Hafner, Marylin 1925-

views updated

Hafner, Marylin 1925-

Personal

Born December 14, 1925, in Brooklyn, NY; daughter of Mark (an artist) and Francis Hafner; married Harvey B. Cushman, June 9, 1950 (marriage ended); married Rudolf G. de Reyna (a painter and writer), August 17, 1970; children: (first marriage) Abigail, Jennifer, Amanda. Education: Pratt Institute, B.Sc., 1947; attended New School for Social Research (now New School University), 1948-50, School of Visual Arts, Silvermine School of Art, and Slade School. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Unitarian Universalist. Hobbies and other interests: Cooking, antiques, travel, gardening, music.

Addresses

Home—Cambridge, MA.

Career

Artist, illustrator, and designer. McCall's magazine, New York, NY, art director, 1950-54; Famous Schools, Inc., Westport, CT, art instructor, 1968-70. Has taught art to children, designed advertising materials and textiles, and worked in graphic design.

Member

Society of Illustrators, Westport Artists Guild, Silvermine Guild of Artists.

Awards, Honors

New York Herald Tribune Children's Spring Book Festival award, 1949, for Bonnie Bess: The Weathervane Horse by Alvin Tresselt.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN; SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Mommies Don't Get Sick, Candlewick Press (Boston, MA), 1995.

A Year with Molly and Emmett, Candlewick Press (Boston, MA), 1997.

Molly and Emmett's Camping Adventure, McGraw-Hill, 2000.

Molly and Emmett's Surprise Garden, McGraw-Hill (Columbus, OH), 2001.

Emmett's Dream, McGraw-Hill (Columbus, OH), 2002.

Contributor of monthly comic-strip story for Ladybug magazine.

ILLUSTRATOR

Alvin Tresselt, Bonnie Bess: The Weathervane Horse, Lothrop (Boston, MA), 1949.

Hal Dareff, Fun with ABC and 1-2-3, Parents' Magazine Press,1965.

Mabel Watts, The Story of Zachary Zween, Parents' Magazine Press, 1967.

Marguerite Staunton, That's What (poetry), Random House (New York, NY), 1968.

Charlotte Reynolds and Barbara Parker, Poetry Please, Random House (New York, NY), 1968.

Eleanor Felder, X Marks the Spot, Coward, 1971.

Lou A. Gaeddert, Too Many Girls, Coward, 1972.

Sally Cartwright, Water Is Wet, Coward, 1973.

Sally Cartwright, Sunlight, Coward, 1974.

Anne Edwards, P.T. Barnum, Putnam (New York, NY), 1977.

Charlotte Pomerantz, The Mango Tooth Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1977.

Jack Prelutsky, It's Halloween, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1977.

Pauline Watson, Cricket's Cookery, Random House (New York, NY),1977.

Peggy Parish, Mind Your Manners!, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1978.

Velma and Barry Berkey, Robbers, Bones, and Mean Dogs, Addison Wesley, 1978.

Janet Schulman, Jenny and the Tennis Nut, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1978.

Wilson Gage, Mrs. Gaddy and the Ghost (also see below), Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1979.

Barbara Power, I Wish Laura's Mommy Was My Mommy, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1979.

Steven Kroll, The Candy Witch, Holiday House (New York, NY),1979.

Janet Schulman, Camp KeeWee's Secret Weapon, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1979.

Patricia Reilly Giff, Next Year I'll Be Special, Dutton (New York, NY), 1980.

Peggy Parish, I Can—Can You?, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1980.

Jack Prelutsky, Rainy Rainy Saturday, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1980.

Pat Ross, Meet M & M, Putnam (New York, NY), 1980.

Pat Ross, M & M and the Haunted House Game, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1980.

Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Little Devil Gets Sick, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1980.

Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Rollo and Juliet Forever!, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1981.

Meredith Tax, Families, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1981.

Jack Prelutsky, It's Christmas, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1981.

Pat Ross, M & M and the Big Bag, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1981.

Morse Hamilton, Big Sisters Are Bad Witches, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1981.

Florence Parry Heide, Time's Up!, Holiday House (New York, NY),1982.

Jack Prelutsky, It's Thanksgiving, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1982.

Steven Kroll, Are You Pirates?, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1982.

Joan M. Lexau, The Poison Ivy Case, Dial (New York, NY), 1983.

Elizabeth Winthrop, Katharine's Doll, Dutton (New York, NY), 1983.

Nanette Newman, That Dog!, Crowell, 1983.

Pat Ross, M & M and the Bad News Babies, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1983.

Wilson Gage, The Crow and Mrs. Gaddy (also see below), Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1984.

Florence Parry Heide, Time Flies!, Holiday House (New York, NY),1984.

Wilson Gage, Mrs. Gaddy and the Fast-growing Vine (also see below), Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1985.

