Barner, Bob 1947-

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BARNER, Bob 1947-

PERSONAL: Born November 11, 1947, in Tuckerman, AR; son of Jewel and Jean (McClure) Barner; married; wife's name Cathie. Education: Columbus College of Art and Design, B.F.A., 1970.

ADDRESSES: Home—San Francisco, CA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Holiday House, 425 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10017.

CAREER: Riverside Hospital, Columbus, OH, art therapist, 1970–78; Art Institute of Boston, Boston, MA, instructor in art, 1978–79; freelance writer and artist, 1979–. Assistant to Al Capp, creator of the Li'l Abner comic strip.

MEMBER: Art Directors Club of Boston.

AWARDS, HONORS: Andy Award for Illustration from Children's International Book Fair, 1975, for The Elephants' Visit.

WRITINGS:

SELF-ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN'S BOOKS

The Elephants' Visit, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1975.

Mrs. Seal's Fish Chowder, 1977.

Elephant Facts, Dutton (New York, NY), 1979.

Mr. Elephant's Park, 1979.

I Will Go to Bed, 1981.

The Elevator Escalator Book: A Transportation Fact Book, Doubleday (New York), 1990.

The Good Friends Club, 1990.

The Bike Race, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1991.

Come Out Bear, 1991.

How to Weigh an Elephant, Bantam Doubleday (New York, NY), 1995.

Space Race, Bantam Doubleday (New York, NY), 1995.

Too Many Dinosaurs, Bantam Doubleday (New York, NY), 1995.

Dem Bones, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 1996.

Dinosaurs Depart, Bantam Doubleday (New York, NY), 1996.

To Everything, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 1998.

Which Way to the Revolution?: A Book about Maps, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1998.

Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 1999.

Fish Wish, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2000.

Walk the Dog, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2000.

Dinosaur Bones, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2001.

Stars, Stars, Stars, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2002.

Parade Day: Marching through the Calendar Year, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2003.

Bug Safari, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2004.

ILLUSTRATOR

Eve Bunting, We Need a Bigger Zoo!, Ginn (Lexington, MA), 1974.

Van Aarle, Don't Put Your Cart before the Horse Race, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1980.

Patty Wolcott, Double-Decker, Double-Decker, Double-Decker Bus, Addison-Wesley (Reading, MA), 1980.

Joanne E. Bernstein, Riddles to Take on Vacation, A. Whitman (Niles, IL), 1987.

Nat Segaloff, Fish Tales, Sterling (New York, NY), 1990.

Patricia Demuth, Pick Up Your Ears, Henry, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1992.

Pat Brisson, Benny's Pennies, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1993.

SIDELIGHTS: Bob Barner's books for children frequently feature a mixture of whimsical art and true fact. In Dem Bones, for example, he uses a well-known spiritual song to launch "gleefully" into a "clever anatomy lesson," reported a Publishers Weeklyreviewer. Using cut and torn paper to create collages of skeletons dancing across Halloween-inspired backgrounds, Barner also highlights anatomical facts on each page. The innovative illustrations are "geared for tickling the funny bones of the early elementary set," commented the Publishers Weekly reviewer. Skeletal structure is also the basis for Dinosaur Bones, which features rhyming text about dinosaur facts and colorful, computer-enhanced collages. Charts give information on sizes, diet, and other pertinent facts for each variety. It is a "splashy expedition" to prehistoric times, noted a Publishers Weekly writer, who added that the text's "snappy, vigorous rhymes … propel the production forward," while the skillful illustrations offer "a tantalizing blend of streamlined shapes and saturated colors."

Fish Wish is another of Barner's books that drew enthusiastic reviews. A boy visits an aquarium, where he daydreams about what life would be like if he were one of the fish. School Library Journal reviewer Margaret Rhoades praised Barner's "clever use of perspective" in showing the relative size of the bright orange clownfish that represents the boy, as he investigates numerous other underwater species. The "engaging" book "offers a creative introduction to the natural world of the sea," concluded Rhoades. Booklist critic Carolyn Phelan was similarly enthused about Fish Wish, commenting on its "vibrant sense of place and motion" and balanced overall design, "as simple and pleasing as a sea star."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 15, 1993, Ellen Mandel, review of Benny's Pennies, p. 762; December 1, 1996, Carolyn Phelan, review of Dem Bones, p. 662; July, 1999, Lauren Peterson, review of Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!, p. 1948; February 1, 2000, Carolyn Phelan, review of Fish Wish, p. 1027; November 1, 2001, Carolyn Phelan, review of Dinosaur Bones, p. 479; February 15, 2003, Lauren Peterson, review of Parade Day: Marching through the Calendar Year, p. 1072; April 15, 2004, Karin Snelson, review of Bug Safari, p. 1443.

Horn Book, July-August, 1998, Mary B. Burns, review of Which Way to the Revolution?: A Book about Maps, p. 506.

Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2003, review of Parade Day, p. 140; February 1, 2004, review of Bug Safari, p. 128.

New York Times Book Review, November 15, 1998, Valerie Sayers, review of To Everything, p. 55.

Parenting, March, 1993, Leonard S. Marcus, review of Pick up Your Ears, Henry, p. 29.

Publishers Weekly, July 19, 1993, review of Benny's Pennies, p. 251; September 16, 1996, p. 81; May 31, 1999, review of Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!, p. 91; October 19, 1998, review of To Everything, p. 79; February 21, 2000, review of Fish Wish, p. 86; June 12, 2000, review of Walk the Dog, p. 72; July 9, 2001, review of Dinosaur Bones, p. 66; May 6, 2002, review of Stars! Stars! Stars!, p. 57; January 13, 2003, review of Parade Day, p. 58; January 26, 2004, review of Bug Safari, p. 253.

Rocky Mountain News, January 10, 1999, Natalie Soho, review of To Everything, p. 4E.

School Library Journal, February, 1988, Hayden E. Atwood, review of Riddles to Take on Vacation, p. 68; November, 1996, Christine A. Moesch, review of Dem Bones, p. 95; May, 1998, review of Which Way to the Revolution?, p. 129; September, 1990, Pamela K. Bomboy, review of The Elevator Escalator Book: A Transportation Fact Book, p. 213; March, 1993, Valerie Lennox, review of Pick up Your Ears, Henry, p. 174; January, 1994, Linda Wicher, review of Benny's Pennies, p. 82; November 1, 1998, review of To Everything, p. 102; August, 1999, Dawn Amsberry, review of Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!, p. 144; May, 2000, Margaret Rhoades, review of Fish Wish, p. 130; July, 2000, Janet M. Bair, review of Walk the Dog, p. 91; May, 2002, John Peters, review of Stars! Stars! Stars!, p. 132; April, 2003, Rosalyn Pierini, review of Parade Day, p. 114; January, 2004, Joy Fleishhacker, review of Which Way to the Revolution?, p. 77; March, 2004, Jane Barrer, review of Bug Safari, p. 189.