Cole, Henry 1955–

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Cole, Henry 1955–

Personal

Born 1955, in VA. Education: Virginia Polytechnic and State University, degree (science).

Addresses

Home—FL.

Career

Educator and illustrator. Langley Elementary School, Langley, VA, science teacher, 1984-99. Freelance illustrator.

Awards, Honors

Best Children's Book of the Year designation, Bank Street College of Education, 1996, ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Award, 1997, and California Young Reader Medal, 1999, all for Livingstone Mouse; Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts citation, National Council of Teachers of English, 1997, for Some Smug Slug; Best Children's Book of the Year designation, Bank Street College of Education, 1997-98, and Nevada Young Readers' Award, 2001, both for Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad; International Reading Association (IRA) Children's Choice Award, 1998, for Moosetache; Best Children's Book of the Year designation, Bank Street College of Education, 1999, and several state children's choice awards, 2000-01, all for Honk!; Best Children's Book of the Year, Bank Street College of Education, and Outstanding Science Trade Book selection, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), both 1999, both for I Took a Walk; IRA Children's Literature and Reading selection, 2001, for Boston Tea Party and Warthogs Paint; Lambda Literary Award finalist, 2002, for The Sissy Duckling; IRA Children's Choice selection, 2003, for Can You Make a Piggy Giggle?; Joan G. Sugarman Children's Book Award honorable mention, 2003, for Muldoon; Best Children's Book of the Year designation, Bank Street College of Education, 2004, for Why Do Kittens Purr?; Bill Martin Jr. Picture Book Award nomination, 2004, for The Wright Brothers; Best Children's Book of the Year designation, Bank Street College of Education, and NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book selection, both 2004, both for On the Way to the Beach; numerous state awards and nominations.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Jack's Garden, Greenwillow Press (New York, NY), 1995.

I Took a Walk, Greenwillow Press (New York, NY), 1998.

On the Way to the Beach, Greenwillow Press (New York, NY), 2003.

On Meadowview Street, Greenwillow Press (New York, NY), 2007.

ILLUSTRATOR

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Four Famished Foxes and Fosdyke, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995.

Ann Earle, Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Livingstone Mouse, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Some Smug Slug, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Dinorella: A Prehistoric Fairy Tale, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

Margie Palatini, Moosetache, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1997.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Honk!, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Warthogs in the Kitchen: A Sloppy Counting Book, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1998.

Julie Andrews Edwards, Little Bo: The Story of Bonnie Boadicea, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1999.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Ed and Fred Flea, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1999.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, The Worrywarts, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1999.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Bravo, Livingstone Mouse!, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2000.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Roar: A Noisy Counting Book, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

Jonathon London, Who Bop, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

Margie Palatini, Moosletoe, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2000.

Rick Walton, Little Dogs Say "Rough!", Putnam (New York, NY), 2000.

Susan Saunders, New Pup on the Block, Avon (New York, NY), 2001.

Susan Saunders, On the Scent of Trouble, Avon (New York, NY), 2001.

Susan Saunders, Camp Barkalot, Avon (New York, NY), 2001.

Susan Saunders, Uptown Poodle, Downtown Pups, Avon (New York, NY), 2001.

Susan Saunders, Puppysaurus, Avon (New York, NY), 2001.

Susan Saunders, The Bake-off Burglar, Avon (New York, NY), 2001.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Boston Tea Party, Putnam (New York, NY), 2001.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Clara Caterpillar, Putnam (New York, NY), 2001.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Slop Goes the Soup: A Noisy Warthog Word Book, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2001.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Warthogs Paint: A Messy Color Book, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2001.

Linda Ashman, Can You Make a Piggy Giggle?, Dutton (New York, NY), 2002.

Julie Andrews Edwards, Little Bo in France: The Further Adventures of Bonnie Boadicea, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2002.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Muldoon, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2002.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Wake-up Kisses, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

Harvey Fierstein, The Sissy Duckling, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2002.

Laura Krauss Melmed, Fright Night Flight, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

Margie Palatini, Bad Boys, Katherine Tegen Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Jim Aylesworth, Naughty Little Monkeys, Dutton (New York, NY), 2003.

Marion Dane Bauer, Why Do Kittens Purr?, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2003.

Arthur Dorros, City Chicken, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2003.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Rosie's Roses, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2003.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, The Wright Brothers, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2003.

Laurie Berkner, Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco, Two Polar Bears on a Mission to Save the Klondike Café!, Orchard (New York, NY), 2004.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Gigi and Lulu's Gigantic Fight, Katherine Tegen (New York, NY), 2004.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, The Leprechaun's Gold, Katherine Tegen (New York, NY), 2004.

