY), 1986.

Happy Birthday!, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1986.

Up Goes the Skyscraper!, Four Winds Press (New York, NY), 1986.

Valentine's Day, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1986.

Deadline! From News to Newspaper, Crowell (New York, NY), 1987.

Dinosaurs, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1987.

The Pottery Place, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1987.

Trains, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1987.

Weather Forecasting, Four Winds Press (New York, NY), 1987.

Zoo, Crowell (New York, NY), 1987.

Dinosaurs, Dragonflies and Diamonds: All about Natural History Museums, Four Winds Press (New York, NY), 1988.

Farming, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1988.

Prehistoric Animals, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1988.

Sunken Treasure, Crowell (New York, NY), 1988.

Easter, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1989.

Catch the Wind!: All about Kites, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1989.

Marge's Diner, Crowell (New York, NY), 1989.

Monarch Butterfly, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1989.

Beacons of Light: Lighthouses, Morrow (New York, NY), 1990.

Weather Words and What They Mean, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1990.

How a House Is Built, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1990.

The Puffins Are Back!, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1991.

From Seed to Plant, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1991.

Surrounded by Sea: Life on a New England Fishing Island, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1991.

Whales, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1991.

The Great St. Lawrence Seaway, Morrow (New York, NY), 1992.

Sharks, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1992.

Recycle! A Handbook for Kids, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1992.

Say Woof!: The Day of a Country Veterinarian, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1992.

Stargazers, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1992.

Caves and Caverns, Harcourt Brace (New York, NY), 1993.

Frogs, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1993.

Pirates: Robbers of the High Seas, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1993.

The Planets, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1993.

Puff—Flash—Bang!: A Book about Signals, Morrow (New York, NY), 1993.

Spiders, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1993.

Christmas on an Island, Morrow (New York, NY), 1994.

Country Fair, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1994.

Emergency!, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1994.

Nature's Green Umbrella: Tropical Rain Forests, Morrow (New York, NY), 1994.

St. Patrick's Day, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1994.

Wolves, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1994.

Bicycle Book, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1994.

Knights in Shining Armor, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1995.

Planet Earth/Inside Out, Morrow (New York, NY), 1995.

The Reasons for Seasons, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1995.

Sea Turtles, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1995.

Cats, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1996.

Deserts, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1996.

Dogs, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1996.

Click!: A Book about Cameras and Taking Pictures, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1997.

Gulls … Gulls … Gulls, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1997.

The Honey Makers, Morrow (New York, NY), 1997.

The Moon Book, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1997.

Paper, Paper Everywhere, Harcourt Brace (New York, NY), 1997.

Marshes and Swamps, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1998.

Soaring with the Wind: The Bald Eagle, Morrow (New York, NY), 1998.

Yippee-Yay!: A Book about Cowboys and Cowgirls, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1998.

The Art Box, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1998.

Penguins!, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1998.

The Quilting Bee, Morrow (New York, NY), 1999.

Exploring the Deep, Dark Sea, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1999.

Behold—the Dragon!, Morrow (New York, NY), 1999.

Pigs, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1999.

The Pumpkin Book, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1999.

Santa Who?, Morrow (New York, NY), 1999.

Rabbits, Rabbits, and More Rabbits, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2000.

My Soccer Book, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

My Football Book, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

My Basketball Book, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

My Baseball Book, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

Apples, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2000.

Polar Bears, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2001.

Ducks, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2001.

Christmas Is …, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2001.

Behold—the Unicorns!, Morrow (New York, NY), 2001.

Tell Me, Tree: All about Trees for Kids, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2002.

Giant Pandas, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2002.

The Berry Book, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2002.

Horses!, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2003.

Grizzly Bears, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2003.

Chicks and Chickens, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2003.

Thanksgiving Is …, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2004.

Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs: A Book about Ancient Egypt, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2004.

The Planets, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2005.

Owls, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2005.

Dinosaur Discoveries, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2005.

SELF-ILLUSTRATED FICTION

The Missing Maple Syrup Sap Mystery, Warne, 1979.