Melvin Berger, Germs Make Me Sick!, Crowell, 1985.

Steven Kroll, Happy Mother's Day, Holiday House (New York, NY),1985.

Joan Lexau, The Dog Food Caper, Dial (New York, NY), 1985.

Pat Ross, M & M and the Mummy Mess, Viking (New York, NY), 1985.

Pat Ross, M & M and the Santa Secrets, Viking (New York, NY), 1985.

Joanna Cole and Stephanie Calmenson, compilers, The Laugh Book: A New Treasury of Humor for Children, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1986.

Joan Robins, My Brother, Will, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1986.

Terry Wolfe Phelan, Best Friends, Hands Down, Shoe Tree (Belvidere, NJ), 1986.

David A. Adler, The Purple Turkey, and Other Thanksgiving Riddles, Holiday House (New York, NY),1986.

Peggy Charren and Carol Hulsizer, The TV-Smart Book for Kids, Putnam (New York, NY), 1986.

Pat Ross, M & M and the Super Child Afternoon, Viking (New York, NY), 1987.

Steven Kroll, Happy Father's Day, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1988.

Jean Rogers, Dinosaurs Are 568, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1988.

Vicki Cobb, Feeding Yourself, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1989.

Everett Hafner, Sports Riddles, Viking (New York, NY), 1989.

Vicki Cobb, Getting Dressed, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1989, revised as Snap, Button Zip: Inventions to Keep Your Clothes On, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.

Vicki Cobb, Keeping Clean, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1989, revised as Brush, Comb, Scrub: Inventions to Keep You Clean, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.

Vicki Cobb, Writing It Down, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1989.

Joanna Cole, Bully Trouble, Random House (New York, NY), 1989, reprinted, 2003.

Jean Rogers, Raymond's Best Summer, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1990.

Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, I'm Santa Claus and I'm Famous, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1990.

Roni Schotter, Hanukkah!, Joy Street (New York, NY), 1990, board-book edition, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2003.

Wilson Gage, My Stars, It's Mrs. Gaddy!: The Three Mrs. Gaddy Stories (contains Mrs. Gaddy and the Ghost, Mrs. Gaddy and the Fast-growing Vine, and The Crow and Mrs. Gaddy), Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1991.

Pat Ross, M & M and the Halloween Monster, Viking (New York, NY), 1991.

Mary Ann Hoberman, Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers: A Collection of Family Poems, Joy Street (New York, NY), 1991.

Riki Levinson, Me Baby!, Dutton (New York, NY), 1991.

Edith Kunhardt, Red Day, Green Day, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1992.

Martine Davison, Kevin and the School Nurse, Random House (New York, NY), 1992.

Martine Davison, Maggie and the Emergency Room, Random House (New York, NY), 1992.

Nancy Evans Cooney, Chatter-Box Jamie, Putnam (New York, NY), 1993.

Jake Wolf, And Then What?, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1993.

Judith Mathews, An Egg and Seven Socks, HarperCollins, 1993.

Pat Lowery Collins, Don't Tease the Guppies, Putnam (New York, NY), 1994.

Joanna Cole and Stephanie Calmenson, compilers, A Pocketful of Laughs: Stories, Poems, Jokes, and Riddles, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1995.

Roni Schotter, Passover Magic, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1995.

Kathryn Lasky, Lunch Bunnies, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1996.

Jake Wolf, Daddy, Could I Have an Elephant?, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 1996.

Roni Schotter, Purim Play, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1997.

Kathryn Lasky, Show and Tell Bunnies, Candlewick Press (Boston, MA), 1998.

Kathryn Lasky, Science Fair Bunnies, Candlewick Press (Boston, MA), 2000.

Kathryn Lasky, Lucille's Snowsuit, Crown (New York, NY), 2000.

Sid Fleischman, A Carnival of Animals, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 2000.

Johanna Hurwitz, Ethan at Home, Candlewick Press (Boston, MA), 2001.

Kathryn Lasky, Starring Lucille, Crown (New York, NY), 2001.

Johanna Hurwitz, Ethan Out and About, Candlewick Press (Boston, MA), 2001.

Lucille Camps In, Knopf (New York, NY), 2003.

The Pepins and Their Problems, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 2004.

Joanna Cole, The Missing Tooth, Random House (New York, NY), 2004.

Bobbi Katz, selector, Pocket Poems, Dutton (New York, NY), 2004.

Kathryn Lasky, Tumble Bunnies, Candlewick Press (New York, NY), 2005.

Dayle Ann Dodds, Teacher's Pets, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2006.

Hafner's illustrations have appeared in periodicals, including Good Housekeeping and Humpty Dumpty.

A collection of Hafner's papers and other materials is housed at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut at Storrs.