Rhonda Gowler Greene, Santa's Stuck, Dutton (New York, NY), 2004.

Margie Palatini, Moosekitos: A Moose Family Reunion, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2004.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Ms. Bitsy Bat's Kindergarten, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2005.

Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, And Tango Makes Three, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

Marie and Roland Smith, Z Is for Zookeeper: A Zoo Alphabet, Sleeping Bear Press (Chelsea, MI), 2005.

Leslie Helakoski, Big Chickens, Dutton (New York, NY), 2006.

Margie Palatini, Bad Boys Get Cookie!, Katherine Tegen (New York, NY), 2006.

Margie Palatini, Oink?, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2006.

June Sobel, Shiver Me Letters: A Pirate ABC, Harcourt (Orlando, FL), 2006.

Paul Tripp, Tubby the Tuba, Dutton (New York, NY), 2006.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Old House, Dutton (New York, NY), 2007.

Pamela Duncan Edwards, Jack's Treehouse, Katherine Tegen (New York, NY), 2008.

John G. Keller, The Rubber-legged Duck, Harcourt (Orlando, FL), 2008.

Sidelights

Before Henry Cole started his career in children's book illustrating, he worked as a science teacher for more than fourteen years. While growing up on a dairy farm

in Virginia, he gained love of nature that inspired him to study forestry in college. Even as a science teacher, however, Cole's artistic talent stood out. "I really enjoyed using my artwork in the classroom," he recalled to an online interviewer for Reading Rockets. "I found that being able to draw something quickly on the board to demonstrate an idea or a concept in science was really terrific, and the kids seemed to like that, too." "As an elementary teacher, I saw many authors and illustrators come to our school and talk about their work," he noted on the HarperCollins Web site. "Each time they came I would say to myself, ‘Self, this is just the thing you'd like to do!’"

Cole's move from teacher to illustrator began in 1996, when he and colleague Pamela Duncan Edwards, the librarian at the elementary school where he taught, decided to collaborate on a picture book. Of the many books they have created since, Boston Tea Party, includes what a Publishers Weekly critic described as "lifelike paintings [that] effectively evoke the period setting on both sides of the Atlantic." Another collaboration, Warthogs Paint: A Messy Color Book, features a group of warthogs each trying to paint a masterpiece. As brought to life by Cole, "these creatures are appropriately bumbling and comical," according to School Library Journal critic Joy Fleishhacker. Susan Hepler, reviewing Cole and Edwards' Wake-up Kisses for School Library Journal, complimented the book's "charming, soft-edged pastel illustrations."

Apart from his work with Edwards, Cole also creates art for other picture-book authors. His work with popular writer Margie Palatini involves a moose or two. Mooseltoe, for example, features what a School Library Journal critic dubbed "playful pen-and-ink acrylic cartoons [that] convey the same silliness as the text." In Bad Boys Cole illustrates Palatini's story about two big bad wolves who hide from an angry Little Red Riding Hood by donning sheep's clothing. "Cole depicts two decidedly doggy predators unsuccessfully trying to hide their delight" as they are surrounded by potential dinners, wrote a contributor to Kirkus Reviews. "The everwaggish Cole … advances the plot with his own steady stream of visual humor," noted a Publishers Weekly critic. Bad Boys Get Cookie! find the wolves once again up to no good. Here a Kirkus Reviews contributor commented on "Cole's merry, slapstick art," adding that "never has a runaway cookie been so annoying looking."

Cole teamed up with actor Harvey Fierstein on The Sissy Duckling, in which his depiction of the duck Elmer "makes a sympathetic hero of the skinny yellow nonconformist," according to a Publishers Weekly contributor. School Library Journal critic Lynda S. Poling described Cole's illustrations for Laura Ashman's CanYou Make a Piggy Giggle? as "artful, silly cartoons in deep, bold colors," and in award-winning author Marion Dane Bauer's Why Do Kittens Purr? he "brings the wild kingdom indoors," according to Booklist reviewer Karin Snelson. Veteran writer Jim Aylesworth's Naughty Little Monkeys benefits from what a Kirkus Reviews contributor described as "full-bleed illustrations in deep, vibrant colors [that] are a riotous activity of monkey mischief," and in Tubby the Tuba Cole's illustrations accompany the lyrics of a song from the 1940s. "The colorful cartoons … create a retro mood without looking dated," wrote Marilyn Ackerman in her School Library Journal review of the nostalgic picture book.