The Magnificent Morris Mouse Clubhouse, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1981.

ILLUSTRATOR

Jane Yolen, Rounds about Rounds, Franklin Watts (New York, NY), 1977.

Judith Enderle, Good Junk, Dandelion Press, 1979.

Catharine Chase, Hot and Cold, Dandelion Press, 1979.

Catharine Chase, My Balloon, Dandelion Press, 1979.

Catharine Chase, Pete, the Wet Pet, Dandelion Press, 1979.

Catharine Chase, The Mouse at the Show, Dandelion Press, 1980.

Donna Lugg Pape, The Mouse at the Show, Elsevier/Nelson, 1981.

Joanna Cole, Cars and How They Go, Crowell (New York, NY), 1983.

Adaptations

Several of Gibbons's books have been made into film-strips and cassettes, including Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Time, and Valentine's Day, all by Live Oak Media; Dinosaurs and Check It Out! A Book about Libraries were adapted as filmstrips with cassettes by Listening Library.

Work in Progress

More books for children.

Sidelights

A prolific author and illustrator of nonfiction books for curious-minded young readers, Gail Gibbons has answered questions about everything from clocks, locks, and post offices to grizzly bears and owls. Name a topic—milk, paper, news-reporting, puffins—and odds are that Gibbons has addressed it in one of her many award-winning books, each of which feature a clearly written text and vibrant design. In the 1987 Washington Post /Children's Book Guild Award for nonfiction, the judges noted: "The enormous breadth of subjects that Gail Gibbons has brought to life is astonishing," and that her books "are free-flowing fountains of information."

Readers in the five-to nine-year-old group are Gibbon's focus, and she was one of the first author/illustrators to bring vitality and visual excitement into children's nonfiction books for that group. Beginning with her first book, 1975's Willy and His Wheel Wagon, she has gathered ideas from many sources: from suggestions from family and friends, from editors, and from children at schools where she speaks, but mostly from her own insatiable curiosity.

Born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1944, Gibbons showed artistic talents at an early age. As she wrote in an entry for Something about the Author Autobiography Series (SAAS), "there has always been a need for me to put words down on paper and draw and paint pictures." In kindergarten teachers noticed Gibbons's knack for drawing, and her love of painting and drawing increased throughout school. Soon with a reputation as the class artist, Gibbons created small books and "writing and drawing pictures of what I loved and where I wanted to be," as she recalled in SAAS.

While visits to the nearby Chicago Art Institute inspired her drawing, books became a passion for the young Gibbons as well, and each night she would read long past the time for lights-out. By high school, art became a refuge for the shy teenager, and after graduation she applied and was accepted to the University of Illinois where she studied art. "I consider myself quite fortunate because I never had to debate with myself as to what I wanted to do with my life," Gibbons explained in SAAS. "The answer was always there. I wanted to be a writer and artist."

College was a revelation to Gibbons, and she was particularly inspired by one of her instructors, a professional illustrator of children's books who "became sort of an idol to me." She also grew closer and closer to a young man she had begun dating in high school, and she married Glenn Gibbons at age twenty-one. Helping to support the household while her husband finished his degree, Gibbons took her first job in television, working for a local station in Champaign, Illinois, doing set design, animations, and on-air graphics.

When the couple moved to Chicago, Gibbons continued her television work with WMAQ-TV and also worked at an advertising agency. After a 1969 move to New York, she worked for WNBC-TV creating graphics for news shows as well as for segments of Saturday Night Live and Today. In 1971 Gibbons became the graphic artist for the NBC children's program, Take a Giant Step. It was at this point in her career that she first thought about creating children's books, inspired by the children she was working with on air.

