Hague, Michael 1948- (Michael R. Hague)
Hague, Michael 1948- (Michael R. Hague)
PERSONAL:
Born September 8, 1948, in Los Angeles, CA; son of Riley Herbert (a truck driver) and Daisy Marie Hague; married Susan Kathleen Burdick (a writer), December 5, 1970; children: Meghan Micaela Hague Ledare, Brittany Michael Hague Sanders, Devon Heath. Education: Art Center College of Design, B.F.A. (with honors), 1971.
ADDRESSES:
Home—Colorado Springs, CO.
CAREER:
Hallmark Cards, Kansas City, KS, illustrator, 1973-75; Current, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO, illustrator, 1975-77; author and illustrator of children's books, 1977—.
AWARDS, HONORS:
Dream Weaver was chosen for the American Institute of Graphic Arts Book Show (formerly known as Fifty Books of the Year), 1980; International Reading Association children's choices citation, 1982, for The Man Who Kept House; Colorado Children's Book Award, University of Colorado, 1984, and Georgia Children's Picture Storybook Award, University of Georgia, 1986, both for The Unicorn and the Lake; Parents' Choice Award for children's books, Parents' Choice Foundation, 1984, for The Frog Princess; Aesop's Fables, The Legend of the Veery Bird, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland were all selected as children's books of the year, Child Study Association of America, 1985; Graphic Arts Award for best juvenile book, Printing Industries Association, 1986, for A Child's Book of Prayers.
WRITINGS:
SELF-ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN'S BOOKS
(Reteller, with wife, Kathleen Hague) East of the Sun and West of the Moon, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York, NY), 1980.
(Reteller, with Kathleen Hague) The Man Who Kept House, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York, NY), 1981.
(Editor) Michael Hague's Favorite Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1981.
(Editor) Mother Goose: A Collection of Classic Nursery Rhymes, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1984.
(Editor) Aesop's Fables, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1985.
A Child's Book of Prayers, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1985.
Unicorn Pop-up Book, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1986.
Michael Hague's World of Unicorns, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1986.
(Editor) Robert Louis Stevenson, The Land of Nod and Other Poems for Children, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1988.
My Secret Garden Diary, Arcade (New York, NY), 1990.
Magic Moments: A Book of Days, Arcade (New York, NY), 1990.
Our Baby: A Book of Records and Memories, Arcade (New York, NY), 1990.
A Unicorn Journal, Arcade (New York, NY), 1990.
Michael Hague's Illustrated "The Teddy Bears' Picnic," Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1992.
(Selector) The Rainbow Fairy Book, Morrow (New York, NY), 1993.
(Selector) Sleep, Baby, Sleep: Lullabies and Night Poems, Morrow (New York, NY), 1994.
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat, and Other Nonsense Poems, North-South Books (New York, NY), 1995.
Michael Hague's Family Christmas Treasury, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1995.
(Selector) The Book of Dragons, Morrow (New York, NY), 1995.
Michael Hague's Family Easter Treasury, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1996.
The Perfect Present, Morrow (New York, NY), 1996.
Michael Hague's Magical World of Unicorns, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1999.
(Selector) The Book of Pirates, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.
(Selector) The Book of Fairy Poetry, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2004.
(Reteller) E. Nesbit, Lionel and the Book of Beasts, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2006.
(Selector) Animal Friends: A Collection of Poems for Children, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2007.
(And selector) The Book of Wizards, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2008.
ILLUSTRATOR; CHILDREN'S BOOKS
Ethel Marbach, The Cabbage Moth and the Shamrock, Star and Elephant Books (La Jolla, CA), 1978.
Beth Hilgartner, A Necklace of Fallen Stars, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1979.
Jane Yolen, Dream Weaver, Collins (New York, NY), 1979, revised edition, Philomel Books, 1989.
Deborah Apy, reteller, Beauty and the Beast, Green Tiger (New York, NY), 1980.
Eve Bunting, Demetrius and the Golden Goblet, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York, NY), 1980.
Julia Cunningham, A Mouse Called Junction, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1980.
Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1980.
Lee Bennett Hopkins, editor, Moments: Poems about the Seasons, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York, NY), 1980.
