McMullan, Kate 1947- (Katy Hall)

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McMullan, Kate 1947- (Katy Hall)

Personal

Born January 16, 1947, in St. Louis, MO; daughter of Lee Aker (a physician) and Kathryn (a teacher and flight attendant) Hall; married James Burroughs McMullan (an illustrator), June 9, 1979; children: Leigh Fenwick. Education: University of Tulsa, B.S., 1969; Ohio State University, M.A., 1972. Hobbies and other interests: Gardening, birding, reading.

Addresses

Home—Sag Harbor, NY. Agent—Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties, 155 E. 38th St., Ste. 2H, New York, NY 10016. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Teacher at public schools in Los Angeles, CA, 1969-71; U.S. Department of Defense, Washington, DC, schoolteacher in Hahn, West Germany, 1972-75; Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Inc., New York, NY, editor, 1976-78; writer, beginning 1978; New York University School of Continuing Education, New York, NY, lecturer in writing for children, 1989—.

Member

Authors Guild, PEN, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Awards, Honors

Honor designation, New York Academy of Sciences, 1980, for Magic in the Movies; Intellectual Freedom Award honorable mention, New York Library Association, 1993; Pick of the List, American Bookseller, and among Ten Best Picture Books of the Year, New York Times, both 1993, both for Nutcracker Noel; CRABbery honor, 1993, for The Great Eggspectations of Lila Fenwick; Ten Best Picture Books designation, New York Times, Picture Book Award, Parents' Choice, and Reading Magic Award, Parenting, all 1995, all for Hey, Pipsqueak!; New York Times Best Illustrated Book designation, and Bank Street College of Education Irma S. and James H. Black Honor Book designation, Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Book designation, and New

York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing selection, all 2002, all for I Stink!; Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book designation, 2008, for I'm Dirty.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN

The Mystery of the Missing Mummy, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1984.

(Adapter) Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, illustrated by Paul Van Munching, Random House (New York, NY), 1984.

The Great Ideas of Lila Fenwick, Dial (New York, NY), 1986.

(Adapter) Gaston Leroux, Phantom of the Opera, Random House (New York, NY), 1989.

Dinosaur Hunters, illustrated by John R. Jones, Random House (New York, NY), 1989, reprinted, 2005.

Great Advice from Lila Fenwick, Dial (New York, NY), 1989.

Good Night, Stella, Penguin/Putnam Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1990.

The Story of Harriet Tubman, Penguin/Putnam Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1990.

The Great Eggspectations of Lila Fenwick, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1991.

Under the Mummy's Spell, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1991.

(With Jim McMullan) The Noisy Giants' Tea Party, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1992.

The Biggest Mouth in Baseball, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 1993.

Nutcracker Noel, Demco (Madison, WI), 1993.

Hey, Pipsqueak!, illustrated by husband, Jim McMullan, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995.

The Story of Bill Clinton and Al Gore, Gareth Stevens (Milwaukee, WI), 1996.

Muppet Treasure Island, Penguin/Putnam Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1996.

Noel the First, illustrated by Jim McMullan, HarperCollins/Michael di Capua (New York, NY), 1996.

The Mummy's Gold, Penguin/Putnam Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1996.

If You Were My Bunny, illustrated by David McPhail, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.

Harriet Tubman, Gareth Stevens (Milwaukee, WI), 1997.

No No, Jo!, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.

Countdown to the Year 1000, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 1999.

Papa's Song, illustrated by Jim McMullan, Farrar (New York, NY), 2000.

As Far as I Can See: Meg's Diary, St. Louis to the Kansas Territory, 1856, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2001.

Supercat, illustrated by Pascal Lemaître, Workman (New York, NY), 2002.

I Stink!, illustrated by Jim McMullan, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

I'm Mighty!, illustrated by Jim McMullan, Joanna Cotler Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Baby Goose, illustrated by Pascal Lemaître, Hyperion Books for Children (New York, NY), 2004.