Sidelights

During her long career as an illustrator, Marylin Hafner has brought to life the works of such noted children's

[Image not available for copyright reasons]

book authors as Florence Parry Heide, Steven Kroll, Kathryn Lasky, and Marjorie Weinman Sharmat through her drawings and paintings. In addition to her work as an artist, Hafner has also created original stories that carry the same light, humorous touch as her drawings. With the original self-illustrated picture book Mommies Don't Get Sick, as well as her picture-book series featuring the exploits of young Molly and her orange kitty, Emmett, Hafner added a whole new dimension to her work for the ready-to-read set. Mommies Don't Get Sick features watercolor images that "capture … family affection as well as … comic disorder," in the opinion of Booklist critic Hazel Rochman.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1925, Hafner attended the Pratt Institute and the New School for Social Research before getting a job at McCall's magazine as an art director in 1950. Four years later she left to raise her three children; by 1968 she was back at work teaching at a correspondence school and doing freelance design work. Her first picture-book effort, Alvin Tresselt's Bonnie Bess: The Weathervane Horse, had been published years before, in 1949. Awarded the New York Herald Tribune's Children's Spring Book Festival award, the newly illustrated Bonnie Bess signaled to Hafner that she had found her niche; in the decades since, she has contributed to dozens of books by a varied group of writers.

Hafner's characteristic round-edged, softly shaded style and her use of a variety of media—from pen and ink to watercolor to pencil—enhance three books by author Wilson Gage, among them The Crow and Mrs. Gaddy. "Hafner makes the happenings visible," commented a Publishers Weekly critic, who enjoyed the artist's "softly shaded drawings." Her ability to adapt her soft-edged style to each new illustration project has contributed to Hafner's success: in Patricia Reilly Giff's Next Year I'll Be Special, for example, the "rosy tones in Hafner's buoyant pictures match the dreams of glory" harbored by Giff's young protagonist, according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer. School Library Journal contributor Carolyn Noah praised the artist's treatment of Steven Kroll's Are You Pirates? by noting that Hafner's "black-and-sepia pen-and-ink illustrations are full of wily detail and bring the pirate antics to life." The illustrator's images for Jake Wolf's Daddy, Could I Have an Elephant? "never forsake their appealing down-to-earth quality, even when depicting the most outrageous scenarios," noted one Publishers Weekly contributor, while another noted that for Lasky's Lunch Bunnies she contributes "bustling illustrations [that] imbue the characters with a great deal of personality." "The cheery ink, watercolor and colored pencil illustrations" the artist contributes to Dayle Ann Dodds' Teacher's Pets "warm the pages with a playful vibrancy," in the opinion of yet another reviewer for Publishers Weekly.

In Vicki Cobb's Feeding Yourself, the author's discussion about the use of eating utensils around the world is enhanced by Hafner's interpretation of "their origins and uses in many cultures" through humorous and "lively watercolor illustrations," according to School Library Journal contributor Janie Schomberg. Hafner's pen-and-ink illustrations for Joanna Cole's The Laugh Book portray "comic characters running pell-mell over the pages; … just the kind of silly stuff kids love," remarked a Publishers Weekly contributor. School Library Journal critic Jane Saliers praised the artist's use of a quite different medium in Happy Father's Day, a collaboration with author Kroll that features "colorful line and wash illustrations … filled with active people, pets, and homey details." Horn Book reviewer Mary M. Burns also found appropriate Hafner's use of an full-color palette in illustrating Morse Hamilton's Big Sisters Are Bad Witches, remarking that the artist's "slightly caricatured figures and vivid use of color complement [the protagonist's] personality without losing the sense of warmth appropriate to a family story."

[Image not available for copyright reasons]

Featuring characters originally introduced to youngsters in comic-strip tales published in Ladybug magazine, Hafner's original picture books A Year with Molly and Emmett, Molly and Emmett's Camping Adventure, Molly and Emmett's Surprise Garden, and Emmett's Dream are each composed of a collection of short vignettes that bring to life Molly's adventures with her pet. A Year with Molly and Emmett follows the pair as they

[Image not available for copyright reasons]

take a camping trip, participate in a holiday-season toy drive, and cook breakfast, while Molly and Emmett's Camping Adventure finds the duo pitching a tent in Molly's backyard. The orange puss takes center state in Emmett's Dream, after Molly becomes immersed in researching her family history and inspires Emmett to seek out the famous felines in his own family. "Toddlers will find comfort in Molly's consistently reassur- ing tone," noted a Publishers Weekly contributor in a review of A Year with Molly and Emmett. Praising Hafner's "spunky, good-natured characters," another Publishers Weekly critic wrote that they "have a great dynamic and handily convey humor and a sense of discovery" in Molly and Emmett's Camping Adventure. Noting the gardening basics that Hafner includes in Molly and Emmett's Surprise Garden, Judith Constandtinides dubbed the book "thoroughly delightful" in her School Library Journal review.

