John Bemelmans Marciano (1970–) Biography

Born 1970; grandEducation: Majored in art history.

Addresses

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Viking, Penguin Putnam, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014.

Career

Writer and illustrator

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN'S BOOKS

Madeline Says Merci: The Always-Be-Polite Book, Viking (New York, NY), 2001.

Delilah, Viking (New York, NY), 2002.

Harold's Tail, Viking (New York, NY), 2003.

There's a Dolphin in the Grand Canal!, Viking (New York, NY), 2005.

OTHER

(With Ludwig Bemelmans) Madeline in America, and Other Holiday Tales (contains "The Count and the Cobbler," "Bemelmans' Christmas Memory," and "Sunshine"), Scholastic (New York, NY), 1999.

Bemelmans: The Life and Art of Madeline's Creator, edited by C. Hennessy, illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans, Viking (New York, NY), 1999.

Sidelights

Author and illustrator John Bemelmans Marciano began his career in children's literature in an almost magical fashion: The grandson of award-winning writer Ludwig Bemelmans, John discovered an unfinished manuscript for a children's story featuring Bemelmans' beloved picture-book heroine Madeline while rummaging through his late relative's memorabilia. Although Marciano had never met his grandfather, who passed away in 1962, his mother introduced him to the six "Madeline" books and Bemelmans' engaging artwork. Madeline in America, and Other Holiday Tales is based on Bemelman's unfinished manuscript, "Madeline's Christmas in Texas," completed and illustrated by Marciano. Basing his illustrations on the pencil sketches left by his grandfather, Marciano completes the story of Madeline who, with teacher Miss Clavel and the other eleven girls from her school in Paris, travels to Texas after she inherits a cattle ranch, gold mines, and oil wells. Including two other stories by Bemelmans, Madeline in America, and Other Holiday Tales also features an essay by Marciano's mother, Barbara Bemelmans, describing Christmas festivities in her artistic father's home.

Since reintroducing Madeline to generations of new audiences, Marciano has featured the perky French schoolgirl in his original work, Madeline Says Merci: The
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Always-Be-Polite Book, in which Madeline is transformed into what School Library Journal contributor Carol Schene dubbed "a mini 'Miss Manners.'" Taking place in the streets of Paris, the book finds Madeline exhibiting proper behavior in a variety of situations, each captured in illustrations that, according to Schene, show that Bemelmans' "impish Parisian is still alive and well." In addition to reprising his grandfather's picture-book character, Marciano has produced Bemelmans: The Life and Art of Madeline's Creator, a study of the Caldecott Medal-winning author/illustrator and journalist that was praised by a Horn Book critic as "an entirely affectionate biography."

Marciano has gone on to expand his repertoire beyond the antics of Madeline. In Delilah he tells a tale of friendship between a farmer and a frisky lamb that soon becomes the farmer's constant companion. Enjoying the lamb, named Delilah, so much, the farmer acquires a whole flock of sheep, only to realize that the value of one thing is not always increased when it is acquired in large numbers. Calling Delilah "a charmer," Jeanne Clancy Watkins predicted that young readers "will not be able to resist these engaging friends," while a Kirkus Reviews critic concluded that the book "is sure to become a bedtime favorite." Most critics praised Marciano's illustrations, a Publishers Weekly reviewer noting that the author/illustrator "draws faces with the evocative simplicity of his grandfather's draftsmanship." The Kirkus Reviews writer deemed the pencil and gouache artwork "delightfully simple."

Other books by Marciano include Harold's Tail, about a Manhattan-dwelling squirrel who learns what life is like for the less fortunate when he takes a dare, shaves the fluff from his tail, and finds himself reviled due to his resemblance to a city rat. In Booklist, Julie Cummins described Harold's Tail as a "clever, urban animal survival tale," while a Kirkus Reviews contributor viewed Marciano's illustrated story as a "study of prejudice and elitism" disguised as a lively children's book. Animals also star in There's a Dolphin in the Grand Canal!, as a boy living in Venice, Italy, discovers a dolphin frolicking in the waters of the city's canal but has a difficult time convincing his parents. Noting that the Venice scenery, with its "meticulous painted brickwork and golden touches," is the author/illustrator's "strong suit," a Publishers Weekly critic wrote that There's a Dolphin in the Grand Canal! "makes for an entertaining introduction to Venice." School Library Journal critic Wendy
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Lukehart maintained that Marciano's picture-book "romp" effectively "capture[s] the grandeur and diversity of Venetian architecture and the magical quality of the liquid streets."