Foreman, Michael 1938-

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Foreman, Michael 1938-

Personal

Born March 21, 1938, in Pakefield, Suffolk, England; son of Walter Thomas (a crane operator) and Gladys Foreman; married Janet Charters, September 26, 1959 (divorced 1966); married Louise Phillips, December 22, 1980; children: (first marriage) Mark; (second marriage) Ben Shahn, Jack. Education: Lowestoft School of Art, national diploma in design (painting), 1958; Royal College of Art, A.R.C.A. (with first-class honours), 1963.

Addresses

Home and office—5 Church Gate, London SW6, England. Agent—John Locke, 15 E. 76th St., New York, NY 10021.

Career

Graphic artist and author of children's books. Lecturer in graphics at St. Martin's School of Art, London, England, 1963-66, London College of Printing, 1966-68, Royal College of Art, London, 1968-70, and Central School of Art, London, 1971-72. Art director of Ambit, beginning 1960, Playboy, 1965, and King, 1966-67. Elected Royal Designer to Industry, 1985. Exhibitions: Work exhibited in solo show at Royal Festival Hall, London, England, 1985, as well as in Europe, North America, and Japan.

Member

Chelsea Arts.

Awards, Honors

Festival International du Livre Silver Eagle Award, France, 1972; Francis Williams Memorial awards, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1972, and 1977, for Monkey and the Three Wizards; Kate Greenaway Commended Book designation, British Library Association (BLA),

1978, for The Brothers Grimm: Popular Folk Tales; Carnegie Medal, BLA, and Kate Greenaway Highly Commended Book designation, both 1980, and Graphics Prize, International Children's Book Fair (Bologna, Italy), 1982, all for City of Gold, and Other Stories from the Old Testament; Kate Greenaway Medal, and Kurt Maschler (Emil) Award, British Book Trust, both 1982, both for Sleeping Beauty, and Other Favourite Fairy Tales; Kate Greenaway Medal, 1982, for Longneck and Thunderfoot; Federation of Children's Book Groups award, England, 1983, for The Saga of Erik the Viking; Kate Greenaway Commended Book designation, and New York Times Notable Book designation, both 1985, both for Seasons of Splendour; Signal Poetry award, 1987, for Early in the Morning; named honorary fellow, Royal College of Arts, 1989; Kate Greenaway Medal, and W.H. Smith/Books in Canada Award, both 1990, both for War Boy; Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, 1993, for War Game, and Silver Award, 1997, for The Little Reindeer; honorary degree from Plymouth University, 1998.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

The Perfect Present, Coward (New York, NY), 1967.

The Two Giants, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1967.

The Great Sleigh Robbery, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1968, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1969.

Horatio, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1970, published as The Travels of Horatio, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1970.

Moose, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1971, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1972.

Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1972, Crowell (New York, NY), 1973.

War and Peas, Crowell (New York, NY), 1974.

All the King's Horses, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1976, Bradbury Press (Scarsdale, NY), 1977.

Panda's Puzzle, and His Voyage of Discovery (also see below), Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1977, Bradbury Press (Scarsdale, NY), 1978.

Panda and the Odd Lion (also see below), Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1979.

Trick a Tracker, Philomel (New York, NY), 1981.

Land of Dreams, Holt (New York, NY), 1982.

Panda and the Bunyips, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1984, Schocken (New York, NY), 1988.

Cat and Canary, Andersen (London, England), 1984, Dial (New York, NY), 1985.

Panda and the Bushfire, Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1986.

Ben's Box (pop-up book), Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1986, Piggy Toes Press (Kansas City, MO), 1997.

Ben's Baby, Andersen (London, England), 1987, Harper (New York, NY), 1988.

The Angel and the Wild Animal, Andersen (London, England), 1988, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1989.

War Boy: A Country Childhood, Pavilion (London, England), 1989.

One World, Andersen (London, England), 1990.

(Editor) Michael Foreman's World of Fairy Tales, Pavilion (London, England), 1990, Arcade (New York, NY), 1991.

(Editor) Michael Foreman's Mother Goose, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1991.

(With Richard Seaver) The Boy Who Sailed with Columbus, Arcade (New York, NY), 1992.

