San Souci, Daniel 1948-

Personal

Born October 10, 1948, in San Francisco, CA; married; wife's name Loretta (a children's librarian); children: Yvette, Justin, Noelle. Education: Attended California College of Arts and Crafts.

Addresses

Home and office—Oakland, CA. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Children's book illustrator and author.

Awards, Honors

New York Times Best Illustrated Book designation, 1978, for The Legend of Scarface; Western Writers Award, 1985, for Trapped in the Sliprock Canyon by Gloria Skurzynski; Gold Medallion, 1986, for Potter, Come Fly to the First of the Earth by Walter Wangerin; Aesop Accolade List, American Folklore Society, 1995, for The Gifts of Wali Dad.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

North Country Night, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1990.

Country Road, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1993.

The Dangerous Snake and Reptile Club, Tricycle Press (Berkeley, CA), 2004.

Space Station Mars, Tricycle Press (Berkeley, CA), 2005.

The Amazing Ghost Detectives, Tricycle Press (Berkeley, CA), 2006.

The Mighty Pigeon Club, Tricycle Press (Berkeley, CA), 2007.

ILLUSTRATOR

Robert D. San Souci, The Legend of Scarface: A Blackfeet Indian Tale, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1978.

Robert D. San Souci, Son of Sedna, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1981.

Robert D. San Souci, The Brave Little Tailor, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1982.

Phyllis Root, Hidden Places, Raintree, 1983.

White Deer of Autumn, Ceremony—In the Circle of Life, Raintree, 1983.

Gloria Skurzynski, Trapped in the Sliprock Canyon, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1984.

Morell Gipson, reteller, Rip Van Winkle, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1984.

The Bedtime Book, J. Messner, 1985.

Walter Wangerin, Potter, Come Fly to the First of the Earth, Chariot Books, 1985.

Freya Littledale, adaptor, The Little Mermaid, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1986.

The Mother Goose Book, Little Simon (New York, NY), 1986.

Robert D. San Souci, reteller, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1986.

Lilian Moore, reteller, The Ugly Duckling, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1987.

Diane Arico, compiler and editor, A Season of Joy: Favorite Stories and Poems for Christmas, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1987.

Josepha Sherman, Vassilisa the Wise: A Tale of Medieval Russia, Harcourt Brace (New York, NY), 1988.

Robert D. San Souci, The Six Swans, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1988.

Diane Arico, compiler and editor, Easter Treasures: Favorite Stories and Poems for the Season, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1989.

Robert D. San Souci, The Christmas Ark, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1991.

Robert D. San Souci, Feathertop: Based on a Tale by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1992.

Margaret Hodges, reteller, The Golden Deer, Charles Scribner's Sons (New York, NY), 1992.

Josephine Haskell, A Possible Tree, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1993.

William O. Douglas, Muir of the Mountains, Sierra Club Books for Children, 1994.

Robert D. San Souci, Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story, Delacorte (New York, NY), 1994.

Aaron Shepard, reteller, The Gifts of Wali Dad: A Tale of India and Pakistan, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1995.

David F. Birchman, Jigsaw Jackson, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (New York, NY), 1996.

Jonathan London, Red Wolf Country, Dutton (New York, NY), 1996.

Robert D. San Souci, Young Merlin, Dell (New York, NY), 1996.

Barbara Mitchell, Waterman's Child, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (New York, NY), 1997.

Jonathan London, Ice Bear and Little Fox, Dutton (New York, NY), 1998.

Caroline Stutson, Cowpokes, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (New York, NY), 1999.

Martha Bennett Stiles, Island Magic, Atheneum Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1999.

Jonathan London, Mustang Canyon, Dutton (New York, NY), 2000.

Eric A. Kimmel, Montezuma and the Fall of the Aztecs, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2000.

Steven P. Medley, Antelope, Bison, Cougar: A National Park Wildlife Alphabet Book, Yosemite Press, 2001.

Sharon Davis, The Adventure of Capitol Kitty, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2002.

Jean Craighead George, Frightful's Daughter, Dutton (New York, NY), 2002.

Eric A. Kimmel, The Flying Canoe = La Chasse-Galleiorie: A Christmas Story, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2003.

Robert D. San Souci, Sister Tricksters: Rollicking Tales of Clever Females, August House Little Folk (Atlanta, GA), 2006.

Jean Craighead George, Frightful's Daughter Meets the Baron Weasel, Dutton (New York, NY), 2007.

Robert D. San Souci, reteller, As Luck Would Have It: From the Brothers Grimm, August House Little Folk (Atlanta, GA), 2008.

OTHER

(Reteller) In the Moonlight Mist: A Korean Tale, illustrated by Eujin Kim Neilan, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 1999.

(Reteller) The Rabbit and the Dragon King: Based on a Korean Tale, illustrated by Eujin Kim Neilan, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2002.

