Langdo, Bryan 1973–

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Langdo, Bryan 1973–

Personal

Born January 7, 1973, in Denville, NJ; son of Steven (an engineer) and Barbara (a homemaker) Langdo; married; wife's name Nikki; children: Oliver. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Attended Art Student's League of New York, 1992-95; Rutgers University, B.A. (cum laude), 1998. Hobbies and other interests: Hiking, camping, reading, watching movies, museums.

Addresses

Home and office—NJ. Agent—Children's Literature Booking Service, 7513 Shadywood Rd., Bethesda, MD 20817. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Illustrator. Mount Olive Child Care and Learning Center, Flanders, NJ, head teacher, 1998-99, 2000-01; Children's Institute, Verona, NJ, teacher's assistant, beginning 2001; Tusk Entertainment, Califon, NJ, production assistant, 2001.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

The Dog Who Loved the Good Life, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2001.

ILLUSTRATOR

Marianne Mitchell, Joe Cinders, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2002.

Brian James, Spooky Hayride, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2003.

Eileen Spinelli, The Best Time of Day, Harcourt (Orlando, FL), 2005.

Cindy Neuschwander, Mummy Math: An Adventure in Geometry, Henry Holt (New York, NY), 2005.

Sandra Levins, Was It the Chocolate Pudding?: A Story for Little Kids about Divorce, Magination Press (Washington, DC), 2005.

Else Holmelund Minarik, Cat and Dog, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.

Alison Inches, The Stuffed Animals Get Ready for Bed, Harcourt (Orlando, FL), 2006.

Cindy Neuschwander, Patterns in Peru: An Adventure in Patterning, Holt (New York, NY), 2007.

Sidelights

Bryan Langdo is the author and illustrator of The Dog Who Loved the Good Life, his debut picture book. Since releasing this book in 2001, Langdo has provided the artwork for several books by other writers, including Eileen Spinelli's The Best Time of Day and Alison Inches's The Stuffed Animals Get Ready for Bed.

The Dog Who Loved the Good Life introduces readers to a canine named Jake who expects to be treated just like a pampered human being. Jake wants to eat at the dinner table, sit on the furniture, and use the television remote control. The pup's owner, Mr. Hibble, is not pleased with the situation, but he is unsure about the best way to control his pet. Instead, Mr. Hibble tries to rid himself of the demanding dog, first by putting Jake on a bus and then sending him into outer space. Jake keeps coming back, however, until Mr. Hibble finally comes up with a better solution: giving the dog to his niece. Some critics were disturbed by Mr. Hibble's efforts to rid himself of the dog, while others noted that Langdo's illustrations clearly convey the fact that these situations are meant to be taken tongue in cheek. As Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst commented in her School Library Journal review of The Dog Who Loved the Good Life, Langdo's "narrative is supposed to be funny, but children who see themselves in Jake and animal-rights activists may be disturbed." In contrast, a Kirkus Reviews contributor said that while the book "ought to give lawless kiddos a pause … [it] is softened considerably by Langdo's meltingly affectionate artwork." Writing in Booklist, Michael Cart remarked that Langdo's "cartoon illustrations add nice comic touches" to the author/artist's "appealing" tale.

Langdo collaborates with Marianne Mitchell on Joe Cinders, "a knee-slapping, rootin'-tootin' Wild West version of the classic Cinderella tale," a critic in Kirkus Reviews stated. A lowly ranch hand, Joe does the bidding of his three lazy stepbrothers, including toting the water for their annual baths. When the Bronco boys receive an invitation to a fiesta at the ranch of the lovely Rosalinda, Joe harbors no illusions of attending the event. A mysterious sombrero-clad stranger provides Joe with new jeans and a shiny pick-up, however, and Joe makes an impression on the beautiful host, though he leaves a cowboy boot behind in his rush to meet the midnight deadline. "Langdo's watercolor cartoons are light and cheerful," noted Ruth Semrau in School Library Journal, and the Kirkus Reviews contributor

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added, "Langdo's illustrations hit the mark and add to the appeal of the storyline."

Spinelli's The Best Time of Day, a work told in verse, depicts the special moments of a farming community. As the day progresses, readers learn that the rooster looks forward to crowing at sunrise, the farmer's son enjoys recess at school, and the boy's grandmother awaits a visit from a special guest. According to a contributor in Kirkus Reviews, "Langdo's earth-toned watercolors are just right for the country and farm setting." Shelle Rosenfeld, writing in Booklist, observed that his "illustrations portray characters and an idyllic rural setting with cartoonlike simplicity," and School Library Journal reviewer Lisa S. Schindler remarked that Langdo's pictures "are colorful and laugh-out-loud funny."

