Meisel, Paul

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Meisel, Paul

Personal

Married; children: three children. Education: Wesleyan University, B.A.; Yale University, M.F.A.

Addresses

Home and office—Newtown, CT. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Illustrator and graphic artist. Has also worked in editorial and advertising illustration.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Zara's Hats, Dutton Children's Books (New York, NY), 2003.

ILLUSTRATOR

Patricia McKissack, Monkey-Monkey's Trick: Based on an African Folktale, Random House (New York, NY), 1988.

Jill A. Davidson, And That's What Happened to Little Lucy, Random House (New York, NY), 1989.

Billy Goodman, A Kid's Guide to How to Save the Planet, Avon Books (New York, NY), 1990.

William H. Hooks, Mr. Monster, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1990.

Billy Goodman, A Kid's Guide to How to Save the Animals, Avon Books (New York, NY), 1991.

Ira Wolfman, My World and Globe: From the Seven Continents to the Seven Seas, from Katmandu to Kalamazoo: An Interactive First Book of Geography, Workman Publishing (New York, NY), 1991.

Joanna Cole, Your Insides, Putnam (New York, NY), 1992.

Christel Kleitsch, Cousin Markie and Other Disasters, Dutton Children's Books (New York, NY), 1992.

Alvin Schwartz, Busy Buzzing Bumblebees, and Other Tongue Twisters, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1992.

Sarah Albee, Halloween ABC, Western Publishing Company (Racine, WI), 1993.

Carol Diggory Shields, I Am Really a Princess, Dutton Children's Books (New York, NY), 1993.

Andrea Zimmerman, The Cow Buzzed, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.

William H. Hooks, Mr. Dinosaur, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Barbara Ann Kipfer, 1,400 Things for Kids to Be Happy about: The Happy Book, Workman Publishing (New York, NY), 1994.

Janice Lee Smith, Wizard and Wart, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1994.

Games and Giggles Just for Girls!, Pleasant Company (Middleton, WI), 1995.

Carol Diggory Shields, Lunch Money, and Other Poems about School, Dutton Children's Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Janice Lee Smith, Wizard and Wart at Sea, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995.

Stephanie Calmenson, Engine, Engine, Number Nine, Hyperion Books for Children (New York, NY), 1996.

Janet Frank, Daddies: All about the Work They Do, Western Publishing Company (Racine, WI), 1996.

Kirby Puckett and Andre Gutelle, Kirby Puckett's Baseball Games, Workman Publishing (New York, NY), 1996.

William H. Hooks, Mr. Dinosaur, Gareth Stevens Publishing (Milwaukee, WI), 1997.

Margo Lundell, Mommies: All about the Work They Do, Golden Books (Racine, WI), 1997.

Joan L. Nodset, Go Away, Dog, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

Carol Diggory Shields, I Wish My Brother Was a Dog, Dutton Children's Books (New York, NY), 1997.

B.G. Hennessy, Mr. Bubble Gum, Gareth Stevens Publishing (Milwaukee, WI), 1997.

William H. Hooks, Mr. Baseball, Gareth Stevens Publishing (Milwaukee, WI), 1998.

Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, What Is the World Made of?: All about Solids, Liquids, and, Gases, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.

Karen Magnuson Beil, A Cake All for Me!, Holiday House (New York, NY), 1998.

William H. Hooks, Mr. Monster, Gareth Stevens Publishing (Milwaukee, WI), 1998.

Cobi Jones and Andrew Gutelle, Cobi Jones' Soccer Games, Workman Publishing (New York, NY), 1998.

Anne Mazer, The Fixits, Hyperion Books for Children (New York, NY), 1998.

Betty Miles, The Three Little Pigs, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1998.

Betty Miles, The Tortoise and the Hare, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1998.

Janice Lee Smith, Wizard and Wart in Trouble, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.

Jeanette Ryan Wall, More Games and Giggles: Wild about Animals!, Pleasant Company (Middleton, WI), 1998.

Spanish for Gringos: Shortcuts, Tips, and Secrets to Successful Learning, Barron's (Hauppauge, NY), 1999.

On beyond a Million: An Amazing Math Journey, Random House (New York, NY), 1999.

Melvin Berger, Why I Sneeze, Shiver, Hiccup, and Yawn, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

David Elliott, The Cool Crazy Crickets, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2000.

Jean Craighead George, How to Talk to Your Cat, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

Kathleen Karr, It Happened in the White House: Extraordinary Tales from America's Most Famous Home, Hyperion Books for Children (New York, NY), 2000.