Clement C. Moore, The Night before Christmas, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1981.
Marianna Mayer, The Unicorn and the Lake, Dial (New York, NY), 1982.
L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1982, centennial edition, 2000.
Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit; or, How Toys Became Real, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1983.
Kenneth Grahame, The Reluctant Dragon, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1983.
C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1983.
Nancy Luenn, The Dragon Kite, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York, NY), 1983.
Jakob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, Rapunzel, Creative Education (Mankato, MN), 1984.
Kathleen Hague, Alphabears: An ABC Book, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1984, published with cassette, Live Oak Media, 1985.
Elizabeth Isele, reteller, The Frog Princess: A Russian Tale Retold, Crowell (New York, NY), 1984.
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit; or, There and Back Again, Houghton Mifflin (New York, NY), 1984.
Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1985.
Kathleen Hague, The Legend of the Veery Bird, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York, NY), 1985.
Kathleen Hague, Numbears: A Counting Book, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1986.
Kathleen Hague, Out of the Nursery, into the Night, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1986.
Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1987.
J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1987, centennial edition, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2003.
Carl Sandburg, Rootebaga Stories, two volumes, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York, NY), 1988-89.
Charles Perrault, Cinderella, and Other Tales from Perrault, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1989.
Marianna Mayer, The Unicorn Alphabet, Dial (New York, NY), 1989.
William Allingham, The Fairies: A Poem, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1989.
Kathleen Hague, Bear Hugs, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1989.
Thornton W. Burgess, Old Mother West Wind, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1990.
(With Joe Krush) Carl Sandburg, Prairie-Town Boy, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York, NY), 1990.
Mary Norton, The Borrowers, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York, NY), 1991.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Morrow Junior Books (New York, NY), 1992.
South Pacific, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (New York, NY), 1992.
The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1993.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear: A Classic Action Rhyme, Morrow (New York, NY), 1993.
The Little Mermaid, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1993.
Little Women or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1993.
William J. Bennett, editor, The Children's Book of Virtues, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1995.
The Story of Doctor Dolittle, Morrow (New York, NY), 1997.
The Children's Book of America, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1998.
The 23rd Psalm: From the King James Bible, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1999.
Ten Little Bears: A Counting Rhyme, Morrow (New York, NY), 1999.
The Children's Book of Faith, Random House Children's Books (New York, NY), 2000.
William J. Bennett, editor, The Children's Treasury of Virtues, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2000.
A Wind in the Willows Christmas, SeaStar Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, SeaStar Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Kate Culhane, a Ghost Story, SeaStar Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Hugh Lofting, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, edited by Patricia C. McKissack and Fredrick L. McKissack, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.
William J. Bennett, editor, The Children's Book of Home and Family, Doubleday Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2002.
Kathleen Hague, Good Night Fairies, SeaStar Books (New York, NY), 2002.
Jimmy Kennedy, The Teddy Bears' Picnic, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2002.
L. Frank Baum, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2003, published with new introduction by Michael O. Riley and afterword by Max Apple, Signet (New York, NY), 2005.
Sarah L. Thompson, The Nutcracker, SeaStar Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Marianna Mayer, Legendary Creatures of Myth and Magic, Madison Park Press (New York, NY), 2006.
Jim Aylesworth, Little Bitty Mousie, Walker and Co. (New York, NY), 2007.
ILLUSTRATOR; CHRISTMAS CAROLS
We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1990.
Jingle Bells, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1990.
Deck the Halls, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1991.
O Christmas Tree, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1991.
OTHER
Unicorn Calendar, Holt, Rinehart & Winston (New York, NY), 1989.
Also illustrator of several other calendars, including a series based on C.S. Lewis's "Chronicles of Narnia" books.
SIDELIGHTS:
Michael Hague, author and illustrator of children's books, claims to have known he possessed the ability to draw as far back as kindergarten. "My mother had been to art school in England and encouraged me greatly by bringing home art books from which I could copy paintings and drawings," recalled Hague. "She never gave me lessons. I knew as a child that I wanted to illustrate books. I was always reading and rendering illustrations of my own creations for the King Arthur books as well as making portraits of such baseball heroes as Duke Snider of the Los Angeles Dodgers."