My Travels with Capts. Lewis and Clark by George Shannon (novel), illustrated by Adrienne Yorinks, Joanna Cotler Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Bathtub Blues (with CD), illustrated by Janie Bynum, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2005.

I'm Dirty!, illustrated by Jim McMullan, Joanna Cotler Books (New York, NY), 2006.

I'm Bad!, illustrated by Jim McMullan, Joanna Cotler Books (NY), 2008.

Editor of Early Bird, 1982.

Author's works have been translated into French.

"DRAGON SLAYER'S ACADEMY" SERIES

The New Kid at School, Putnam/Grosset (New York, NY), 1997.

Class Trip to the Cave of Doom, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 1998.

Danger! Wizard at Work, illustrated by Bill Basso, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2004.

The Ghost of Sir Herbert Dungeonstone, illustrated by Bill Basso, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2004.

Double Dragon Trouble, illustrated by Bill Basso, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2005.

Pig Latin: Not Just for Pigs!, illustrated By Bill Basso, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2005.

Beware! It's Friday the Thirteenth, illustrated by Bill Basso, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2005.

Never Trust a Troll!, illustrated by Bill Basso, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2006.

World's Oldest Living Dragon, illustrated by Bill Basso, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2006.

Hail! Hail! Camp Dragononka!, illustrated by Bill Basso, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2006.

Help! It's Parents Day at DSA, illustrated by Bill Basso, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2006.

Little Giant—Big Trouble, illustrated by Bill Basso, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 2007.

"FLUFFY" SERIES

Fluffy Goes to School, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Turtleback Books (Madison, WI), 1997.

Fluffy's Happy Halloween, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1998.

Fluffy Saves Christmas, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Turtleback Books (Madison, WI), 1998.

Fluffy and the Fire Fighters, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1999.

Fluffy Meets the Dinosaurs, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2000.

Fluffy's 100th Day of School, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Turtleback Books (Madison, WI), 2000.

Fluffy Meets the Tooth Fairy, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2000.

Fluffy's Valentine's Day, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2000.

Fluffy's School Bus Adventure, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2000.

Fluffy's Thanksgiving, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2000.

Fluffy's Funny Field Trip, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2001.

Fluffy's New Garden, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2001.

Fluffy, the Secret Santa, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2001.

Fluffy Goes Apple Picking, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2001.

Fluffy's Trick-or-Treat, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2001.

Fluffy's Spring Vacation, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2001.

Fluffy Meets the Groundhog, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2001.

Fluffy Learns to Swim, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2002.

Fluffy Goes to Washington, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2002.

Fluffy's Lucky Day, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2002.

Fluffy and the Snow Pig, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2003.

Fluffy Plants a Jelly Bean, illustrated by Mavis Smith, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2003.

"MYTH O' MANIA" SERIES

Phone Home, Persephone!, illustrated by David LaFleur, Hyperion Books for Children (New York, NY), 2002.

Have a Hot Time, Hades!, illustrated by David LaFleur, Hyperion Books for Children (New York, NY), 2002.

Say Cheese, Medusa!, illustrated by David LaFleur, Hyperion Books for Children (New York, NY), 2002.

Nice Shot, Cupid!, illustrated by David LaFleur, Hyperion Books for Children (New York, NY), 2002.

Stop That Bull, Theseus!, illustrated by David LaFleur, Hyperion Books for Children (New York, NY), 2003.

"NUBBY" SERIES

Nubby Bear, illustrated by Chris Moroney, Random House (New York, NY), 2003.

Nubby Bunny, illustrated by Chris Moroney, Random House (New York, NY), 2003.

Nubby Kitty, illustrated by Chris Moroney, Random House (New York, NY), 2003.

Nubby Pup, illustrated by Chris Moroney, Random House (New York, NY), 2003.

"PEARL AND WAGNER" SERIES

Pearl and Wagner: Two Good Friends, illustrated by R.W. Alley, Dial (New York, NY), 2003.

Pearl and Wagner: Three Secrets, illustrated by R.W. Alley, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2004.