Jack's Fantastic Voyage, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1992.

Grandfather's Pencil and the Room Full of Stories, Andersen (London, England), 1993, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1994.

War Game, Arcade (New York, NY), 1993.

Dad! I Can't Sleep!, Andersen (London, England), 1994, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1995.

After the War Was Over (sequel to War Boy), Pavilion (London, England), 1995, Arcade (New York, NY), 1996.

Surprise! Surprise!, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1995.

Seal Surfer, Andersen (London, England), 1996, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1997.

The Little Reindeer, Dial (New York, NY), 1996.

Look! Look!, Andersen (London, England), 1997.

Angel and the Box of Time, Andersen (London, England), 1997.

Jack's Big Race, Andersen (London, England), 1997.

Chicken Licken, Andersen (London, England), 1998.

Panda (includes Panda's Puzzle and Panda and the Odd Lion), Pavilion (London, England), 1999.

Little Red Hen, Andersen (London, England), 1999.

Rock-a-Doodle-Do!, Andersen (London, England), 2000.

Michael Foreman's Christmas Treasury, Pavilion (London, England), 2000.

Cat in the Manger, Andersen (London, England), 2000, Holt (New York, NY), 2001.

Saving Sinbad, Andersen (London, England), 2001, Kane/Miller (La Jolla, CA), 2002.

Michael Foreman's Playtime Rhymes, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2002.

Wonder Goal, Andersen (London, England), 2002, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 2003.

Evie and the Man Who Helped God, Andersen (London, England), 2002.

Dinosaur Time, Andersen (London, England), 2002, published as A Trip to Dinosaur Time, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2003.

The Little Reindeer, Red Fox (London, England), 2003.

Hello, World, Candlewick (Cambridge, MA), 2003.

Cat on the Hill, Andersen (London, England), 2003.

Cat in the Manger, Red Fox (London, England), 2004.

Can't Catch Me!, Andersen (London, England), 2005.

(Reteller) Classic Fairy Tales, Sterling (New York, NY), 2005.

Mia's Story, Walker (London, England), 2006, published as Mia's Story: A Sketchbook of Hopes and Dreams, Candlewick (Cambridge, MA), 2006.

Noah's Ark, Tiger Tales (Wilton, CT), 2006.

ILLUSTRATOR

Janet Charters, The General, Dutton (New York, NY), 1961.

Cledwyn Hughes, The King Who Lived on Jelly, Routledge & Kegan Paul (London, England), 1963.

Eric Partridge, Comic Alphabets, Routledge & Kegan Paul (London, England), 1964.

Derek Cooper, The Bad Food Guide, Routledge & Kegan Paul (London, England), 1966.

Gwen Clemens, Making Music, 1966.

Leonore Klein, Huit enfants et un bébé, Abelard (London, England), 1966.

Mabel Watts, I'm for You, You're for Me, Abelard (London, England), 1967.

Sergei Vladimirovich Mikalkov, Let's Fight!, and Other Russian Fables, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1968.

Donald Davie, Essex Poems, 1969.

Jane Elliott, The Birthday Unicorn, 1970.

William Ivan Martin, Adam's Balm, Bowmar (Los Angeles, CA), 1970.

C.O. Alexander, Fisher v. Spassky, Penguin (London, England), 1972.

William Fagg, editor, The Living Arts of Nigeria, Studio Vista (Eastbourne, England), 1972.

Barbara Adachi, The Living Treasures of Japan, Wildwood House (Aldershot, England), 1973.

Janice Elliott, Alexander in the Land of Mog, Brockhampton Press (Leicester, England), 1973.

Janice Elliott, The Birthday Unicorn, Penguin (London, England), 1973.

Sheila Burnford, Noah and the Second Flood, Gollancz (London, England), 1973.

Jane H. Yolen, Rainbow Rider, Crowell (New York, NY), 1974.

Georgess McHargue, Private Zoo, Viking (New York, NY), 1975.

Barbara K. Walker, Teeny-Tiny and the Witch-Woman, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1975.

Cheng-en Wu, Monkey and the Three Wizards, translated by Peter Harris, Collins & World (London, England), 1976.