J. Philip Miller and Sheppard M. Greene, We All Sing with the Same Voice, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

Anne Rockwell, Morgan Plays Soccer, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

David Elliott, The Cool Crazy Crickets to the Rescue!, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2001.

Michelle Edwards and Phyllis Root, What's That Noise?, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2002.

Joan Holub, Hooray for St. Patrick's Day!, Puffin Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Bill Martin, Jr. and Michael Sampson, Trick or Treat?, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2002.

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Energy Makes Things Happen, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2003.

Anne Rockwell, Katie Catz Makes a Splash, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2003.

Carol Diggory Shields, Almost Late to School, and More School Poems, Dutton Children's Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Judy Sierra, Coco and Cavendish: Circus Dogs, Random House (New York, NY), 2003.

Karen Magnuson Beil, Mooove Oover!: A Book about Counting by Twos, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2004.

Lynn Brunelle, Pop Bottle Science, Workman Publishing (New York, NY), 2004.

Judy Cox, Go to Sleep, Groundhog, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2004.

Anne Rockwell, Chip and the Karate Kick, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2004.

Michael Elsohn, What's the Matter in Mr. Whisker's Room?, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2004.

Judy Sierra, Coco and Cavendish: Fire Dogs, Random House (New York, NY), 2004.

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Forces Make Things Move, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.

Kathy Duval, The Three Bears' Christmas, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2005.

Sheila Keenan, Looking for Leprechauns, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2005.

Anne Rockwell, Brendan and Belinda and the Slam Dunk, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.

Sarah Sullivan, Dear Baby: Letters from Your Big Brother, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2005.

B.G. Hennesey, Mr. Ouchy's First Day, Putnam's (New York, NY), 2006.

Anne Rockwell's Why Are the Ice Caps Melting?: The Dangers of Global Warming, Collins (New York, NY), 2006.

Shelley Moore Thomas, Take Care, Good Knight, Dutton Children's Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Kathy Duval, The Three Bears' Halloween, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2007.

Sidelights

Although he started his career in advertising, since the early 1990s Connecticut artist Paul Meisel has focused on illustrating picture books. Using a variety of techniques, including acrylics, gouache, watercolor, and mixed media, he has created artwork for over sixty children's books. In addition, with the 2003 picture book Zara's Hats, Meisel turns author as well, drawing inspiration from a family photograph. Zara's Hats tells a story about Selig the hat maker and his daughter Zara. When Selig runs out of the special feathers he uses to design his hats, he is forced to travel away from home to obtain more. While her father is away, daughter Zara begins crafting hats of her own, using materials found within her family's house. Before long, word spreads about the girl's unique hats, which become the newest fashion trend in town. As School Library Journal reviewer Martha Topol commented of Meisel's original picture book, in Zara's Hats "Meisel tells a fully fleshed out and engaging story," then brings it to life with his colorful illustrations.

In illustrating author Anne Rockwell's environmental-themed picture book Why Are the Ice Caps Melting?: The Dangers of Global Warming, Meisel contributes to the "Let's Read and Find Out Science" series. In the book, Rockwell offers a straightforward text while Meisel provides colorful and detailed illustrations that speak to the book's young audience. As Ilene Cooper commented in her review of Why Are the Ice Caps Melting? for Booklist, the illustrator's "ink-and-watercolor art, brimming with action, has a lightness the subject belies."

Other books featuring Meisel's art include one of his favorite projects: Judy Cox's humorous picture book Go to Sleep, Groundhog! The book finds a restless groundhog awaking sporadically in time to sample a winter's worth of other holidays. When he learns what he has been missing by hibernating, the animal is tempted to emerge from his hole earlier than the appointed Groundhog Day. Reviewing the book for School Library Journal, Kathleen Kelly MacMillan wrote that Meisel's "vibrant acrylic-and-gouache illustrations will help make this a favorite in storytimes." In School Library Journal, Grace Oliff and Ann Blanche Smith also praised Meisel's work for B.G. Hennessey's Mr. Ouchy's First Day. In addition to noting that the illustrator's "watercolor, gouache, and pen-and-ink" images inspire Hennessey's story with a "cozy feel," Oliff and Smith added that Meisel's images both "amplify humorous situations" in the text and "create them when the text does not." Discussing his illustrations for Sarah Sullivan's scrapbook-style picture book Dear Baby: Letters from Your Big Brother, a Kirkus Reviews writer concluded: "Meisel's mixed-media pictures are cheerful and engaging."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Audubon, May-June, 1997, review of Why Are the Ice Caps Melting?: The Dangers of Global Warming, p. 94.