Langdo has also contributed artwork to a pair of arithmetic books by Cindy Neuschwander. In Mummy Math: An Adventure in Geometry, Matt and Bibi Zill journey to Egypt with their parents to locate the burial chamber of a pharaoh. "The book is reminiscent of those old-fashioned easy puzzle books; the illustrations … are bright and clever, and there's a straightforward lesson in geometry built into the promise of Egypt," Meg Wolitzer wrote in the New York Times Book Review. A companion volume titled Patterns in Peru: An Adventure in Patterning finds the Zills searching for the Lost

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City of Quwi. The "cartoonlike illustrations adequately depict patterns to decipher," noted Kathy Piehl in School Library Journal.

First published in 1960, Else Holmelund Minarik's Cat and Dog was reissued in 2005 with new illustrations by Langdo. The work concerns the unlikely friendship between a frisky canine and a cautious feline. Laura Scott, writing in School Library Journal, applauded the "colorful, cheerful" artwork by Langdo. In The Stuffed Animals Get Ready for Bed, a work by Alison Inches, a little girl attempts to get her menagerie of toys ready for a night of slumber. As the youngster brushes her teeth, however, her spotted cow begins singing, her red hen dines on a bowl of soup, and her kitten finds a hiding place. Langdo's "pictures artistically convey the energy of the text," noted Booklist contributor Ilene Cooper, and Catherine Callegari, writing in School Library Journal, similarly noted that his "watercolor spreads enliven the text with fun depictions of the toys' antics."

Langdo once told SATA: "I have been drawing for as long as I can remember. It has always been the one area of my life where I have total focus. Growing up, I most often would draw from comic books and fantasy art. I also loved Dr. Seuss as a young kid, just like everyone else. My favorite book was The Sailor Dog, though, by Margaret Wise Brown. I've always loved big adven- tures, and I think that book does a great job capturing the feel of a big adventure in a small book.

"I never considered doing picture books until I met Robert J. Blake, from whom I took lessons all through middle and high school. Watching his books develop and come to completion week by week firsthand was an invaluable experience alone, not to mention all he taught me about composition, drawing, and painting. After high school, I studied at the Art Student's League of New York, doing life drawing and life painting—very academic.

"How I got into writing was just the next logical step. In order to practice illustrating and to develop a personal style, I began making up scenarios and/or stories to make pictures about. I sent out stories and illustrations constantly for a year, hoping to get published. A big part of me assumed it would never happen, but I stuck with it anyway. The day I found out The Dog Who Loved the Good Life was going to be published was possibly the best day of my life. I remember it like it was yesterday, and I'm still having trouble believing it.

"I write sporadically at best. If and when an idea comes, I try to develop it and work when inspired. I draw every day and usually am working on an illustration, even if it's not for something being published. I just can't stop myself from working on art. My main goal in making a book is to entertain kids, make them laugh out loud if possible. Hopefully, their parents will laugh, too."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 1, 2001, Michael Cart, review of The Dog Who Loved the Good Life, p. 649; October 15, 2002, Connie Fletcher, review of Joe Cinders, p. 408; October 15, 2005, Shelle Rosenfeld, review of The Best Time of Day, p. 60; August 1, 2006, Ilene Cooper, review of The Stuffed Animals Get Ready for Bed, p. 88.

Children's Bookwatch, June, 2005, review of Mummy Math: An Adventure in Geometry; June, 2007, review of Patterns in Peru: An Adventure in Patterning.

Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2001, review of The Dog Who Loved the Good Life, p. 1426; September 1, 2002, review of Joe Cinders, p. 1315; March 15, 2005, review of

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Mummy Math, p. 355; September 15, 2005, review of The Best Time of Day, p. 1034.

New York Times Book Review, March 15, 2005, Meg Wolitzer, review of Mummy Math.

Publishers Weekly, November 19, 2001, review of The Dog Who Loved the Good Life, p. 66.

School Library Journal, December, 2001, Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, review of The Dog Who Loved the Good Life, p. 105; May, 2002, Lynda Ritterman, review of Mummy Math, p. 114; December, 2002, Ruth Semrau, review of Joe Cinders, p. 102; August, 2005, Laura Scott, review of Cat and Dog, p. 103; January, 2006, Lisa S. Schindler, review of The Best Time of Day, p. 114; September, 2006, Catherine Callegari, review of The Stuffed Animals Get Ready for Bed, p. 174; March, 2007, Kathy Piehl, review of Patterns in Peru, p. 200.