Pearl and Wagner: One Funny Day, illustrated by R.W. Alley, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2009.

UNDER NAME KATY HALL

Nothing but Soup, Follett (Chicago, IL), 1976.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Chicken Jokes and Puzzles, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1977.

(With Jane O'Connor) Magic in the Movies: The Story of Special Effects, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1980.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) A Gallery of Monsters, Random House (New York, NY), 1980.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Pig Jokes and Puzzles, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1983.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Fishy Riddles, Dial (New York, NY), 1983.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) 101 Bug Jokes, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1984.

Garfield: Jokes, Riddles, and Other Silly Stuff, Random House (New York, NY), 1984.

Garfield: The Big Fat Book of Jokes and Riddles, Random House (New York, NY), 1984.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Buggy Riddles, Dial (New York, NY), 1986.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Grizzly Riddles, Dial (New York, NY), 1987.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) 101 Back to School Jokes, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1987.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Mummy Riddles, illustrated by Nicole Rubel, Dial (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Olive You! and Other Valentine Knock-Knock Jokes You'll A-Door, illustrated by Stephen Carpenter, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Bunny Riddles, illustrated by Nicole Rubel, Dial (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Chicky Riddles, illustrated by Thor Wickstrom, Dial (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Easter Yolks: Eggs-Cellent Riddles to Crack You Up, illustrated by R.W. Alley, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Hearty Har Har: Valentine Riddles You'll Love, illustrated by R.W. Alley, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Puppy Riddles, illustrated by Thor Wickstrom, Dial (New York, NY), 1998.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Creepy Riddles, illustrated by S.D. Schindler, Dial (New York, NY), 1998.

Really, Really Bad Sports Jokes, illustrated by Rick Stromoski, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1998.

Really, Really, Really Bad Jokes, illustrated by Mike Lester, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1999.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Kitty Riddles, illustrated by R.W. Alley, Dial (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Jingle Jokes: Christmas Riddles to Deck the Ha Ha Halls, illustrated by Stephen Carpenter, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Turkey Ticklers: And Other A-Maize-Ingly Corny Thanksgiving Knock-Knock Jokes, illustrated by Stephen Carpenter, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Boo Who? And Other Wicked Halloween Knock-Knock Jokes, illustrated by Stephen Carpenter, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Easter Crack-Ups: Knock-Knock Jokes Funny Side-Up, illustrated by Stephen Carpenter, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Ribbit Riddles, illustrated by Robert Bender, Dial (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Hanukkah Ha-Has: Knock-Knock Jokes That Are a Latke Fun, illustrated by Stephen Carpenter, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Summer Camp Crack-Ups: And Lot S'More Knock-Knock Jokes to Write Home About, illustrated by Stephen Carpenter, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Turkey Riddles, illustrated by Kristin Bora, Dial (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Lisa Eisenberg) Dino Riddles, illustrated by Nicole Rubel, Dial (New York, NY), 2002.

Back-to-School Belly Busters, illustrated by Stephen Carpenter, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 2002.

Adaptations

I Stink! was adapted for video, by Weston Woods, 2006.

Sidelights

A prolific author of books for young children, Kate McMullan ranges in her focus from toddlers to beginning readers in books that include Baby Goose, I Stink!, and the fantasy stories in the "Dragon's Academy" series. During the late 1990s McMullan also published under the name Katy Hall, producing dozens of joke books with fellow writer Lisa Eisenberg. Many of her books feature engaging artwork, among them her lullaby collection If You Were My Bunny, which features illustrations by David McPhail, and Supercat and Baby Goose both of which boast art by Pascal Lemaître. In If You Were My Bunny a mother bear, cat, rabbit, duck, and dog each coo a loving good-night song to their respective offspring as McMullan tweaks the lyrics to befit each species. As Amy E. Brandt wrote in her review for Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, the book's "coziness will appeal to those not-quite-drowsy youngsters who plead for one more song," and a Kirkus Reviews writer described If You Were My Bunny "as a missing link between board books and … picture books."