Booklist, December 15, 1999, Ilene Cooper, review of How to Talk to Your Cat, p. 787; September 15, 2000, John Peters, review of The Cool Crazy Crickets, p. 240; September 1, 2001, Ellen Mandel, review of The Cool Crazy Crickets to the Rescue, p. 104; September 15, 2002, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Trick or Treat?, p. 246; February 1, 2003, review of Energy Makes Things Happen, p. 996; February 15, 2003, Gillian Engberg, review of Zara's Hats, p. 1075; August, 2003, review of Almost Late to School!, p. 1994; November 15, 2003, review of Go to Sleep Groundhog!, p. 599; May 1, 2004, Jennifer Mattson, review of Chip and the Karate Kick, p. 1564; September 1, 2005, Ilene Cooper, review of The Three Bears' Christmas, p. 124; September 15, 2005, Carolyn Phelan, review of Forces Make Things Move, p. 67; August 1, 2006, Hazel Rochman, review of Mr. Ouchy's First Day, p. 95; August 1, 2006, Hazel Rochman, review of Letters from Your Big Brother, p. 75; September 15, 2006, Carolyn Phelan, review of Take Care, Good Knight, p. 68; December 15, 2006, Ilene Cooper, review of Why Are the Ice Caps Melting?, p. 50.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, January, 2004, Janice Del Negro, review of Go to Sleep Groundhog!, p. 186; December, 2006, Elizabeth Bush, review of Why Are the Ice Caps Melting?, p. 187; February, 2007, Elizabeth Bush, review of Take Care, Good Knight, p. 270.

Horn Book, November-December, 2005, review of The Three Bears' Christmas, p. 692.

Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2002, review of What's That Noise?, p. 953; September 15, 2002, review of Trick or Treat?, p. 1395; February 1, 2003, review of Zara's Hats, p. 236; June 1, 2003, review of Almost Late toSchool!, p. 811; December 15, 2003, review of Go to Sleep Groundhog!, p. 1449; May 1, 2004, review of Chip and the Karate Kick, p. 447; August 15, 2004, review of What's the Matter in Mr. Whisker's Room?, p. 812; September 15, 2004, review of Mooove Oover!: A Book about Counting by Twos, p. 910; July 1, 2005, review of Forces Make Things Move, p. 731; August 1, 2005, review of Letters from Your Big Brother, p. 859; November 1, 2005, review of The Three Bears' Christmas, p. 1192; June 1, 2006, review of Mr. Ouchy's First Day, p. 573; August 1, 2006, review of Take Care, Good Knight, p. 796; October 15, 2006, review of Why Are the Ice Caps Melting?, p. 1079.

Publishers Weekly, January 15, 2001, review of We All Sing with the Same Voice, p. 74; July 16, 2001, review of Morgan Plays Soccer, p. 179; September 23, 2002, review of Trick or Treat?, p. 23; December 16, 2002, review of Zara's Hats, p. 66; January 13, 2003, review of How to Talk to Your Dog; How to Talk to Your Cat, p. 63; May 5, 2003, review of Katie Catz Makes a Splash, p. 220; August 11, 2003, review of Poetry for Teacher's Pets, p. 282; January 12, 2004, review of Go to Sleep Groundhog!, p. 53; May 24, 2004, review of True Companions, p. 64; September 13, 2004, review of Fun, by Nature, p. 81; January 10, 2005, review of We All Sing with the Same Voice, p. 58; September 24, 2007, review of The Three Bears, p. 75; June 12, 2006, review of Mr. Ouchy's First Day, p. 52.

School Library Journal, August, 2000, Kate McLean, review of The Cool Crazy Crickets, p. 154; February, 2001, Genevieve Ceraldi, review of We All Sing with the Same Voice, p. 113; August, 2001, Blair Christolon, review of Morgan Plays Soccer, p. 158; December, 2002, Susan Marie Pitard, review of What's That Noise?, p. 94; Martha Topol, February, 2003, review of Zara's Hats, p. 116; August, 2003, Helen Foster James, review of Almost Late to School!, p. 152; February, 2004, Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, review of Go to Sleep Groundhog!, p. 104; October, 2004, Sandra Weizenback, review of What's the Matter in Mr. Whisker's Room?, p. 148; October, 2004, Laurie Edwards, review of Mooove Oover!, p. 109; September, 2005, Kara Schaff Dean, review of Letters from Your Big Brother, p. 187; July, 2006, Grac Oliff and Ann Blanche Smith, review of Mr. Ouchy's First Day, p. 79; August, 2007, Susan Moorhead, review of The Three Bears' Halloween, p. 80; June, 2004, Gay Lynn Van Vleck, review of Chip and the Karate Kick, p. 118.