Jean Merrill, The Pushcart War, 1976.

Alan Garner, The Stone Book, Collins & World (London, England), 1976.

Alan Garner, Tom Fobble's Day, Collins & World (London, England), 1976.

Alan Garner, Granny Reardun, Collins & World (London, England), 1977.

Hans Christian Andersen, Hans Christian Andersen: His Classic Fairy Tales, translated by Erik Haugaard, Gollancz (London, England), 1977.

K. Bauman, Kitchen Stories, Nord Sud, 1977, published as Mickey's Kitchen Contest, Andersen (London, England), 1978.

Alan Garner, The Aimer Gate, Collins & World (London, England), 1978.

Bryna Stevens, reteller, Borrowed Feathers, and Other Fables, Random House (New York, NY), 1978.

Brian Alderson, translator, The Brothers Grimm: Popular Folk Tales, Gollancz (London, England), 1978.

Oscar Wilde, The Selfish Giant, Kaye & Ward (London, England), 1978.

Seven in One Blow, Random House (New York, NY), 1978.

Alan Garner, Fairy Tales of Gold, Volume 1: The Golden Brothers, Volume 2: The Girl of the Golden Gate, Volume 3: The Three Golden Heads of the Well, Volume 4: The Princess and the Golden Mane, Collins & World (London, England), 1979.

Bill Martin, How to Catch a Ghost, Holt (New York, NY), 1979.

Anthony Paul, The Tiger Who Lost His Stripes, Andersen (London, England), 1980, 2nd edition, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1995.

Ernest Hemingway, The Faithful Bull, Emme Italia, 1980.

Aldous Huxley, After Many a Summer, Folio Society (London, England), 1980.

Allen Andrews, The Pig Plantagenet, Hutchinson (London, England), 1980.

Peter Dickenson, City of Gold, and Other Tales from the Old Testament, Gollancz (London, England), 1980.

Terry Jones, Terry Jones' Fairy Tales, Pavilion (London, England), 1981, excerpts published separately as The Beast with a Thousand Teeth, A Fisherman of the World, The Sea Tiger, and The Fly-by-Night, P. Bedrick (New York, NY), 1994.

Oscar Wilde, The Nightingale and the Rose, 1981.

John Loveday, editor, Over the Bridge, Penguin (London, England), 1981.

Robert McCrum, The Magic Mouse and the Millionaire, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1981.

Rudyard Kipling, The Crab That Played with the Sea: A Just So Story, Macmillan (London, England), 1982.

Angela Carter, selector and translator, Sleeping Beauty and Other Favourite Fairy Tales, Gollancz (London, England), 1982, Schocken (New York, NY), 1984.

Helen Piers, Longneck and Thunderfoot, Kestrel (London, England), 1982.

Robert McCrum, The Brontosaurus Birthday Cake, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1982.

Terry Jones, The Saga of Erik the Viking, Pavilion (London, England), 1983.

Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, Dial (New York, NY), 1983.

Nanette Newman, A Cat and Mouse Love Story, Heinemann (London, England), 1983.

Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, Penguin (London, England), 1983.

Kit Wright, editor, Poems for Nine-Year-Olds and Under, Puffin (London, England), 1984.

Helen Nicoll, editor, Poems for Seven-Year-Olds and Under, Puffin (London, England), 1984.

Kit Wright, editor, Poems for Ten-Year-Olds and Over, Puffin (London, England), 1985.

Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Puffin (London, England), 1985.

Madhur Jaffrey, Seasons of Splendour: Tales, Myths, and Legends of India, Pavilion (London, England), 1985.

Robert McCrum, Brontosaurus Superstar, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1985.

Leon Garfield, adaptor, Shakespeare Stories, Gollancz (London, England), 1985, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1991.

William McGonagall, Poetic Gems, Folio Society (London, England), 1985.

Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child's Garden of Verses, Delacorte (New York, NY), 1985.

Nigel Gray, I'll Take You to Mrs. Cole! (picture book), Bergh, 1986, Kane/Miller (New York, NY), 1992.

Edna O'Brien, Tales for the Telling: Irish Folk and Fairy Tales, Pavilion (London, England), 1986.