McMullan has worked with her husband, illustrator Jim McMullan, on books that include The Noisy Giants' Tea Party, Nutcracker Noel and its sequel, and a series of toddler-friendly books that include I'm Dirty!, I'm Bad!, and I Stink! The Noisy Giants' Tea Party centers on a little girl and her dedication to ballet. The McMullans' creative collaborations were inspired by their shared experiences with their own daughter—they wrote and illustrated The Noisy Giants' Tea Party to explain the loud noises emanating from the garbage trucks in the street below their New York City apartment.

The McMullans' daughter Leigh loved ballet while growing up, and in Nutcracker Noel the author and illustrator introduce a girl who is initially dejected after being chosen to play a tree in an annual holiday production of the classic children's ballet. Noel's ballet saga continues in Noel the First, which finds her thrilled when Madame orders her to move to first place, an honored position, at the barre. Then a new dancer joins the class and usurps Noel's spot, but when another, even better new student arrives, Noel can step back and watch the other two dancers battle it out. Ultimately, the girl dances with her heart, which pleases Madame. "For all the exaggeration, there is plenty of truth to this tale—not just for prima ballerinas," noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Carol Schene, reviewing Noel the First for School Library Journal, predicted that "young readers will identify with Noel and the dilemma of wanting to be first."

Turning from boys to girls, the McMullans enter the rough-and-tumble world of things that go "Vroom!" with I Stink!, I'm Mighty!, I'm Dirty!, and I'm Bad! Based on research done at the New York City Department of Sanitation, I Stink! focuses on a garbage truck that explains how it does its job each day, keeping neighborhood streets clean and tidy. It tells its tale with "brass good humor," noted School Library Journal contributor Steven Engelfried in praise of McMullan's ability to create a "simple but distinctive" narrative voice. In I'm Dirty! a backhoe loader describes its operation and the fun it has digging, hauling, and getting dirty in the process, while I'm Mighty! takes readers out to sea to meet a determined tugboat. In addition to humor, McMullan's inclusion of "abundant sound effects make [I'm Dirty!] … a high-spirited read-aloud," according to a Publishers Weekly critic.

In I'm Bad! the McMullans turn their sights to the distant past, focusing this time on a different kind of heavy-duty machine: an eating machine! Tapping into little boys' love affair with dinosaurs, they focus on a feisty young T-Rex who brags about his teeth and claws but becomes child-like when discussing his small arms. McMullan's dinosaur shares more than self-

consciousness with his young audience, and in I'm Bad! "kids will love the joke of the tough guy who still needs his mother," according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer. According to a Kirkus Reviews writer, with I'm Bad! the McMullans "have … added an alliterative, rhythmic gem to their list of crowd-pleasers."

Other books for the very young include the picture books Papa's Song and Bathtub Blues, as well as an easy-reader series that features best friends Pearl the rabbit and Wagner the mouse. In Pearl and Wagner: Three Secrets McMullen follows the friends' antics in three simple chapters, each brought to life by R.W. Alley's "energetic ink-and-wash illustrations," according to Horn Book contributor Martha V. Parravano. As Parravano added, McMullen gives her animal characters "dialogue [that] is lively, funny, and quite real." In Pearl and Wagner: Two Good Friends the author "skillfully integrates key aspects of classroom friendships into her story with understated humor and some funny situations and dialogue," in the opinion of a Kirkus Reviews writer.

Papa's Song finds Baby Bear unwilling to fall asleep, although his family is exhausted. Mother Bear and the bear grandparents each try to quiet the cub, with no luck, until Father Bear takes his son for a boat ride. The soothing sounds of the water—the frogs croaking, otters splashing, and waves lapping—finally achieve the desired result. Writing in School Library Journal, Maryann H. Owen called Papa's Song "a bedtime story almost guaranteed to provide sweet dreams." A contributor to Publishers Weekly also commended McMullan's "appealing bedtime story, at once gentle and wry, in which father knows best."

