James Mayhew
Encyclopedia
James John Mayhew is a well-known English
illustrator and author of children's books.
Brought up in Blundeston
, Suffolk
, on leaving school Mayhew studied art at Lowestoft School of Art from 1982 to 1984, and then illustration at Maidstone College of Art
, graduating BA
in 1987 with first class honours. He has illustrated over 50 books including 20 titles of which he is also the author.
His first published work was "Katie's Picture Show" (1989), beginning a long running series about a girl who explores famous paintings by climbing inside them. Many of his books have a cultural agenda - either art, ballet, opera or literature.
In 1994 he received The New York Times
Award for one of the ten best illustrated books of the year for The Boy and the Cloth of Dreams, written by Jenny Koralek. Mayhew's books have been published all over the world, including Japan
, China
, Korea
, Germany
, France
, Greece
, Estonia
, Spain
, Scandinavia
and America
. He has exhibited his work in Hertfordshire
, Cambridge
, London
, Paris
and New York
.http://www.wattspub.co.uk/jmayhob.htm
He is also the illustrator of the Mouse and Mole books, animated for television in the 1990s, with the voices of Alan Bennett
and Richard Briers
.
Having a great interest in Russian opera
, Mayhew has illustrated a number of programmes for the Kirov Opera
in St Petersburg, and in 1998 was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera
in New York
to design a series of tee-shirts for the Kirov's season there. Also a storyteller, he has devised and performed in concerts for children, incorporating live music, narration and live illustration, including "Peter and the Wolf","The Firebird" and "Pictures at an Exhibition". He has also participated in promenade performances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
. Mayhew also teaches Children's Book Illustration to M.A. students at Anglia Ruskin University
, and has taught on courses at the Arvon Foundation.http://www.wattspub.co.uk/jmayhob.htm
Mayhew lives in Letchworth Garden City in Hertfordshire
with his wife and son.
Katie and the Bathers
Katie and the Dinosaurs
Katie and the Mona Lisa
Katie and the Sunflowers
Katie in London
Katie Meets the Impressionists
Katie's Picture Show
Katie and the Spanish Princess
Katie and the British Artists
Who Wants a Dragon? (Illustrated by Lindsey Gardiner)
Koshka's Tales - stories from Russia
Ella Bella Ballerina and The sleeping Beauty
Madame Nightingale Will Sing Tonight
Dare You!
Miranda the Explorer
Miranda the Castaway
BOY
The Knight who Took All Day
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream (Shakespeare)
Shakespeare's stories (retold by Beverely Birch)
Barefoot Book of Stories from the Opera (retold by Shahrukh Husein)
Shakespeare's Story Book - Folk Tales that inspired the Bard (retold by Patrick Ryan)
Pinocchio (retold by Josephine Poole)
Mouse And Mole (by Joyce Dunbar)
Mouse And Mole have a Party (by Joyce Dunbar)
A very special Mouse And Mole (by Joyce Dunbar)
Happy Days for Mouse And Mole (Joyce Dunbar)
The Boy And The Cloth Of Dreams (by Jenny Koralek)
Tales of Ghostly Ghouls and Haunting Horrors (Written by Martin Waddell)
Boneless and the Tinker
Death and the Neighbours
Gallows Hill
Soft Butler's Ghost
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
illustrator and author of children's books.
Brought up in Blundeston
Blundeston
Blundeston is a village and civil parish in the Waveney district of Suffolk, England. It is about inland, and between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, on leaving school Mayhew studied art at Lowestoft School of Art from 1982 to 1984, and then illustration at Maidstone College of Art
Kent Institute of Art & Design
The Kent Institute of Art & Design was an art school based across three campuses in the county of Kent, in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the amalgamation of three independent colleges: Canterbury College of Art, Maidstone College of Art and Rochester College of Art...
, graduating BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1987 with first class honours. He has illustrated over 50 books including 20 titles of which he is also the author.
His first published work was "Katie's Picture Show" (1989), beginning a long running series about a girl who explores famous paintings by climbing inside them. Many of his books have a cultural agenda - either art, ballet, opera or literature.
In 1994 he received The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Award for one of the ten best illustrated books of the year for The Boy and the Cloth of Dreams, written by Jenny Koralek. Mayhew's books have been published all over the world, including Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He has exhibited his work in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.http://www.wattspub.co.uk/jmayhob.htm
He is also the illustrator of the Mouse and Mole books, animated for television in the 1990s, with the voices of Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
and Richard Briers
Richard Briers
Richard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
.
Having a great interest in Russian opera
Russian opera
Russian opera is the art of opera in Russia. Operas by composers of Russian origin, written or staged outside of Russia, also belong to this category, as well as the operas of foreign composers written or intended for the Russian scene. These are not only Russian-language operas...
, Mayhew has illustrated a number of programmes for the Kirov Opera
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...
in St Petersburg, and in 1998 was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to design a series of tee-shirts for the Kirov's season there. Also a storyteller, he has devised and performed in concerts for children, incorporating live music, narration and live illustration, including "Peter and the Wolf","The Firebird" and "Pictures at an Exhibition". He has also participated in promenade performances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
. Mayhew also teaches Children's Book Illustration to M.A. students at Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University is one of the largest universities in Eastern England, United Kingdom, with a total student population of around 30,000.-History:...
, and has taught on courses at the Arvon Foundation.http://www.wattspub.co.uk/jmayhob.htm
Mayhew lives in Letchworth Garden City in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
with his wife and son.
Books written or illustrated by Mayhew include
Katie and the Dinosaurs
Katie and the Mona Lisa
Katie and the Sunflowers
Katie in London
Katie Meets the Impressionists
Katie's Picture Show
Katie and the Spanish Princess
Katie and the British Artists
Who Wants a Dragon? (Illustrated by Lindsey Gardiner)
Koshka's Tales - stories from Russia
Ella Bella Ballerina and The sleeping Beauty
Madame Nightingale Will Sing Tonight
Dare You!
Miranda the Explorer
Miranda the Castaway
BOY
The Knight who Took All Day
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream (Shakespeare)
Shakespeare's stories (retold by Beverely Birch)
Barefoot Book of Stories from the Opera (retold by Shahrukh Husein)
Shakespeare's Story Book - Folk Tales that inspired the Bard (retold by Patrick Ryan)
Pinocchio (retold by Josephine Poole)
Mouse And Mole (by Joyce Dunbar)
Mouse And Mole have a Party (by Joyce Dunbar)
A very special Mouse And Mole (by Joyce Dunbar)
Happy Days for Mouse And Mole (Joyce Dunbar)
The Boy And The Cloth Of Dreams (by Jenny Koralek)
Tales of Ghostly Ghouls and Haunting Horrors (Written by Martin Waddell)
Boneless and the Tinker
Death and the Neighbours
Gallows Hill
Soft Butler's Ghost
External references
James Mayhew's blog- http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/articles/2005/01/28/james_mayhew_interview_feature.shtmlMayhew on the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
website] - Mayhew on the Biography website
- Mayhew on the Scholastic website