Chambliss, Maxie

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Chambliss, Maxie

Personal

Female. Hobbies and other interests: Sailing.

Addresses

Home and office—Somerville, MA. Agent—Jane Feder Literary Agency, 305 E. 24th St., New York, NY 10010.

Career

Illustrator.

Illustrator

D. Leb Tannenbaum, Baby Talk, Avon (New York, NY), 1981.

Steven Kroll, Bathrooms, Avon (New York, NY), 1982.

Mike Thaler, It's Me, Hippo!, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1983.

Stephanie Calmenson, Ten Furry Monsters, Parents Magazine Press (New York, NY), 1984.

Beverly Keller, When Mother Got the Flu, Coward-McCann (New York, NY), 1984.

Zibby Oneal, Maude and Walter, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1985.

Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, Who's Afraid of Ernestine?, Coward-McCann (New York, NY), 1986.

Mike Thaler, Hippo Lemonade, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1986.

Stephanie Calmenson, The Giggle Book: Favorite Riddles, Parents Magazine Press (New York, NY), 1987.

Stephanie Calmenson, Fido, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1987.

Nancy Evans Cooney, Donald Says Thumbs Down, Putnam (New York, NY), 1987.

Ann McGovern, Eggs on Your Nose, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1987.

Stephanie Calmenson, Where's Rufus?, Parents Magazine Press (New York, NY), 1988.

Harry A. Sutherland, Dad's Car Wash, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1988.

Pat Lowrey Collins, Taking Care of Tucker, Putnam (New York, NY), 1989.

Paul Fehlner, Dog and Cat, Grolier (Danbury, CT), 1989.

Diane Namm, Monsters!, Grolier (Danbury, CT), 1989.

Elizabeth Lee O'Donnell, I Can't Get My Turtle to Move, Morrow (New York, NY), 1989.

Nancy Evans Cooney, Go Away Monsters, Lickety Split!, Putnam (New York, NY), 1990.

Marcia Leonard, Hannah the Hamster Hunter, Silver Press (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), 1990.

Mike Thaler, Mole's New Cap, Early Education (Orlando, FL), 1990.

Jillian Wynot, The Mother's Day Sandwich, Orchard (New York, NY), 1990.

Barbara Ann Porte, Fat Fanny, Beanpole Bertha, and the Boys, Orchard (New York, NY), 1991.

Mike Thaler, Come and Play, Hippo, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1991.

Jamie Gilson, You Cheat!, Bradbury Press (New York, NY), 1992.

Kathryn Hook Berlan, Andrew's Amazing Monsters, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1993.

Katharine Kenah, Eggs over Easy, Dutton (New York, NY), 1993.

Barbara Ann Porte, When Grandma Almost Fell off the Mountain, and Other Stories, Orchard (New York, NY), 1993.

Carol Snyder, One up, One Down, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1994.

Harry A. Sutherland, Dad's Car Wash, Aladdin (New York, NY), 1994.

Ginger Wadsworth, Tomorrow Is Daddy's Birthday, Caroline House (Honesdale, PA), 1994.

Marianne Borgardt, What Do You Do with a Potty, Western (New York, NY), 1994.

Virginia Haviland, Favorite Fairy Tales Told in England, Beech Tree (New York, NY), 1994.

Christine Loomis, We're Going on a Trip, Morrow (New York, NY), 1994.

Barbara Ann Porte, When Aunt Lucy Rode a Mule, and Other Stories, Orchard (New York, NY), 1994.

Joanna Cole, How I Was Adopted: Samantha's Story, Morrow (New York, NY), 1995.

Ellen Jackson, Monsters in My Mailbox, Troll (Mahwah, NJ), 1995.

Angela Shelf Medearis, Here Comes the Snow, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.

Mary Smith, My Teacher Is the Tooth Fairy, Troll (Mahwah, NJ), 1996.

Kathryn Siegler, designer, I'm Going to the Doctor: A Pop-up Book, Ladybird (New York, NY), 1997.

Willabel L. Tong, designer, I'm Going to the Dentist: A Pop-up Book, Ladybird (New York, NY), 1997.

Joanna Cole, I'm a Big Brother, Morrow (New York, NY), 1997.

Joanna Cole, I'm a Big Sister, Morrow (New York, NY), 1997.

Paul Z. Mann, Meet My Monster, Reader's Digest (Pleasantville, NY), 1999.

Joanna Cole, My Big Boy Potty, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

Joanna Cole, My Big Girl Potty, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

Joanna Cole, When Mommy and Daddy Go to Work, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

Joanna Cole, When You Were Inside Mommy, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

Pat Brisson, Hobbledy-Clop, Boyds Mills (Honesdale, PA), 2003.

Joanna Cole, Sharing Is Fun, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2004.

Joanna Cole, My Friend the Doctor, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.

Eve Bunting, Baby Can, Boyds Mills (Honesdale, PA), 2007.

Sidelights

Illustrator Maxie Chambliss has provided artwork for a number of picture books. Known for what a Publishers Weekly contributor described as "wholesome, cheery watercolors" in a review of Chambliss's contribution to Christine Loomis's We're Going on a Trip, the artist has contributed illustrations to tales about monsters, stories of everyday life, and fairy tales. Among her many collaborations are those with writer Joanna Cole, which have resulted in books that help young children understand where they came from, how to prepare for a new sibling, or why potty training is important.