And Tango Makes Three, written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, caused a measure of controversy when it was released. The picture book is based on a true story about two male penguins that raised a penguin chick at New York City's Central Park Zoo. Argu- ing that the title promotes homosexuality, some librarians elected to remove it from their picture-book sections, placing it instead in nonfiction. Cole's work on the book is notable for its realism, a departure from his often cartoonish style. "Cole's pictures complement the perfectly cadenced text," wrote Booklist contributor Jennifer Mattson, and a Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote that in And Tango Makes Three the illustrator "depicts figures and setting with tidy, appealing accuracy."

In addition to creating art for texts by others, Cole also offers readers several original self-illustrated picture books. In On the Way to the Beach he explores the flora and fauna of the mid-Atlantic by following a child's walk through the woods to the beach. Cole's "marvelously detailed and accurate illustrations give readers a peek into the natural world," wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor, and a Publishers Weekly critic praised the inclusion of a key to the animals and plants included in the book. Commenting on the work's format, Marlene Gawron wrote in School Library Journal that each location the child visits, from forest to marsh to dunes, "is gloriously depicted in a three-page foldout that is entered through a die-cut."

Another original work, On Meadowview Street, describes a girl's project to let her yard naturalize into a field of wildflowers. After the lawn mower is put away, the lawn grows free, and Caroline plants a maple tree and digs a pond to invite new wildlife into her yard. According to a Publishers Weekly critic, "the growing lushness of the yard—beautifully portrayed in meticulously detailed, velvety acrylics" reflects the girl's sense of accomplishment. As he did in On the Way to the Beach, in On Meadowview Street Cole closes with a panel of animals readers have seen over the course of the story. According to a Kirkus Reviews contributor, readers "will enjoy a final rendering of all the meadow creatures next to their proper names."

When asked by an interviewer for the Reading Is Fundamental Web site whether he prefers working alone or collaborating with another writer on his picture-book projects, Cole replied: "It's very satisfying to create something on your own. The only person who you have to satisfy is yourself, other than the publisher. On the other hand, it's fun to work on collaborations. Getting other people's ideas is great fun. If the chemistry is right, and what you're doing pleases the author, that's a great feeling."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 2001, Kay Weisman, review of Boston Tea Party, p. 1885, Carolyn Phelan, review of Warthogs Paint: A Messy Color Book, p. 1890; July, 2001, Carolyn Phelan, review of Clara Caterpillar, p. 2018; October 15, 2001, Gillian Engberg, review of Slop Goes the Soup: A Noisy Warthog Word Book, p. 400; February 1, 2002, Carolyn Phelan, review of Wake-up Kisses, p. 945; July, 2002, Ilene Cooper, review of Can You Make a Piggy Giggle?, p. 1853; September 1, 2002, Gillian Engberg, review of Fright Night Flight, p. 140; January 1, 2003, Karin Snelson, review of Why Do Kittens Purr?, p. 904; February 15, 2003, Michael Cart, review of Muldoon, p. 1073; March 15, 2003, Gillian Engberg, review of City Chicken, p. 1331; May 15, 2003, Carolyn Phelan, review of On the Way to the Beach, p. 1669; September 1, 2003, Carolyn Phelan, review of Naughty Little Monkeys, p. 127; November 15, 2003, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of Bad Boys, p. 602; January 1, 2004, Lauren Peterson, review of The Leprechaun's Gold, p. 874; August, 2004, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of Moosekitos, p. 1944; September 1, 2004, Ilene Cooper, review of Gigi and Lulu's Gigantic Fight, p. 130; May 15, 2005, Jennifer Mattson, review of And Tango Makes Three, p. 1657; August, 2005, review of Ms. Bitsy Bat's Kindergarten, p. 2038; February 1, 2006, Gillian Engberg, review of Big Chicken, p. 55; March 15, 2006, Kathleen Odean, review of Oink?, p. 53; June 1, 2006, Julie Cummings, review of Shiver Me Letters: A Pirate ABC, p. 89; December 1, 2006, review of Tubby the Tuba, p. 55.

Childhood Education, fall, 2004, Sonia Mastrangelo, review of The Leprechaun's Gold, p. 46; spring, 2006, Janette Holmes, review of Bad Boys, p. 177.

Horn Book, March-April, 2003, Betty Carter, review of City Chicken, p. 202.

Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2001, review of Slop Goes the Soup, p. 1356; November 15, 2001, review of Wake-up Kisses, p. 1611; April 15, 2002, review of Can You Make a Piggy Giggle?, p. 560, review of The Sissy Duckling, p. 568; August 15, 2002, review of Fright Night Flight, p. 1229; December 1, 2002, review of City Chicken, p. 1767; February 15, 2003, review of Why Do Kittens Purr?, p. 299; March 1, 2003, review of Rosie's Roses, p. 382; June 1, 2003, review of The Wright Brothers, p. 802; July 1, 2003, review of Naughty Little Monkeys, p. 906; August 1, 2003, review of Bad Boys, p. 1021; January 1, 2004, review of The Leprechaun's Gold, p. 35; February 1, 2004, review of Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco, p. 129; June 1, 2004, review of Moosekitos, p. 539; August 15, 2004, review of Gigi and Lulu's Giant Fight, p. 805; June 1, 2005, review of And Tango Makes Three, p. 642; December 15, 2005, review of Big Chickens, p. 1322; March 15, 2006, review of Oink?, p. 298; May 1, 2006, review of Shiver Me Letters, p. 467; August 15, 2006, review of Bad Boys Get Cookie!, p. 849; September 15, 2006, review of Tubby the Tuba, p. 969.

Publishers Weekly, February 12, 2001, review of New Pup on the Block, p. 212; July 2, 2001, review of Boston Tea Party, p. 75; March 25, 2002, review of The Sissy Duckling, p. 64; November 25, 2002, review of City Chicken, p. 66; December 9, 2002, review of Why Do Kittens Purr?, p. 82; March 17, 2003, review of Rosie's Roses, p. 75; March 31, 2003, review of On theWay to the Beach, p. 70; June 16, 2003, review of The Wright Brothers, p. 70; July 28, 2003, review of Naughty Little Monkeys, p. 93; October 6, 2003, review of Bad Boys, p. 83; January 5, 2004, review of The Leprechaun's Gold, p. 60; March 29, 2004, review of Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco, p. 62; September 27, 2004, review of Santa's Stuck, p. 61; November 1, 2004, review of Gigi and Lulu's Gigantic Fight, p. 60; May 16, 2005, review of And Tango Makes Three, p. 61; July 11, 2005, review of Ms. Bitsy Bat's Kindergarten, p. 91; June 5, 2006, review of Shiver Me Letters, p. 62; May 28, 2007, review of On Meadowview Street, p. 61.

School Library Journal, October, 2000, review of Mooseltoe, p. 62, Roxanne Burg, review of Bravo, Livingstone Mouse!, p. 122; June, 2001, Holly Belli, review of Clara Caterpillar, p. 112; July, 2001, Anne Chapman Callaghan, review of Boston Tea Party, p. 93; August, 2001, Joy Fleishhacker, review of Warthogs Paint, p. 146; December, 2001, Kay Bowes, review of Slop Goes the Soup, and Susan Hepler, review of Wake-up Kisses, both p. 99; May, 2002, Heather E. Miller, review of The Sissy Duckling, p. 112; June, 2002, Lynda S. Poling, review of Can You Make a Piggy Giggle?, p. 80; September, 2002, Melinda Piehler, review of Fright Night Flight, p. 201; December, 2002, Judith Constantinides, review of Muldoon, p. 94; February, 2003, Carol Ann Wilson, review of City Chicken, p. 104; March, 2003, Carolyn Janssen, review of Why Do Kittens Purr?, p. 176; May, 2003, Marlene Gawron, review of On the Way to the Beach, p. 110; August, 2003, Rachel G. Payne, review of Naughty Little Monkeys, p. 122; October, 2003, Barbara Buckley, review of The Wright Brothers, p. 150; November, 2003, Helen Foster James, review of Bad Boys, p. 112; February, 2004, Wendy Lukehart, review of The Leprechaun's Gold, p. 111; March, 2004, Marge Loch-Wouters, review of Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco, p. 190; July, 2004, Jane Barrer, review of Moosekitos, p. 84; November, 2004, Kelley Rae Unger, review of Gigi and Lulu's Gigantic Fight, p. 103; July, 2005, Julie Roach, review of And Tango Makes Three, p. 81; August, 2005, Blair Christolon, review of Ms. Bitsy Bat's Kindergarten, p. 93; September, 2005, Corrina Austin, review of Z Is for Zookeeper, p. 196; February, 2006, Lauralyn Persson, review of Big Chick, p. 103; March, 2006, Maryann H. Owen, review of Oink?, p. 200; June, 2006, Maura Bresnahan, review of Shiver Me Letters, p. 127; October, 2006, Piper L. Nyman, review of Bad Boys Get Cookie!, p. 122; November, 2006, Marilyn Ackerman, review of Tubby the Tuba, p. 114.