King, Stephen Michael

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KING, Stephen Michael

Personal

Born in Sydney, Australia; married; two children.

Addresses

Home— Australia. Agent— c/o Author Mail, Scholastic Australia, P.O. Box 579, Gosford, New South Wales 2250, Australia.

Career

Author, illustrator, and book designer. Worked as a children's library assistant; Walt Disney Studios, Surry Hill, Australia, illustrator, beginning 1990; Scholastic Australia, book designer.

Awards, Honors

Family Therapy Association Award, and Crichton Award shortlist, both 1996, both for The Man Who Loved Boxes; Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year for Young Readers shortlist, 1997, for Beetle Soup; CBCA Picture Book of the Year Award shortlist, 1998, for The Little Blue Parcel, 1999, for Henry and Amy, and 2001, for The Pocket Dogs; Australian Publishers Association Design Award shortlist, 2002, for Emily Loves to Bounce; KOALA/Young Australian Best Book Award (YABBA) for picture book, 2002, and Books I Love Best Yearly Award shortlist, 2003, both for The Pocket Dogs; YABBA shortlist, 2003, for Henry and Amy.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

A Special Kind of Love, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1995.

The Man Who Loved Boxes, Scholastic Australia (Gosford, New South Wales, Australia), 1996.

Beetle Soup: Australian Stories and Poems for Children, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.

Patricia, Scholastic Australia (Gosford, New South Wales, Australia), 1997.

Henry and Amy (Right-Way-Round and Upside Down), Walker (New York, NY), 1998.

The Startling Secret of Successful Riddling, Scholastic Australia (Gosford, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

The Little Blue Parcel, Scholastic Press (Gosford, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Rat's Lucky Day, and Rat Goes Fishing, Scholastic Australia (Gosford, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Rat and the Rud Cap, and Rat and the Big Stink, Scholastic Australia (Gosford, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Amelia Ellicott's Garden, Scholastic Australia (Gosford, New South Wales, Australia), 2000.

Emily Loves to Bounce, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2000.

The Pocket Dogs, Scholastic Australia (Gosford, New South Wales, Australia), 2000, Scholastic Press (New York, NY), 2001.

Where Does Thursday Go?, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Jack's Owl, Scholastic Australia (Gosford, New South Wales, Australia), 2001.

Milli, Jack, and the Dancing Cat, Philomel Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Mutt Dog, Scholastic Australia (Gosford, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

Author's works have been translated into several languages.

Adaptations

King's books have been adapted as a play produced by the Patch Theatre Company.

Sidelights

Australian author and illustrator Stephen Michael King has created a number of award-winning picture books for the younger set, among them Millie, Jack, and the Dancing Cat, Emily Loves to Bounce, Where Does Thursday Go?, and The Pocket Dogs. A Publishers Weekly reviewer stated that Milli, Jack, and the Dancing Cat "is likely to delight readers" with its story of a "small gaggle of eccentric characters" who unleash their creativity in a variety of ways. Linda Ludke, writing in School Library Journal, dubbed the book a "charming story that celebrates imagination and individuality," while Booklist reviewer Gillian Engberg had praise for King's "exhuberant illustrations" using "scribbly ink lines and bright watercolor washes."

Another of King's children's stories, Emily Loves to Bounce, utilizes a rhyming text to tell the story of a playful little girl named Emily. "Through the rhyming text and King's vibrant ink and watercolour illustration, the reader feels Emily's energy and enthusiasm," commented Kathryn McNaughton in a review for Resource Links. A Publishers Weekly critic wrote that although the "narrowly focused picture book might not stand up to repeated readings, most children will enjoy a glimpse into Emily's colorful, imaginative, and very active world," and warned: "don't be surprised if your listeners begin bounding right along." Another whimsical work, The Pocket Dogs, finds mini-canines Biff and Buff tucked inside the pockets of their owner whenever he goes for a walk. When one pocket comes unraveled Bifff is deposited on the floor of the local grocery store, and a search for his unaware owner ensues. Noting that the book will "strike a chord with young readers" who count losing sight of parents among their biggest fears, Booklist contributor Carolyn Phelan wrote that The Pocket Dogs is "well-conceived and told with rhythm and humor."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 1999, Hazel Rochman, review of Henry and Amy (Right-Way-Round and Upside Down), p. 1842; February 1, 2001, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Pocket Dogs, p. 1051; March 1, 2002, Carolyn Phelan, review of Where Does Thursday Go?, p. 1139; March 1, 2004, Gillian Engberg, review of Milli, Jack, and the Dancing Cat, p. 1196.

Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2003, review of Emily Loves to Bounce, p. 143; March 1, 2004, review of Milli, Jack, and the Dancing Cat, p. 224.

Publishers Weekly, May 27, 1996, review of A Special Kind of Love, p. 77; April 19, 1999, review of Henry and Amy, p. 71; April 2, 2001, review of The Pocket Dogs, p. 63; December 9, 2002, review of Emily Loves to Bounce, p. 82; May 10, 2004, review of Milli, Jack, and the Dancing Cat, p. 58.

Resource Links, June, 2003, Kathryn McNaughton, review of Emily Loves to Bounce, p. 5.

School Library Journal, June, 2001, Lisa Gangemi Krapp, review of The Pocket Dogs, p. 132; April, 2002, Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, review of Where Does Thursday Go?, p. 100; March, 2003, Lisa Dennis, review of Emily Loves to Bounce, p. 196; April, 2004, Linda Ludke, review of Milli, Jack, and the Dancing Cat, p. 116.