Eric Quayle, The Magic Ointment, and Other Cornish Legends, Andersen (London, England), 1986.

Terry Jones, Nicobobinus, Pavilion (London, England), 1986.

Michael Moorcock, Letters from Hollywood, Harrap (London, England), 1986.

Charles Causley, Early in the Morning, Kestrel (London, England), 1986, Viking (New York, NY), 1987.

Rudyard Kipling, Just So Stories, Kestrel (London, England), 1987.

Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book, Kestrel (London, England), 1987.

Jan Mark, Fun, Gollancz (London, England), 1987, Viking (New York, NY), 1988.

Daphne du Maurier, Classics of the Macabre, Gollancz (London, England), 1987.

Clement C. Moore, The Night before Christmas, Viking (New York, NY), 1988.

Terry Jones, The Curse of the Vampire's Socks, Pavilion (London, England), 1988.

J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan and Wendy, Pavilion (London, England), 1988.

Martin Bax, Edmond Went Far Away, Harcourt (New York, NY), 1989.

David Pelham, Worms Wiggle, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1989.

Eric Quayle, editor, The Shining Princess, and Other Japanese Legends, Arcade (New York, NY), 1989.

Ann Turnbull, The Sand Horse (picture book), Macmillan (New York, NY), 1989.

Christina Martinez, Once upon a Planet, 1989.

Roald Dahl, The Complete Adventures of Charlie and Mr. Willy Wonka, Puffin (New York, NY), 1990.

Kiri Te Kanawa, Land of the Long White Cloud, Arcade (New York, NY), 1990.

Brian Alderson, reteller, The Arabian Nights; or, Tales Told by Sheherezade during a Thousand and One Nights, Gollancz (London, England), 1992, Morrow (New York, NY), 1995.

Stacie Strong, adaptor, Over in the Meadow (pop-up book), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1992.

Mary Rayner, The Echoing Green, 1992.

Terry Jones, Fantastic Stories, Viking (New York, NY), 1993.

Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Puffin (New York, NY), 1993.

Troon Harrison, The Long Weekend, Andersen (London, England), 1993, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1994.

Kit Wright, Funnybunch, 1993.

Toby Forward, Wyvern Spring, 1993.

Nanette Newman, Spider the Horrible Cat, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1993.

Nanette Newman, There's a Bear in the Bath!, Pavilion (London, England), 1993, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1994.

Toby Forward, Wyvern Summer, 1994.

Toby Forward, Wyvern Fall, 1994.

Michael Morpurgo, Arthur, High King of Britain, Pavilion (London, England), 1994, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1995.

Andrew Baynes, Sarah and the Sandhorse, 1994.

Sally Grindley, Peter's Place, Andersen (London, England), 1995, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1996.

Leon Garfield, adaptor, Shakespeare Stories II, Houghton (Boston, MA), 1995.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, 1995.

Michael Morpurgo, editor, Beyond the Rainbow Warrior: A Collection of Stories to Celebrate Twenty-five Years of Greenpeace, Pavilion (London, England), 1996.

Michael Morpurgo, Robin of Sherwood, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1996.

James Riordan, The Songs My Paddle Sings, 1996.

Michael Morpurgo, Farm Boy, Pavilion (London, England), 1997.

Louise Borden, The Little Ships: The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II, Margaret McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Ann Pilling, reteller, Creation: Read-aloud Stories from Many Lands, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1997.

Michael Morpurgo, Joan of Arc of Domrémy, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 1999.

Terry Jones, The Lady and the Squire, Pavilion (London, England), 2001.

Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2002.

Sophie Smiley, Bobby, Charlton, and the Mountain, Andersen (London, England), 2003.

Michael Morpurgo, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2004.

L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Sterling (New York, NY), 2005.

Michael Morpurgo, Kensuke's Kingdom, Egmont (London, England), 2005.

Michael Morpurgo, reteller, Beowulf, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2006.

Nicola Davies, White Owl, Barn Owl, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2007.

Also illustrator of The Young Man of Cury by Charles Causley, Macmillan.

OTHER

Winter's Tales, illustrated by Freire Wright, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1979.

Also creator of animated films for television in England and Scandinavia.