Geared for middle-grade readers, McMullan's "Dragon Slayer" series begins with the comic fantasy The New Kid at School. Featuring the books Hail! Hail! Camp Dragonanka!, Class Trip to the Cave of Death, and Pig Latin: Not Just for Pigs!, the series centers on humble Wiglaf of Pinwick, a boy who is ill-treated by his boorish family. When readers meet Wiglaf in The New Kid at School, a traveling minstrel reveals the fortune that leads the boy to the Dragon Academy, together with his pet pig, Daisy. Once at school, Wiglaf realizes that his aversion to gore makes him a poor candidate for a Dragon Slayer degree, unlike his zealous new friend Eric. Soon Wiglaf and Eric are sent off on their first mission to slay the dragon Gorzil, and the situation looks dire until Wiglaf discovers the dragon's secret weakness: knock-knock jokes! "Wiglaf is a hero without spilling a single drop of blood," wrote School Library Journal critic Virginia Golodetz, while in Booklist John Peters remarked that in The New Kid at School "McMullan creates an appealing, unwarlike protagonist, with the inner stuff to cope with situations both daffy and dangerous."

Other books in the series follow Wiglaf and his fellow Academy students as they master their dragon-slaying skills despite sometimes humorous and sometimes scary circumstances. In Beware! It's Friday the Thirteenth, for example, DSA students hope that lucky charms will help them survive the attack of a dragon on an unlucky day, while Class Trip to the Cave of Death finds them hiking through a sinister forest in search of lost dragon treasure. In Pig Latin: Not Just for Pigs! Wiglaf and Daisy visit the Royal Palace during a school holiday when a fumbling wizard puts a spell on the king that leaves the royal advisors struggling to interpret Pig Latin. Another wizard's spell misses its mark in Danger: Wizard at Work as Wiglaf and his school

friends become transformed into dragons and sent to school to improve their evil dragon skills.

McMullan turns to history in the novel-length work My Travels with Capts. Lewis and Clark by George Shannon. Based on the records of her own family—Shannon was a distant relative of McMullan's—the journal-style novel follows the youngest member of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery from Pennsylvania to the shore of the Pacific Ocean. Featuring illustrations by Adrienne Yorinks, the book finds sixteen-year-old George mastering the survival skills that help the group stay alive as they explore the rugged Pacific Northwest. As McMullan told Publishers Weekly interviewer Sally Lodge of Shannon, references to her distant ancestor in other books about Lewis and Clark's travels "more often than not referred to the fact that he had become lost, or had tipped his canoe—he seemed to mess up at every possible opportunity. I liked him for this and wanted to know more about him. And it also occurred to me that kids would easily relate to his mishaps." Noting the young narrator's "enthusiasm" for his journey, Horn Book contributor Betty Carter added that McMullan's "matter-of-fact recitations provide insights into both the hazards and hardships" of the historic 1804 quest.

McMullan once commented: "Many of my warmest memories of childhood are of my mother reading aloud to me. As a sixth-grade teacher in the early 1970s, I rediscovered the pleasure of children's books—this time as a reader—and left teaching to study children's literature at Ohio State University. After graduating with a master's degree, I went back to teaching, reading aloud—and writing.

"As a quick glance at my book titles will indicate, humor has been a large part of my writing, especially the work I do with my partner, Lisa Eisenberg. We very much enjoy visiting schools and swapping riddles with first, second, and third graders. Our series of easy-to-read riddle books is popular with kids, as well as librarians and teachers, because the controlled vocabulary makes the books accessible to beginning readers, and the punch lines provide good motivation for reading….