Books filled Hague's childhood home and he believed everything he read. "I still have a hard time accepting that Prince Valiant is not a real character from English history," Hague commented. Comic books and Disney books were among his favorites, and his most treasured book demonstrated how to draw and animate the Disney characters. "I'm still a great Disney fan—I hold docu- ments as one of the first Mickey Mouse Club members," stated Hague. "To this day I remember an enormous man named Roy, a Disney animator often featured on the Mickey Mouse Club television show. I used to think to myself. ‘One day he'll retire, and then.’"
Hague had many friends as he was growing up and was also involved in numerous sports, his favorite being baseball. He continued drawing throughout high school and dreamed of playing professional baseball, all the while realizing that he was not talented enough to do so. After high school Hague briefly attended junior college, transferring to the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. His original major was illustration and he hoped for a career in children's books. However, the college directed its illustration majors toward more promising careers, such as advertising, so Hague changed his major to painting. His wife was also a painting major and the two married while still students.
Although Hague retained a strong interest in doing children's books by the time he graduated, he was convinced that he could not earn a living at it and decided to teach. When he discovered that teaching was not the career for him, Hague applied for a job at Hallmark Cards and worked for two years in their Kansas City studio. "It was great to get paid for drawing every day," he recalled. Although he was glad to have a job, Hague still refused to give up on the publishing industry. He put together a portfolio during his first week at Hallmark and sent it out to numerous publishers. "Many of the comments I received early were quite discouraging," noted Hague. "Some editors said my work was ‘too weird’ for children. Many art directors sent back my portfolio with no comment. Silence was the worst response, and alas, the most frequent. How did I keep my morale up? I just assumed they were idiots. Dr. Seuss went to twenty-nine publishers before he had his first book published. After five years, I finally was offered illustration work and then it all seemed to come at once."
The first illustration job Hague did was a cover and an inside story for Cricket magazine; and his first published book illustration was a pop-up book version of Gulliver's Travels. Meanwhile, Hague had begun working for Current, Inc., another greeting card company. "While I was working at Current I contacted Green Tiger Press," stated Hague. "To my delight, they asked what I would like to illustrate. The first thing that came to my mind was Beauty and the Beast, which they agreed to. My illustrations for the book were influenced by the Cocteau film. It took a long time before I had another opportunity to propose what I wanted to illustrate to a publisher. When you're getting started, it's the publishers who make suggestions, and illustrators tend to accept everything and anything. It still takes me a long time to say ‘no’ to a project that doesn't interest me. But after the publication and success of The Wind in the Willows in 1980, I was in a position to suggest books I like to illustrate."
Hague's maternal grandmother was born in 1908, only two years before The Wind in the Willows was published for the first time. "She can recall with delight her father reading aloud to her about the adventures of Mr. Toad and his friends," related Hague. "The book was her father's favorite, and indeed became hers as well. My grandmother passed on a love of ‘Willows,’ as she refers to it, to my mother; and so when the story reached me it had already claimed three generations and captivated its fourth generation in me." The book's main characters include Mole, Ratty, Badger, and Mr. Toad; and they, along with their surroundings, have inspired an immense following over the years. "With such a loyal and affectionate following, from young children to their great-grandparents, I felt a great responsibility in illustrating the book," explained Hague. The Wind in the Willows had earlier been illustrated by two of Hague's idols, Ernest Shepard and Arthur Rackham, so when he was first approached about the project he was "thrilled, honored, and a bit frightened. I love the book," maintained Hague. "I love the dependable Water Rat, the kindly Mole, the sturdy Badger, and especially Mr. Toad. And so it is, as when one is in love, one forgets all obstacles and fears. That is what happened to me. I've not tried to create a new visual style or interpretation of the story," continued Hague. "I have instead tried to infuse my illustrations with the same spirit Kenneth Grahame's magic words convey. There is, I think, a bit of Toad in all of us. Certainly there must have been some of Mr. Toad in me when I agreed to illustrate this book."