Gibbons's life took a radical turn in 1972, when her husband died in an accident. Emotionally distraught, she turned to her art. Picking an agent out of the yellow pages at random, she submitted her portfolio, and the agent encouraged her to get to work on a children's book. Deciding to take the subject of set theory as her topic, Gibbons discovered that her years in television came in very handy. "The bright colors I use come from my television background," she explained to Booklist contributor Stephanie Zvirin in an interview. "A television image is only on the screen for about ten seconds so it has to be very readable and simple." Expanding on this point, Gibbons told Jennifer Crichton in a Publishers Weekly interview that when she was working in television, a lot of people still had black-and-white sets, so that the artist had to be careful to use contrasting colors. "I can't put red next to black, for instance, because on black-and-white, the colors will come out a uniform gray. Bold, flat colors lend themselves to simplicity." As a result, the use of bright, flat colors and visual simplicity have become a Gibbons trademark.

After producing her first few books, Gibbons left New York for a part-time home on Cape Cod, and in 1976 married her Massachusetts landlord, Kent Ancliffe. With her husband and two stepchildren, she moved to Vermont, where Ancliffe built a house on two hundred and forty acres. After being advised to turn her hand to children's nonfiction, a bit of market research convinced Gibbons that this was a good idea. Clocks and How They Go was the first book to show Gibbons's new, simplified style. In this book she does not attempt to tell a story, but to explain concepts as clearly and vividly as possible.

Reviewing Clocks and How They Go, Booklist contributor Barbara Elleman wrote that the "inside movements of the weight and spring clock seemingly tick into action with Gibbons's concisely worded text and clean line work," while Ann A. Flowers wrote in Horn Book, that the work is an "admirable example of the kind of book that explains for the young reader how mechanical things work." The recipient of several awards, Clocks and How They Go set the tone for Gibbons's style through its simple text and clear illustration.

Other books on technology include Locks and Keys, which traces the history of such devices and shows the workings of various locks. Karen Jameyson, writing in As Gibbons shows in her self-illustrated Apples, the rosy fruit is older than Johnny Appleseed, but not by much; it actually came to America with European settlers. Horn Book, noted that Gibbons "has once again skillfully combined a concise, clear text with explicit, attractive illustrations to acquaint young readers with a mechanical subject." More things mechanical are served up in Tool Book, in which "Gibbons presents clear, attractive, and colorful drawings of common hand tools," according to Richard J. Merrill in Science Books.

Other books find Gibbons investigating production processes, such as how apples grow, how honey and paper are made, and how milk gets from the cow to the supermarket. The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree does double service by showing the change of seasons as well as the development of apples on a tree. School Library Journal reviewer Harriet Otto commented that the book also "shows the close relationship between a boy and an apple tree," and went on to note that Gibbons's "colorful double-page spreads depict the changing seasons." Reviewing Paper, Paper Everywhere, a Publishers Weekly contributor commented: "Gibbons's works have been honored as innovations that entertain and teach children about things encountered in daily life."

More natural "manufacturing" is investigated in The Honey Makers, a book looking at the workings of a hive, following a worker bee from birth through its many jobs. Reviewing that title in Booklist, Kay Weisman stated that "Gibbons' signature full-color artwork makes each page a visual delight, and numerous inset captions and labels add to the wealth of knowledge found in the text." With The Milk Makers Gibbons creates "an attractive, informative book on milk production for young readers," according to Eldon Younce in School Library Journal. "The Milk Makers is a perfect introduction for the class trip to a dairy farm or dairy plant and should also have great appeal for younger children," remarked Elizabeth S. Watson in Horn Book.

Exploring businesses and the world of commerce, Gibbons has illustrated the workings of post offices, diners, and newsrooms, among others. In The Post Office: Mail and How It Moves she explains the behind-the-counter activities of postal workers in a "bright and cheerful" format, according to George A. Woods in the New York Times Book Review. "Text and pictures greatly simplify a complex operation and reveal the postal system to be most expeditious," Woods concluded. In Department Store Gibbons tackles the workings of large-scale retail enterprises. According to Barbara S. Worth in Children's Book Review Service, the author/illustrator does "a remarkable job of bringing order and organization to a complex topic." The work processes of a rural potter are presented in The Pottery Place, a book that supplies an "appealing introduction to pottery making for the preschool and elementary-school-aged child," according to Nancy Vasilakis in her review for Horn Book. Using a lightly fictionalized format, Gibbons illustrates the workings of a small restaurant in Marge's Diner, a book that School Library Journal contributor Mary Lou Budd dubbed a "delightful, charming presentation of how a hometown diner operates."