Hafner once told SATA, "My most important influences in my work are Saul Steinberg, Ronald Searle, André François, and John Birmingham. I do not apply a ‘formula’ to illustration (using the same style or technique for every book)—but instead let the author's concept and general attitude decide what ‘look’ the book should have. I try to use the limitations of budget and color, etc., as a challenge to create a unity between words and pictures. My feeling about picture books is that the pictures can add another dimension without overpowering the author's intention."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 15, 1992, Deborah Abbott, review of Red Day, Green Day, p. 1847; May 1, 1993, Kay Weisman, review of Chatterbox Jamie, pp. 1601-1602; December 1, 1993, Elizabeth Bush, review of And Then What?, p. 1993; September 1, 1995, Hazel Rochman, review of Mommies Don't Get Sick, p. 86; November, 1995, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Mommies Don't Get Sick, p. 91; September 15, 1996, Leone McDermott, review of Lunch Bunnies, p. 247; December 1, 2000, Carolyn Phelan, review of Molly and Emmett's Camping Adventure, p. 720; July, 2003, Gillian Engberg, review of Lucille Camps In, p. 1897; February 1, 2004, Hazel Rochman, review of Pocket Poems, p. 978.

Horn Book, August, 1980, review of Meet M & M, p. 402, and Next Year I'll Be Special, p. 397; October, 1980, Paul Heins, review of Rainy, Rainy Saturday, p. 533; August, 1981, Mary M. Burns, review of Big Sisters Are Bad Witches, p. 414; December, 1981, Karen M. Klockner, review of It's Christmas, p. 654; December, 1983, Karen Jameson, review of Katharine's Doll, p. 706; July-August, 1986, review of Germs Make Me Sick, p. 474; January-February, 1992, Hanna B. Zeiger, review of Hanukkah!, p. 95; January-February, 2005, review of The Pepins and Their Problems, p. 15.

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2006, review of Teacher's Pets, p. 404.

Publishers Weekly, February 15, 1980, review of Little Devil Gets Sick, p. 110; May 16, 1980, review of Next Year, I'll Be Special, p. 211; June 6, 1980, review of Meet M & M, p. 82; May 1, 1981, review of Families, p. 67; December 22, 1982, review of Rollo and Juliet Forever, p. 63; February 3, 1984, review of The Crow and Mrs. Gaddy, p. 403; August 22, 1986, review of The TV-Smart Book for Kids, p. 102; October 31, 1986, review of The Laugh Book: A New Treasury of Humor for Children, pp. 68-69; July 1, 1996, review of Daddy, Could I Have an Elephant?, p. 59; August 5, 1996, review of Lunch Bunnies, p. 441; April 28, 1997, review of A Year with Molly and Emmett, p. 75; February 23, 1998, review of Purim Play, p. 67; November 9, 1998, review of Show and Tell Bunnies, p. 75; October 23, 2000, review of Molly and Emmett's Camping Adventure, p. 75; August, 2001, Judith Constantinides, review of Molly and Emmett's Surprise Garden, p. 147; June 12, 2006, review of Teacher's Pets, p. 52.

School Librarian, November, 1997, Catriona Nicholson, review of A Year with Molly and Emmett, p. 186.

School Library Journal, January, 1980, Reva Pitch, review of The Candy Witch, p. 57; May, 1980, Kathy Coffey, review of Little Devil Gets Sick and Meet M & M, pp. 83-84; July, 1980, Nancy Palmer, review of I Wish Laura's Mommy Was My Mommy, p. 124; February, 1983, Carolyn Noah, review of Are You Pirates?, p. 68; May, 1984, Nancy Palmer, review of The Poison Ivy Case, p. 98; May, 1986, Carolyn Noah, review of My Brother, Will, p. 84; November, 1986, Annette Curtis Klause, review of The Purple Turkey, and Other Thanksgiving Riddles, p. 71; January, 1987, Craighton Hippenhammer, review of The Laugh Book, p. 72; May, 1988, Jane Saliers, review of Happy Father's Day!, p. 85; December, 1988, Lisa Smith, review of Dinosaurs Are 568, p. 92; October, 1989, Janie Schomberg, reviews of Feeding Yourself and Writing It Down, pp. 102-103; October, 1990, Susan Hepler, review of Hanukkah!, p. 39; December, 1991, Alexandra Marris, review of M & M and the Halloween Monster, p. 100; April, 1998, Libby K. White, review of Purim Play, p. 110; July, 2000, June Roberts, review of Science Fair Bunnies, p. 81; October, 2000, Grace Oliff, review of A Carnival of Animals, p. 124; October, 2004, review of Pocket Poems, p. 28; April, 2005, Joy Fleishhacker, review of Tumble Bunnies, p. 105; May, 2006, Gloria Koster, review of Teacher's Pets, p. 86.