Hague tries to imbue all his illustrations with the same essence the author or the story itself originally creates in his imagination. "I begin with character studies and try to capture on paper what I see in my mind's eye," explained Hague. And to avoid making a book repetitious, he places his characters in a variety of light sources. "Light is one of the elements which makes a painting real," he claimed, "especially when you are painting the fantastic. The more real a tree looks, or the light appears, the more believable the fantasy elements will be. One can't afford to be vague when illustrating fantasy. Ninety per cent of a fantasy book should be based on the real world; you don't need many strange elements to make a story work. In a good illustration of a knight riding on a horse, for example, the viewer will ride over the next hill with him, even though the artist hasn't illustrated what's over there. It's not hard to animate or give gesture to fantasy creatures once you have principles of drawing. I try to make movement and gesture look believable, and one way to do that is to be sure that the backgrounds are realistic. It adds emphasis. Once again, I build a concrete world—not a fuzzy, dream-like place—where kids can see real sky or walls or cities. Then a dragon can become believable."
Hague claims to have no special tricks or secret answers when it comes to illustrating; if something doesn't look right he merely plays around with it until it does. "Sometimes I'll have a bad day, when nothing seems to come easy," observed Hague. "People ask me how long it takes to do a painting, and I can't really say because it changes from painting to painting from day to day. I've done some paintings in one day, others in two weeks. I couldn't say why that is." And while working on his illustrations, Hague creates for himself, not for a particular audience: "When I illustrate, I don't think about kids, or what age group the book is aimed toward. I don't like to generalize or second guess my audience. I try to please myself. I am still in touch with my childhood, with the child that still exists in me."
A favorite story of the child that still exists in Hague, in addition to The Wind in the Willows, is The Wizard of Oz. "When I was a child, there were three places I would have given anything to visit," he remembers. "One was England in the days of King Arthur; another was the Wild West of Hopalong Cassidy; the third, quite different, was the Wonderful Land of Oz. Arthur's England and Hoppy's West were confined to earthly borders. The landscape of Oz was as large or as small as I wished it to be. And, like Alice's Wonderland, it was populated with such extraordinary creatures that I knew anything might happen there. It was a place where the laws of our universe seldom applied." His desire to visit the land of Oz never waned over the years, so it was with much enthusiasm and joy that Hague accepted the job of painting his own Oz. "I count myself as one of the most fortunate of beings," he proclaimed. "For as an artist I have not only the pleasure but the duty to daydream. It is part of my work. I have been a contented daydreamer all of my life, often to the exasperation of those around me. While creating the illustrations for The Wizard of Oz, I would slip away. My hands went about their business while my mind walked among the Quadlings and the fierce Kalidahs."
Imagining and believing were important factors in Hague's childhood, and he has maintained that they are "the only forms of magic left. When I was a kid, I thought that magicians actually did work magic—the power to cut a woman in two and put her back together again. As I got older I, of course, realized that these were optical illusions. After a while one draws a distinction between doing tricks and imagination. Our imagination is real magic. And while imagination may change in our increasingly technological world, it is still magic—it's what got us to the moon! Without it, we'd still be living in trees."
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:
PERIODICALS
Horn Book Guide, July, 1990, review of Jingle Bells, p. 52.
New York, December 12, 1988, Julie Baumgold, review of Rootabega Stories, p. 91.
Publishers Weekly, October 31, 1986, Diane Roback, review of Out of the Nursery, into the Night, p. 65, and Diane Roback, review of Michael Hague's World of Unicorns, p. 67; January 20, 1989.
School Library Journal, March, 1986, Pat Pearl, review of A Child's Book of Prayers, p. 10; January, 1987, Carolyn Noah, review of Michael Hague's Book of Unicorns, p. 64.
Times Educational Supplement, November 21, 1986, review of A Child's Book of Prayers, p. 37.
Washington Post Book World, February 9, 1986, review of A Child's Book of Prayers, p. 10.
Wilson Library Bulletin, May, 1987, Donnarae MacCann and Olga Richard, review of Out of the Nursery, into the Night, p. 48.
ONLINE
Michael Hague Home Page,http://michaelhague.com (May 18, 2007).