Chambliss uses predominantly watercolor and line illustrations for her work, although she occasionally also in-

corporates muted, soft-edged pastels. She introduces creatures ranging from happy human families to monsters, and she gears her art to be kid-friendly rather than frightening. In her illustrations for Andrew's Amazing Monsters, for example, Chambliss "creatively transforms" the "homespun monsters" in Kathryn Hook Berlan's story "into festive, full-size party-goers," according to a Publishers Weekly contributor. Chambliss also helps keep doctors looking friendly, even when a young character has to get a shot; "Clean line drawings … help create the upbeat tone," wrote Carolyn Phelan in her Booklist review of Chambliss's work for Cole's My Friend the Doctor. In her illustrations for Barbara Anne Porte's When Aunt Lucy Rode a Mule, and Other Stories, the artist's "sprightly watercolors depict a rambunctious family of strong women," wrote a Publishers Weekly critic. Mary Harris Veeder, reviewing the same title in Booklist, deemed Chambliss's images "winning," particularly in "depicting the exuberant faces and bodies" of the main characters, from children to grandparents.

Chambliss's work is often noted for its humor. In her art for Jillian Wynot's The Mother's Day Sandwich, she contributes "pencil and pastel illustrations" that depict the two main characters "in winning, good-humored fashion," according to a Publishers Weekly contributor, while in When Grandma Almost Fell off the Mountain, and Other Stories her "pencil and watercolor illustrations boost the comedy" of Porte's story, according to another Publishers Weekly critic. Writing about the same title, Hanna B. Zeiger wrote in Horn Book that Chambliss's illustrations "add a touch of humor to this delightful reminiscence."

In her work with Cole and others, Chambliss incorporates images of loving families as a way of reassuring young children. In One up, One Down, Carol Snyder's story about a big sister helping her parents in caring for twins, her "illustrations express the affection of the family," according to Booklist contributor Hazel Rochman. "Chambliss' sweet illustrations add warmth" to Cole's How I Was Adopted: Samantha's Story, concluded Booklist contributor Stephanie Zvirin. A Publishers Weekly critic wrote of the same book that the "exuberant watercolors … sustain a friendly and positive mood throughout." I'm a Big Sister and I'm a Big Brother, both with a text by Cole, both feature images that "glow with playfulness and warmth," according to Booklist critic Carolyn Phelan. Writing in the same periodical, Kathy Broderick noted that "Chambliss's watercolor illustrations" for Cole's My Big Girl Potty "show smiles all around." In another Cole-Chambliss collaboration, When Mommy and Daddy Go to Work, "the [artist's] delicately toned illustrations complement this soothing story," in the opinion of School Library Journal contributor Marilyn Ackerman. "The gentle colors and benevolent portrayals of characters help create a reassuring tone," wrote Phelan of the same title. For Eve Bunting's book about sibling rivalry, Baby Can, "Chambliss's charming watercolors showcase Baby James's development," wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor.

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 1, 1994, Mary Harris Veeder, review of When Aunt Lucy Rode a Mule, and Other Stories, p. 54; June 1, 1995, Hazel Rochman, review of One up, One Down, p. 1789; August, 1995, Stephanie Zvirin, review of How I Was Adopted: Samantha's Story, p. 1955; August, 1996, Ilene Cooper, review of Here Comes the Snow, p. 1910; March 1, 1997, Carolyn Phelan, review of I'm a Big Sister and I'm a Big Brother, p. 1170; December 15, 1997, Ilene Cooper, review of I'm Going to the Doctor: A Pop-up Book, p. 700; February 1, 2001, Kathy Broderick, review of My Big Girl Potty, p. 1055; August, 2001, Carolyn Phelan, review of When Mommy and Daddy Go to Work and When You Were Inside Mommy, p. 2124; January, 2005, Carolyn Phelan, review of My Friend the Doctor, p. 1929; February 15, 2007, Julie Cummins, review of Baby Can, p. 82.

Horn Book, May-June, 1993, Hanna B. Zeiger, review of When Grandma Almost Fell off the Mountain, and Other Stories, p. 330.

Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2003, review of Hobbledy-Clop, p. 459; December 15, 2006, review of Baby Can, p. 1265.

Publishers Weekly, March 16, 1990, review of The Mother's Day Sandwich, p. 68; March 22, 1991, review of Fat Fanny, Beanpole Bertha, and the Boys, p. 80; March 8, 1993, review of when Grandma Almost Fell off the Mountain, and Other Stories, p. 77; March 29, 1993, review of Andrew's Amazing Monsters, p. 54; February 14, 1994, review of We're Going on a Trip, p. 88; August 1, 1994, review of When Aunt Lucy Rode a Mule, and Other Stories, p. 79; October 2, 1995, review of How I Was Adopted, p. 74; October 2, 2000, review of Me, Me, Me, p. 83.

School Library Journal, November, 2000, Jane Marino, review of My Big Boy Potty, p. 112; November, 2001, Marilyn Ackerman, review of When Mommy and Daddy Go to Work, p. 113; December, 2001, Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, review of When You Were Inside Mommy, p. 97; February, 2003, Marlene Gawron, review of Hobbledy-Clop, p. 102; August, 2004, Rachel G. Payne, review of Sharing Is Fun, p. 85; September, 2005, Laurel L. Iakovakis, review of My Friend the Doctor, p. 167; May, 2007, Martha Topol, review of Baby Can, p. 86.

ONLINE

Boyds Mills Press Web site,http://www.boydsmillspress.com/ (December 19, 2007), "Maxie Chambliss."

HarperCollins Web site,http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/ (December 19, 2007), profile of Chambliss.

Jane Feder Literary Agency Web site,http://www.janefeder.com/ (December 19, 2007), "Maxie Chambliss."

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