Sidelights

British children's author and graphic artist Michael Foreman draws upon his real-life experiences when writing and illustrating books. While best known for illustrating the works of such wide-ranging authors as Rudyard Kipling, Oscar Wilde, and Terry Jones, Foreman has produced a number of solo works, including Seal Surfer, Jack's Fantastic Voyage, Michael Foreman's Mother Goose, and the award-winning War Boy: A Country Childhood. His artwork, whether rendered in expressive watercolor or more detailed pen-and-ink, was described by Booklist contributor Shelley Townsend-Hudson as possessing "a special peaceful, cozy elegance." Calling Forman's writing "in turn serious, whimsical, and poetic," an essayist in the St. James Guide to Children's Writers also hailed the author/illustrator's art, dubbing it "outstanding." "He combines a distinctive style of flowing watercolour with a genius for conveying atmosphere," the essayist commented, "and the visual richness of his work is always a feast for the eye."

Foreman was born in a fishing village on England's east coast in 1938, "and grew up there during [World War II]," he once recalled. Foreman's village, Pakefield, is Britain's closest town to Germany, and as Foreman once wrote, "The memory of those who passed through our village on the way to war will remain forever with the ghosts of us children in the fields and woods of long ago." Foreman's 1989 book War Boy, as well as its sequel, After the War Was Over, is a memoir of growing up in England during the war years, as Nazi bombers flew over the Suffolk coast, goods were rationed, fathers and older brothers were called to arms, and children played in the wreckage of bombed-out buildings. Commented reviewer Christopher Lehmann-Haupt in the New York Times: "Though his memories are haunted by enemy bombers and V1 and V2 rockets, the author recalls in delicate watercolors the many joys of being a shopkeeper's child under siege: the licorice comforts that left your teeth stained black, or the millions of flower seeds that were exploded out of gardens and showered around the district so that ‘the following spring and summer, piles of rubble burst into bloom.’" As School Library Journal critic Phyllis G. Sidorsky wrote, "Foreman's recollections are sharp and graphic as he poignantly recalls the servicemen who crowded into his mother's shop, grateful for her welcoming cup of tea and a place to chat." Because his mother ran the village shop, he also grew up delivering newspapers. "I used to read all the comics," he admitted on the British Council Magic Pencil Web site.

After graduating from the Lowestoft School of Art in the late 1950s, Foreman got his first illustration job, providing pictures for Jane Charters's text in The General. The book, published in 1961, was set in his home town, "and the local people recognised the church, the ice cream hut, and other scenes in the pictures," he later explained. By the time The General reached bookstore shelves, however, Foreman had left Pakefield and was living in London, studying toward the advanced design degree he received from the Royal College of Art in 1963. The Perfect Present, his first self-illustrated title, contains many scenes from London, where he has continued to make his home.

Although he worked as an art director for several magazines, and also taught at several schools in Great Britain, Foreman has devoted most of his career as a graphic artist to book illustration. Well traveled, he has been inspired by the diversity of culture and surroundings he has seen; "the sketches I bring back become the backgrounds for new books," he explained. For example, a trip to New Mexico and the state of Arizona inspired his artwork for Jane Yolen's 1974 picture book Rainbow Rider, while Foreman's own Panda and the Odd Lion contains illustrations based on his travels throughout Africa and in the city of Venice, Italy. Mia's Story: A Sketchbook of Hopes and Dreams, written and illustrated by Foreman, is based on people he met near Santiago, Chile. The fictional Mia lives in a shanty town; when she discovers a beautiful white flower and starts to cultivate the species at her home, she begins to make money for her family by selling the blossoms. "Foreman already has a distinguished reputation as an illustrator, but this is his finest work to date," wrote Nicolette Jones in the London Sunday Times. A Kirkus Reviews contributor noted that the tale has an "underlying tone of respect rather than outrage or pity" for Mia's family.

"Occasionally, I get the idea for a story while traveling, but usually it takes a long time to get the right place, the right story, and the right character to meet," explained

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Foreman. "Much of my time I am illustrating the work of other writers, and the subject matter varies from the Bible to Shakespeare to stories set in contemporary Britain or the future. My own books are never really about a place or country, but about an idea which is hopefully common to the dreams of everyone, one which works best, however, against a particular background."

One of those common dreams appears in Wonder Goal, the story of a new boy on the soccer team who comes through for his team mates at the last moment. From that golden goal, the story follows the boy as he grows up to play in the World Cup. "Foreman's language is appealingly simple," Todd Morning noted in Booklist. The watercolor art "emphasizes dramatic sports action yet contains subtle touches," wrote Peter D. Sieruta in Horn Book. An earlier, more universal experience is the theme behind Hello World, wherein a young child wakes up and ventures out into the world, tugging his teddy bear along. As he depicts the child discovering frogs, puppies, rocks and trees, and wonders of the natural world. Foreman "taps into a child's sense of wonder and discovery," according to a Publishers Weekly contributor.

Many of Foreman's works as author/illustrator feature engaging animal characters. In Dad, I Can't Sleep, Little Panda's father helps him to fall asleep by counting other animals. Can't Catch Me! follows the adventures of a spunky monkey, and Seal Surfer focuses on a handicapped boy living in Cornwall, England, who bonds with the seal he has watched being born on the rocky coast. While building a dramatic storyline—in one scene the boy is almost drowned, while in another the coastal seals are threatened by a particularly harsh winter—Foreman "keeps the tension loose" in Seal Surfer, noted a Publishers Weekly contributor, "thereby emphasizing the preeminence of the life cycles that shape his story."

One of several Christmas stories written and illustrated by Foreman, The Little Reindeer is about what happens when a city boy is accidentally given a young reindeer for a present. "Foreman's touching tale sparkles like a Christmas ornament," noted a Publishers Weekly contributor, who also praised the book's "lyrical watercolors." Two dogs are the main characters of Saving Sinbad, in which an unnamed canine hero saves a little girl's terrier from drowning. The tale is set in a fishing village, much like the one where the author/illustrator grew up. "Foreman's watercolors give a dog's-eye view of both the heroics and of the aftermath," wrote Connie Fletcher in Booklist.

While many of Foreman's books are inspired by people and places he has seen, some have a more personal basis. Foreman's War Game is a picture-book tribute to four of his uncles who perished in World War I. In this unusual book he presents the many sides of war—the excitement, the daily grind, the horror—through a combination of original watercolors, archive material, and stark text. The main portion of War Game focuses a hopeful moment where English and German soldiers joined in a game of soccer on Christmas Day, 1914, before the realities of war intrude once again. As Junior Bookshelf reviewer Marcus Crouch noted, War Game "is a story to be retold to each generation, and it could hardly have been told to deeper effect." Writing in Publishers Weekly, a reviewer commented that Foreman "transmutes the personal experiences of his uncles into

a universal story…. History springs to life in this admirable work." Equally appreciative of the value of Foreman's book, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books contributor Deborah Stevenson called War Game "an unusual war story [that] would certainly help to humanize a faraway but significant event for young readers."

A sequel to War Game, After the War Was Over begins during the summer of 1945, and focuses on Foreman's years growing up in the aftermath of World War II. The story features moments such as playing on the beach, now cleared of mines, and using wrecked landing crafts as pirate ships. Foreman was also able to use these memories of war in illustrations for books such as Michael Morpurgo's Toro! Toro!

Among his book projects, Foreman has also illustrated several anthologies of activities, rhymes, and stories, many of which he has also edited. About Michael Foreman's Playtime Rhymes, a Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote, "Foreman's legions of fans will turn to this one to prompt their memories of long-forgotten poems or to learn new ones."

"My books are not intended for any particular age group," Foreman once commented, "but the type is large and inviting for young readers who like to explore the pages after the story has been read to them. In addition I want the story to have some relevance for the adult reader. Less a question of age—more a state of mind." Foreman added on the British Council Magic Pencil Web site, "It's a question of creating another world, believable in its own right…. I keep trying to make things more real … in an emotional sense, telling a story by capturing the essence of the situation, giving it some meaning."

Biographical and Critical Sources

BOOKS

Children's Literature Review, Volume 32, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1994.

Something about the Author Autobiography Series, Volume 21, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1996.