"I have begun writing middle-grade novels based on my childhood experiences in the Midwest and my years as a teacher. The books deal with issues that many ten-and eleven-year-olds have to deal with, such as up-and-down friendships and the pleasures and pains of growing up. I find that, in writing these books, I am drawn back to the books I encountered when I was in fifth or sixth grade—A Tale of Two Cities or The Adventures of Tom Sawyer—and I enjoy weaving aspects of these books into my own stories. I believe that the pleasure I have derived from reading good books has been my main motivation for wanting to write them myself."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 1996, Ilene Cooper, review of If You Were My Bunny, p. 1512; January 1, 1997, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Noel the First, p. 870; December 1, 1997, John Peters, review of The New Kid at School, p. 637; February 15, 2000, Ellen Mandel, review of Papa's Song, p. 1118; June 1, 2002, Gillian Engberg, review of I Stink!, p. 1742; October 1, 2002, Carolyn Phelan, review of As Far as I Can See: Meg's Diary, St. Louis to the Kansas Territory, 1856, p. 326; November 1, 2002, Diane Foote, review of Have a Hot Time, Hades!, p. 497; July, 2003, Gillian Engberg, review of Pearl and Wagner: Two Good Friends, p. 1899; November 1, 2003, Carolyn Phelan, review of I'm Mighty!, p. 504; September 15, 2006, Gillian Engberg, review of I'm Dirty!, p. 61.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, July, 1996, Amy E. Brandt, review of If You Were My Bunny, pp. 379-380; June, 2002, review of I Stink!, p. 353; December, 2003, Elizabeth Bush, review of I'm Mighty!, p. 160.

Horn Book, July-August, 1996, Hanna B. Zeiger, review of If You Were My Bunny, p. 451; May, 1998, Maeve Visser Knoth, review of No No, Jo!, p. 275; March, 2000, review of Papa's Song, p. 189; May-June, 2002, Christine M. Heppermann, review of I Stink!, p. 319; September-October, 2004, Martha V. Parravano, review of Pearl and Wagner: Three Secrets, p. 593 November-December, 2004, Betty Carter, review of My Travels with Capts. Lewis and Clark by George Shannon, p. 712; November-December, 2006, Christine M. Heppermann, review of I'm Dirty!, p. 701.

Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 1996, review of If You Were My Bunny, p. 71; March 1, 2002, review of I Stink!, p. 340; August 1, 2003, review of Pearl and Wagner: Two Good Friends, p. 1020; May 1, 2004, review of Pearl and Wagner: Three Secrets, p. 445; October 15, 2004, review of Baby Goose, p. 1010; July 15, 2006, review of I'm Dirty!, p. 727; April 1, 2008, review of I'm Bad!

Publishers Weekly, October 7, 1996, review of Noel the First, p. 73; October 6, 1997, review of The New Kid at School, p. 84; April 10, 2000, review of Papa's Song, p. 97; February 18, 2002, review of I Stink!, p. 95; September 15, 2003, review of Pearl and Wagner: Two Good Friends, p. 64; October 20, 2003, review of I'm Mighty!, p. 53, and interview with Sally Lodge, p. 54; October 24, 2004, Sally Lodge, interview with McMullan, p. 20; November 1, 2004, review of Baby Goose, p. 50; July 24, 2006, review of I'm Dirty!, p. 57; April 21, 2008, review of I'm Bad!, p. 56.

School Library Journal, December, 1996, Carol Schene, review of Noel the First, p. 100; May, 1998, Virginia Golodetz, review of The New Kid at School, p. 120, and DeAnn Tabuchi, review of No No, Jo!, p. 121; May, 2000, Maryann H. Owen, review of Papa's Song, p. 149; May, 2002, Steven Engelfried, review of I Stink! p. 122, and Rita Soltan, review of As Far as I Can See, p. 193; May, 2004, Anne Knickerbocker, review of Pearl and Wagner: Three Secrets, p. 119; September, 2004, Renee Steinberg, review of My Travels with Capts. Lewis and Clark by George Shannon, p. 212; November, 2004, Marie Orlando, review of Baby Goose, p. 128; June, 2005, Martha Topol, review of Bathtub Blues, p. 122; September, 2006, Suzanne Myers Harold, review of I'm Dirty!, p. 178.