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Bruce Degen

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Bruce Degen
Degen at the Mazza Museum 2012 conference
Born (1945-06-14) June 14, 1945 (age 79)
Brooklyn, New York, USA
NationalityAmerican
Education• Art Major, LaGuardia High School
• Bachelor of Fine Arts, Cooper Union
• Masters of Fine Arts, Pratt Institute
Known forIllustrator
Notable workJamberry, The Magic School Bus series, Jesse Bear series, Commander Toad series, Daddy is a Doodlebug, Shirley's Wonderful Baby.
SpouseChristine
Children2

Bruce Degen (born June 14, 1945) is an American illustrator and writer with over forty children's books to his credit.[1]

He may be known best for illustrating the series The Magic School Bus written by Joanna Cole. He has collaborated with writers Nancy White Carlstrom, on the Jesse Bear books, and Jane Yolen, on the Commander Toad series. Degen has authored Jamberry, Daddy Is a Doodlebug, and Shirley's Wonderful Baby.

He was encouraged by an elementary school teacher to become an illustrator, and pursue his primary love for art found in children’s books. Humor is one of his key values, as expressed by a quote comparing children's illustration to traditional fine arts: "You don't see many people walking around a gallery are chuckling. And I realized that I wanted a chuckle."[2]

His career has included such diverse activities as advertising design, teaching art to students, teaching children's book illustration to adults, painting scenery for opera productions, and running a lithography studio in Israel. Degen lives in Connecticut.

Childhood

He was born in 1945 and raised in Brooklyn. His youth was marked by the contrast between urban New York City with the summertimes he spent in rural upstate New York, where he would pick wild berries. He credits these experiences as the inspiration for his book, Jamberry.

"It was green. It was soft. You could walk around in bare feet, and we used to go out and pick lots of berries that grew wild. I always thought of the world as being particularly generous and joyful. And when I was searching my memories, trying to write a book for very young children about being joyful, that popped right up."[2]

Education

Degen attended elementary school in Brooklyn, New York, and went on to attend art schools in Manhattan, including LaGuardia High School and Cooper Union for his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.[3] He then attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn where he obtained a Masters of Fine Arts degree with a major in printmaking and a minor in painting.[1][2][4]

Beach Channel High School

Before creating the Magic School Bus series, he taught art and other subjects at Beach Channel High School in the Rockaway Park, Queens section of New York City, Edward R Murrow HS and at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn.[citation needed].

Family

Degen lives in Connecticut with his wife, Christine Degen,[5] and their two sons, Benjamin and Alexander[6] Benjamin Degen is a painter. Alex Degen writes and illustrates comic books.

Patronage

Bruce and Christine Degen contribute "Gifts to the Garden" for the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.[7][8]

They sit as appointed members of the Newtown, Connecticut, Hattertown Historic District Commission.[9][10]

Selected bibliography

Bruce Degen poses in front of two pieces of his original artwork that are on display in the Mazza Museum.
  • Aunt Possum and the Pumpkin Man (1977)
  • A Big Day for Scepters (written by Stephen Krensky) (1977)
  • Ig Lives in a Cave (written by Carol Chapman) (1979)
  • Brimhall Turns to Magic (written by Judy Delton) (1979)
  • Mr. Jameson and Mr. Phillips (written by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat) (1979)
  • Commander Toad series (written by Jane Yolen) (1980-1997)
  • My Mother Didn't Kiss Me Good-Night (written by Charlotte Herman) (1980)
  • The Little Witch and the Riddle (1980)
  • Little Chick's Big Day (written by Mary DeBall Kwitz) (1981)
  • Dandelion Hill (written by Clyde Robert Bulla) (1982)
  • Upchuck Summer (written by Joel L. Schwartz) (1982)
  • Jamberry (1983)
  • Little Chick's Breakfast (written by Mary DeBall Kwitz) (1983)
  • Daddy's Coming Home! (written by Lyn Littlefield Hoopes) (1984)
  • Lonely Lula Cat (written by Joseph Slate) (1985)
  • Grandpa Bear (written by Bonnie Pryor) (1985)
  • Best Friends Don't Come in Threes (written by Joel L. Schwartz) (1985)
  • Jesse Bear series (written by Nancy White Carlstrom) (1986-2012)
  • The Josefina Story Quilt (written by Eleanor Coerr) (1986)
  • The Good-Luck Pencil (written by Diane Stanley) (1986)
  • Grandpa Bear's Christmas (written by Bonnie Pryor) (1986)
  • The Magic School Bus series (written by Joanna Cole) (1986–2020)
  • The Forgetful Bears Meet Mr. Memory (written by Larry Weinberg) (1987)
  • If You Were a Writer (written by Joan Lowery Nixon) (1988)
  • Tim Kitten and the Red Cupboard (written by Jan Wahl) (1988)
  • The Forgetful Bears Help Santa (written by Larry Weinberg) (1988)
  • Lion and Lamb (written by William H. Hooks and Barbara Brenner) (1989)
  • Dinosaur Dances (written by Jane Yolen) (1990)
  • Lion and Lamb Step Out (written by William H. Hooks and Barbara Brenner) (1990)
  • Teddy Bear Towers (1991)
  • Goblin Walk (written by Tony Johnston) (1991)
  • Ups and Downs with Lion and Lamb (written by William H. Hooks and Barbara Brenner) (1991)
  • Little Chick's Friend, Duckling (written by Mary DeBall Kwitz) (1992)
  • Mouse's Birthday (written by Jane Yolen) (1993)
  • A Beautiful Feast for a Big King Cat (written by John Archambault) (1994)
  • Will You Give Me a Dream? (written by Joan Lowery Nixon) (1994)
  • Sailaway Home (1996)
  • Shirley's Wonderful Baby (written by Valiska Gregory) (1999)
  • Daddy Is a Doodlebug (2000) ISBN 0-06-443578-4
  • I Gotta Draw (2012)
  • I Said, "Bed!" (2014)
  • Snow Joke (2014)
  • Nate Likes to Skate (2016)

References

  1. ^ a b "Bruce Degen, Biography". WeRead.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  2. ^ a b c "Reading Rockets: Transcript from an interview with Bruce Degen". ReadingRockets.org. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  3. ^ "Teachers: Bruce Degen, Biography". Scholastic, Inc. Archived from the original on 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  4. ^ "Bruce Degen, Illustrator of "The Magic School Bus" and More". TheCartoonists.ca. 2006-11-17. Retrieved 2008-10-29. [dead link]
  5. ^ "Author: Bruce Degen, Biography". HarperCollins. Archived from the original on 2009-01-08. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  6. ^ "Bruce Degen". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
  7. ^ "Brooklyn Botanic Garden 2006 Annual Report". Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Archived from the original on 2008-05-31. Retrieved 2008-10-29.,
  8. ^ "Brooklyn Botanic Garden 2007 Annual Report". Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  9. ^ "Town Government". The Newtown Bee. Archived from the original on 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  10. ^ "Hattertown Historic District Commission". Archived from the original on 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
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