Sidelights

Daniel San Souci is a highly regarded children's book illustrator as well as the author of several self-illustrated stories. Frequently praised for the realistic yet expressive water-color paintings depicting the natural world that he has created for such books as Steven P. Medley's Antelope, Bison, Cougar: A National Park Wildlife Alphabet Book, San Souci has also garnered positive critical attention for his comical rendering of characters in books such as Feathertop: Based on a Tale by Nathaniel Hawthorne, an adaptation by brother Robert D. San Souci, and The Gifts of Wali Dad: A Tale of India and Pakistan, a story by author Aaron Shepard. Other books featuring San Souci's artwork include Josepha Sherman's Vassilisa the Wise, Jonathan London's Mustang Canyon, and Jean Craighead George's Frightful's Daughter.

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In Vassilisa the Wise, a folktale set in medieval Russia, a beautiful and clever woman tricks the evil Prince Vladimir into releasing her husband from prison. A Publishers Weekly reviewer remarked on the book's "stately watercolors, rich in costume and architectural detail," while Mary M. Burns wrote in Horn Book that San Souci's illustrations are "elegant and dynamic, large and authoritative, and reflect the drama and the setting" of Sherman's story. San Souci's watercolor illustrations for Josephine Haskell Aldridge's story A Possible Tree were also praised by reviewers. The book presents a number of animals that have been driven away from a farm as pests. Each in turn is drawn to a particular fir tree where they all nest peacefully together throughout the winter. A Possible Tree is "a small story made large by well-written prose and exquisite art," remarked Jane Marino in School Library Journal.

The Gifts of Wali Dad a traditional tale retold by Shepard, is the story of a man whose natural frugality results in his accumulation of some wealth, with which he buys a gold bracelet that he sends to the most noble lady that can be found. She sends a gift back in return, which Wali Dad then sends off to the noblest man. This exchange leads to the eventual marriage of the two gift recipients and Wali Dad's happy return to his simple life as a grass-cutter. San Souci's "illustrations convey an atmosphere of radiating generosity," remarked Mary Harris Veeder in her Booklist review of the work, and School Library Journal critic Marilyn Taniguchi cited The Gifts of Wali Dad for illustrations "full of interesting details … [that] … support and enlarge upon the text."

Working with London, San Souci has also produced art for Red Wolf Country, Ice Bear and Little Fox, and Mustang Canyon. Red Wolf Country relates the experiences of two wolves searching for shelter before giving birth to a litter of cubs. "Breathtaking paintings and a dramatic text make this wildlife adventure a real stand- out," enthused Joy Fleishhacker in a School Library Journal review of the book. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that San Souci's "elegant" pictures combine with London's text to produce "perhaps the most compatible collaboration yet." Also widely lauded, Mustang Canyon focuses on a herd of wild horses that runs wild through the American desert. San Souci's images "bring … children close to the wild herd and the blistering desert heat," noted Booklist contributor Gillian Engberg, and in School Library Journal Ruth Semrau maintained that the artist's illustrations "capture the joy of the running horses in their desert setting.

San Souci's work for David F. Birchman's Jigsaw Jackson results in a lighthearted picture book about a farmer who goes on the road to exhibit his jigsaw-solving prowess one winter. The man finds fame and fortune, but eventually misses his animals and returns home. "Birchman relates the story with gusto, its gleeful excesses mirrored in San Souci's merry watercolors," remarked a reviewer for Publishers Weekly. In School Library Journal, Christina Linz commented on the author's "hilarious scenarios," adding that "there's just enough fantasy blended with realism to create some pretty hysterical pictures."

Frightful's Daughter, a story by Newbery Award-winning writer George, is a picture-book sequel to George's highly popular novel My Side of the Mountain, about a boy named Sam and a peregrine falcon he calls Frightful. In the story, set in the Catskills, Frighful's chick, Oksi, grows up with an independent spirit that makes both Frightful and Sam concerned for her safety. "As always, San Souci's … well-researched, detailed paintings add greatly to the story," wrote a Kirkus Reviews writer, and in Booklist Julie Cummins praised the "gorgeous panoramic, aerial scenes" which "will lure children." In Frightful's Daughter Meets the Baron Weasel George continues her story about the adventures of Sam, Frightful, and Oksi. Now the mother of chicks of her own, Oksi is as brave as ever, even when her nest is besieged by a local weasel with his own family to feed. San Souci sets the wilderness tale amid what Booklist critic John Peters described as "verdant, open forest landscapes," and a Kirkus Reviews writer concluded that the book's "realistic watercolors capture the luminous grandeur" of the story's upstate New York setting.

Many of San Souci's illustration projects are collaborations with his brother, author Robert D. San Souci. In Feathertop, their adaptation of a tale by noted eighteenth-century writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mother Rigby, the town witch, turns her scarecrow into a handsome young man and sends him off to court the judge's daughter as a trick. The trick backfires however, when the scarecrow and the girl fall in love, and the girl must try to convince Mother Rigby to make the transformation permanent. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that Robert San Souci takes constructive liberties with the original tale, and brother Daniel San Souci "effectively capture the garb and architectural details of mid-eighteenth-century New England." The pictures add "brilliant colors and lively action" to the "smoothly flowing oral quality" of the text, according to Shirley Wilton in School Library Journal.