Gibbons gives young readers a peek behind the headlines in Deadline!: From News to Newspaper, in which she "explains in simple format the incredible amount of activity generated by a busy staff during six hours in the office of a daily newspaper," according to Martha Rosen in School Library Journal. "The colorful, cartoon-like illustrations reinforce the message of the text," Rosen added. From a modern newspaper to an ancient tomb is a manageable jump for Gibbons' readers' in Mummies, Pyramids, and Pharaohs she outlines ancient Egyptian beliefs and customs, and also discusses their treatment of the dead in a volume that School Library Journal contributor Gloria Koster praised as showing the author's "usual flair for simplifying complex topics."

Few topics have escaped Gibbons's practiced eye. Cowboys and cowgirls come under her lens in Yippee-Yay!, a book focusing on the development of the so-called "Wild West" during the three decades following the U.S. Civil War. "Following her own tried-and-true layout, she has given youngsters yet another useful historical introduction to a popular topic," wrote John Sigwald in a School Library Journal review of the book. Environmentalism comes under scrutiny in Recycle!, while a popular mode of transportation is the focus of Bicycle Book. Booklist critic Carolyn Phelan commented that Bicycle Book is one of Gibbons's "more engaging picture books" and one that introduces the history as well as design and care of bikes with clear, colorful illustrations in a "satisfying book."

Gibbons's magpie curiosity finds subjects in everything she does. When she and her husband bought a house on a Maine island, she turned her attention to things of the sea, producing a book on lighthouses, Beacons of Light; on sea animals—including Whales and The Puffins Are Back; and life on such an island—Surrounded by the Sea: Life on a New England Fishing Island. She has looked at holidays from Halloween to St. Patrick's Day, at means of transport from trucks to boats, even at children's beloved dinosaurs and knights, and examined occupations from that of a veterinarian to a farmer. Kites caught her fancy, and books on wind and weather resulted. Stargazing, sharks, zoos, skyscrapers, and museums all have been fodder for her books.

Living the country life in northern New England much of the years, Gibbons has also found many subjects in the natural landscape nearby. Owls focuses on the habitat, physiology, and unique hunting habits of one of the region's most interesting birds, while Tell Me, Tree: All about Trees for Kids follows a tree's life cycle from seed to harvest, and includes activities that allow budding naturalists to engage in some field work as well. Praising Tell Me, Tree as "sure to please" both adults and children, Booklist reviewer Carolyn Phelan also cited Gibbons' "bright watercolor illustrations," while Owls was described as "a bright addition to owl lore" by Patricia Manning in School Library Journal.

"Nonfiction requires a tremendous amount of research," Gibbons noted in SAAS. "I want it to be accurate and up-to-date information." In addition to library research, she draws on personal experience and seeks out experts in the fields she is writing about. After several months of research, she writes the text, and has been known to make up to fifteen revisions for one book.

After the text comes a dummy, a fake copy of the format of the book with line sketches for illustrations. Once this is approved and she receives the typeset text, Gibbons creates the book's actual illustrations, using watercolors, black pen, acrylics, colored pencils, or a process called pre-separation in order to achieve her bright, flat colors. "I usually am working on a number of books all at the same time," she explained in SAAS. "I might be illustrating one, researching another, and working on the writing of another."

In addition to creating new books, Gibbons regularly visits schools where she talks with both children and educators. "Whenever I am speaking to children, teachers, and librarians, I always stress how much I feel that nonfiction is important," the author/illustrator concluded in SAAS. "I am constantly impressed in seeing what is happening in schools and libraries around the country. There is a sincere excitement about good literature coming from these places. I like to encourage others to write, hoping that it will be as exciting and rewarding to them as it has been to me."