St. James Guide to Children's Writers, 5th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1999.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 1998, Karen Hutt, review of The Songs My Paddle Sings, p. 1242; December 1, 2000, Shelley Townsend-Hudson, review of Michael Foreman's Christmas Treasury, p. 702; February 15, 2001, John Peters, review of The Lady and the Squire, p 1137; December 15, 2002, Connie Fletcher, review of Saving Sinbad, p. 766; April 15, 2003, Todd Morning, review of Wonder Goal, p. 1477; February 15, 2004, Todd Morning, review of Toro! Toro!, p. 1060, Julie Cummins, review of Hello World, p. 1062; April 15, 2004, Connie Fletcher, review of Gentle Giant, p. 1447; November 1, 2004, Carolyn Phelan, review of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, p. 480; August 1, 2006, Carolyn Phelan, review of Mia's Story, p. 86; March 1, 2007, Linda Perkins, review of Beowulf, p. 74; May 15, 2007, Gillian Engberg, review of White Owl, Barn Owl, p. 53.

Bookseller, February 18, 2005, Caroline Horn, "Brand Status for Foreman," p. 27; May 12, 2006, "Tips for Time at the Top," p. 19.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, October, 1994, Deborah Stevenson, review of War Game, p. 43; November, 2006, Karen Coats, review of Mia's Story, p. 122; March, 2007, Karen Coats, review of Beowulf, p. 303.

Horn Book, May-June, 1996, Elizabeth S. Watson, review of Peter's Place, p. 323; May-June, 1997, Ann A. Flowers, review of The Little Ships: The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II, p. 302; March-April, 2003, Peter D. Sieruta, review of Wonder Goal, p. 202.

Junior Bookshelf, February, 1994, Marcus Crouch, review of War Game, p. 31.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2002, review of Michael Foreman's Playtime Rhymes, p. 1308; October 1, 2002, review of Saving Sinbad, p. 1469; March 15, 2003, review of Wonder Goal, p. 466; October 15, 2003, review of Hello World, p. 1271; January 15, 2004, review of Toro! Toro!, p. 86; July 1, 2004, review of Cat on the Hill, p. 629; October 15, 2004, review of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, p. 1011; January 1, 2005, review of Dolphin Boy, p. 55; July 1, 2006, review of Mia's Story, p. 677; October 15, 2006, review of Beowulf, p. 1075; December 1, 2006, review of Can't Catch Me, p. 1219.

New York Times, December 3, 1990, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, "Presents of Words, Pictures, and Imagination."

Publishers Weekly, April 25, 1994, review of War Game, p. 78; August 12, 1996, review of Robin of Sherwood, p. 84; March 24, 1997, review of Seal Surfer, p. 83; October 6, 1997, review of The Little Reindeer, p. 55; February 22, 1999, review of Joan of Arc of Domrémy, p. 95; September 24, 2001, review of Cat in the Manger, p. 52; December 22, 2003, review of Hello World, p. 59; April 26, 2004, review of Gentle Giant, p. 64.

Resource Links, December, 2003, Kathryn McNaughton, review of Evie's Garden, p. 4.

School Librarian, winter, 2005, review of Dolphin Boy, p. 187; winter, 2006, Trevor Dickinson, review of Mia's Story, p. 187.

School Library Journal, May, 1990, Phyllis G. Sidorsky, review of War Boy: A Country Childhood, p. 116; October, 2000, review of Michael Foreman's Christmas Treasury, p. 59; March, 2001, Lisa Prolman, review of The Lady and the Squire, p. 250; April, 2003, Blair Christolon, review of Wonder Goal, p. 118; December, 2003, Kathleen Simonetta, review of A Trip to Dinosaur Time, p. 113; January, 2004, Judith Constantinides, review of Hello World, p. 97; May, 2004, Kathy Krasniewicz, review of Gentle Giant, p. 120, Shawn Brommer, review of Toro! Toro!, p. 154; October, 2004, Connie C. Rockman, review of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, p. 172; April, 2006, Miriam Lang Budin, review of Classic Fairy Tales, p. 124; August, 2006, Marianne Saccardi, review of Mia's Story, p. 87; December, 2006, Susan Scheps, review of Beowulf, p. 166.