Other collaborations by the San Souci brothers include Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story, in which the kindness of good-hearted Sootface wins for her the love of a great invisible warrior. Vanessa Elder, writing in School Library Journal, appreciated the book's "lively" text and "full-page watercolors [that] dramatically convey the natural woodland setting" as well as the personalities of individual characters. Booklist contributor Carolyn Phelan observed that although the story has

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been adapted many times, the San Soucis' version is "a satisfying picture book for reading aloud or alone" that could contribute to classroom projects on Native American folklore. In As Luck Would Have It, the San Soucis retell the Brothers Grimm's tale "Clever Elsie," and Daniel's illustrations "contribute to the quaint feel of this effort," according a Kirkus Reviews writer.

Among San Souci's original books are several self-illustrated stories as well as retellings such as The Rabbit and the Dragon King: Based on a Korean Folk Tale, which features artwork by Eujin Kim Neilan. The picture book Country Road tells a quiet, contemplative story about a boy's walk through the country with his father. The book features the author/illustrator's "lavish double-page spreads done in realistic watercolors that highlight the animals" father and son encounter on their walk, remarked Valerie Lennox in School Library Journal. Noting the minimal text, Hazel Rochman noted in Booklist that this may well be San Souci's message to the young reader: pay attention to the visual details of the natural world that the artist captures in his detailed paintings.

Other original texts include The Dangerous Snake and Reptile Club, Space Station Mars, The Amazing Ghost Detectives, and The Mighty Pigeon Club, a series of stories about three brothers—Bobby, Mike, and Danny—and their adventures growing up in California. Interestingly, the books were inspired by the author/illustrator's memories of growing up with his two real-life brothers. Featuring cartoon art, Space Station Mars "captures the wonderful time in children's lives when the line between reality and imagination is blurred," in the words of School Library Journal critic Donna Cardon. Featuring details that set the book in a comforting past, The Amazing Ghost Detectives was dubbed a "whimsical tale [that] has great child appeal,"according to School Library Journal critic Daniellle Nicole Du Puis.

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 1, 1993, Hazel Rochman, review of Country Road, p. 354; October 15, 1994, Carolyn Phelan, review of Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story, p. 433; May 1, 1995, Mary Harris Veeder, review of The Gifts of Wali Dad: A Tale of India and Pakistan, p. 1578; January 1, 1996, Hazel Rochman, review of Red Wolf Country, p. 84; February 1, 2000, Ilene Cooper, review of Island Magic, p. 1030; December 15, 2001, Carolyn Phelan, review of Antelope, Bison, Cougar: A National Park Wildlife Alphabet Book, p. 729; September 1, 2002, Julie Cummins, review of Frightful's Daughter, p. 136; December 1, 2002, Gillian Engberg, review of Mustang Canyon, p. 675; September 1, 2007, John Peters, review of Frightful's Daughter Meets the Baron Weasel, p. 114, and Ilene Cooper, review of The Mighty Pigeon Club, p. 127.

Horn Book, July, 1988, Mary M. Burns, review of Vassilisa the Wise, p. 507.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2002, review of Mustang Canyon, p. 1136; August 15, 2002, review of Frightful's Daughter, p. 1223; September 15, 2002, review of The Rabbit and the Dragon King, p. 1399; September 15, 2006, review of Sister Tricksters: Rollicking Tales of Clever Females, p. 966; September 1, 2007, review of Frightful's Daughter Meets the Baron Weasel; September 15, 2007, review of The Mighty Pigeon Club; August 15, 2008, review of As Luck Would Have It.

Publishers Weekly, May 13, 1988, review of Vassilisa the Wise, p. 374; November 12, 1992, review of Feathertop, p. 70; April 15, 1996, review of Jigsaw Jackson, p. 68; January 1, 1996, review of Red Wolf Country, p. 70.

School Library Journal, December, 1992, Shirley Wilton, review of Feathertop, p. 90; October, 1993, Jane Marino, review of A Possible Tree, p. 41; March, 1994, Valerie Lennox, review of Country Road, p. 208; November, 1994, Vanessa Elder, review of Sootface, p. 101; August, 1995, Marilyn Taniguchi, review of The Gifts of Wali Dad, p. 138; March, 1996, Joy Fleishhacker, review of Red Wolf Country, p. 178; July, 1996, Christina Linz, review of Jigsaw Jackson, p. 56; October, 2001, Steven Englelfried, review of Antelope, Bison, Cougar, p. 144; September, 2002, Margaret Bush, review of Frightful's Daughter, p. 192; November, 2002, Margaret Bush, review of The Rabbit and the Dragon King, p. 148; August, 2003, Ruth Semrau, review of Mustang Canyon, p. 138; December, 2004, Deborah Rothaug, review of The Dangerous Snake and Reptile Club, p. 120; October, 2005, Donna Cardon, review of Space Station Mars, p. 128; September, 2006, Kirsten Cutler, review of Sister Tricksters, p. 196; April, 2007, Danielle Nicole Du Puis, review of The Amazing Ghost Detectives, p. 115.

ONLINE

Daniel San Souci Home Page,http://www.danielsansouci.com (August 5, 2008).