JIM!: Six True Stories about One Great Artist: James Marshall

by Jerrold Connors, Jerrold Connors (Illustrator)

Overview

A picture book biography of the late, great James Marshall—illustrator of Miss Nelson is Missing and the George and Martha series—and as clever, delightful, and daring as Jim himself

Author and illustrator James Marshall let kids in on the joke. He knew little kids were smart, and he didn't talk down to them in his stories. He was right—kids loved his picture books. Decades after his death, the characters he illustrated—Miss Nelson, Viola Swamp, George and Martha, Goldilocks, Fox and His Friends—are still beloved. James Marshall should be at least as famous as his characters, and now he is, in his own picture book biography. Created in an irreverent style inspired by James Marshall's own art and storytelling, this delightful biography, featuring James as a fox, celebrates in both form and content what made James—“Jim” to his friends—so talented, funny, and special, and what has made his tales last. This time, Jim is the main character.

“Funny and filled with [insights.]” —Booklist, starred review
“A better bio of Jim could hardly exist.” —Kirkus, starred review
“Poignantly, comically human.” —Publishers Weekly
“Extraordinarily tender and clever.” —BCCB, starred review
“Full of heart and humor . . . Wonderful.” —SLJ, starred review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593859353
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/20/2025
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	80
File size:	22 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jerrold Connors was born in the United States, raised in Indonesia and Canada, and currently makes his home in the Bay Area in Northern California. He has taught STEAM in elementary schools, has made games for websites like PBSkids.org and Noggin.com, and interactive exhibits for museums like The Lawrence Hall of Science and the Children’s Creativity Museum. Jerrold has had an illustration featured in The New Yorker and was the 2017 James Marshall Fellow at the University of Connecticut. Most recently, he’s been livestreaming on YouTube, where he connects with young creators around the world. Jim! is his debut picture book with a major publisher.

Editorial Reviews

★ “Funny and filled with [insights.] Smart kids (and adults) love James Marshall, and they will love this biography.” —Booklist (starred review)

★ “Extraordinarily tender and clever . . . This tribute will absolutely send listeners in search of [James Marshall’s] works. [A rich] homage to Marshall, who always knew that picture books were so much more than cute things for children.” —BCCB (starred review)

★ “Charming, funny, strange, and sad. A better bio of Jim could hardly exist.” —Kirkus (starred review)

★ “Connors honors the wit and humor of Marshall’s art and storytelling . . . A wonderful tribute to the creator of characters and stories that are still loved today.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

“Poignantly, comically human—just like the beloved characters he created and the generations of readers who have embraced his stories.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 2025-01-18
Beloved children’s book creator James Marshall receives his due.

How well do today’s kids know Marshall’s work? If their knowledge is insufficient, then Connors aims to rectify the situation! Similar to one of Marshall’s George and Martha books, this volume is divided into six short stories. Connors encapsulates the life and work of Marshall, referred to here as James or Jim—his path to publication, his school visits, and his death from AIDS in 1992. The major players in Jim’s life are depicted as Marshall-esque animals: Jim is a fox, his friends and fellow authors Maurice Sendak and Arnold Lobel are a bulldog and a pig (respectively), and Jim’s longtime romantic partner, Billy, is a cat. With its witty invented dialogue, the book falls squarely into the “informational fiction” category of biography, reminding readers that the greatest truths are often told through the eyes of fiction. Connors knows his subject well, each tale highlighting a universal truth through the lens of Marshall’s life; the final chapter, which finds Jim in the hospital surrounded by loved ones, brings this rich and affectionate tribute to a conclusion that's simultaneously uplifting and heartbreaking as Jim muses on his legacy. The book is rife with Marshall in-jokes (delightful touches include the alternate names for Viola Swamp fromMiss Nelson Is Missing!), and Connors’ animated, thick-lined cartoon illustrations are reminiscent of Marshall’s own.

Charming, funny, strange, and sad. A better bio of Jim could hardly exist. (timeline)(Picture-book biography. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews