Most of these books,
including earlier books and forthcoming titles
not listed here, can be purchased at your local independent book dealer,
or by contacting Amazon.com
. (Currently, Amazon.com carries about 68 McCurdy books at its online
store. ) Check Michael's Amazon.com Bookstore
as well. Children's books may also be ordered directly from
the artist's gallery, the Elizabeth
Stone Gallery in Birmingham, Michigan.
All of the original drawings or prints from these
books and others are available for sale. Inquire by clicking here.
The Signers: The 56 Stories Behind the Declaration of Independence
by Dennis Brindell Fradin Michael created 112
striking black-and-white scratchboard drawings for this comprehensive
edition by Dennis Brindell Fradin, including portraits of the fifty-six
signers of the historic 1776 document. Along with the biographies,
maps are included, as well as the text of the Declaration itself--truly
a book for all age groups. A special book launch event was held in Philadelphia
on October 22. C-SPAN taped Dennis Fradin's talk to schoolchildren.
For
additional information from the publisher's catalogue click here.
Order from Amazon.com An ALA Notable Book
of the Year
Take Command, Captain Farragut! by Peter and Connie Roop This is the story of the young tyro David
Glasgow Farragut, the navy's youngest midshipman (at age ten) and
the youngest captain (for three days, at age 12). Told in the form
of letters the boy is writing to his father, the book describes David's
battle experiences, subsequent capture by the British, and detention
in Valparaiso, Chile, during the War of 1812. Michael illustrated
this chapter book in black-and-white drawings. "The eight black-and-white
scratchboard ilustrations in McCurdy's signature technique are equally
commanding, building the strength of the narrative with hewn details
of ship life and creating still life images of the drama of the action."
--Kirkus Reviews [Atheneum]
Order
from Amazon.com
An Algonquian
Year: The Year According to the Full Moon by Michael McCurdy
As the moon waxes and wanes, her cycles set a pattern
of life for those who live beneath her glow. For the Northern Algonquians
in pre colonial America, these rhythms serve to measure out their
year. McCurdy brings to life the seasonal cycles of work, play, and
survival--a busy and fulfilling year punctuated by the beauty of the
full moon. He describes both in
text and in black-and-white scratchboard drawings the monthly activities
of the Algonquian tribes according to the names they gave to each of
the twelve full moons. These activities reflect the daily lives of the
Abenaki, Micmac, Wampanoag, Penobscott, Mahican, Lenape, and Pequot tribes.
The artist has written an introduction and supplied a map. "McCurdy's signature scratchboard illustrations take on
a hieratic power as he recounts a way of pacing the year far different
from what's familiar. His language is simple. direct, and clear, and reads
aloud well." Kirkus Reviews "The clean, elegant lines of
McCurdy's informative prose echo the bold cross-hatching and linear detail
of his artwork." Publishers Weekly A Smithsonian Magazine
"Notable Books for Children, 2000" selection. New York Times,
"Careful scholarship is lightly incorporated into an engrossing book." Publishers
Weekly, "The clean, elegant lines of McCurdy's informative prose
echo the bold cross-hatching and linear detail of his artwork; he frames
resonant black-and-white vignettes, united by a recurring lunar motif, with
a brick red border." School Library Journal, "...this is
a beautiful
book..." [Houghton Mifflin Company] Order
from Amazon.com
Something Special by Iris Murdoch
The late Anglo-Irish author's only short story (1959) has been published
in the United States for the first time (and in an illustrated edition
for the first time ever). This special edition is illustrated with six
black-and-white drawings by Michael McCurdy. The story concerns a young
woman in 1950's Dublin, torn between custom and her desire to remain independent.
[W.W. Norton & Company (a UK edition will be published August, 2001
by RandomHouse UK)] Reviewed in New York Times, November 12,
2000. Read
from the publisher's catalogue. Order
from Amazon.com
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Kansas
Centennial Edition by L. Frank Baum
This new Oz publication is a special centennial edition from
the University Press of Kansas. The first and most beloved in the Oz
series, this edition contains twenty-six McCurdy drawings in black
and white, most all containing subtle references to Kansas. Famed fantasy
writer Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles,
The Illustrated Man) has contributed the introduction. He says
of McCurdy's work: "Michael McCurdy is a marvelous artist whose wondrous
images offer new shadings for this re-paving of a road well taken and
a harvest of characters well met." Respected book designer Richard Hendel
designed the handsome edition. Aside from the trade edition, a special
signed and slipcased edition of 500 copies is also available. "The book is illustrated with haunting but witty
[drawings] by Michael McCurdy that provide a fresh, anti-Hollywood interpretation
of the story." --Christian Science Monitor (NOV 4/99)
Now also in paperback! Order
from Amazon.com
Christmas Present by Jan Wahl
This new story by a well-known writer for children, is a touching
account of a homeless father and his little boy that ends with hope
and possibility. It was designed in a gift-book format (including slipcase)
by the award-winning designer Rita Marshall. This special, handsomely
designed holiday book was published by Creative Editions and contains
over twenty black-and-white drawings by Michael McCurdy. In its small format,
the edition makes a splendid gift item for all ages. A Chinese edition
is now available. Order
from Amazon.com
For Older McCurdy books, 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
Order
from Amazon.com
For a listing
of forthcoming 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
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. Order
from Amazon.com
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 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
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"
Order
from Amazon.com
Trapped by the Ice: Shackleton's Amazing Antarctic Adventure by Michael McCurdy The artist wrote this true-life
survival story about Sir Ernest Shackleton's harrowing third Antarctic
journey. The year is 1914 and Sir Ernest Shackleton is determined to
be the first to cross the South Polar Cap, one of the harshest regions
on the planet. His goal is to find adventure and fame. What he discovers
instead is a sea of ice that crushes his ship, Endurance, and strands
its crew hundreds of miles from any human contact. During their harrowing
two-year journey back to civilization, Shackleton leads his men across
the frigid ice pack, through hundreds of miles of treacherous seas, and
up and over a series of mountain ranges to reach help--all without any
loss of life. The book features the illustrator's first full-color acrylic
paintings and was published by Walker & Company in August, 1997. Named
a "Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies."
Michael's book has been placed in several school anthologies. Click
here Read the New
York Times review. Order
from Amazon.com .
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. Order
from Amazon.com .
