Tilley, Debbie

Personal

Children: one daughter.

Addresses

Home and office—Escondido, CA. Agent—Salzman International, 1751 Charles Ave., Arcata, CA 95521.

Career

Illustrator.

Illustrator

Marc Gellman, God's Mailbox: More Stories about Stories in the Bible, Morrow Junior Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Mavis Jukes, It's a Girl Thing: How to Stay Healthy, Safe, and in Charge, Alfred Knopf (New York, NY), 1996.

Patrick J. Lewis, Riddle-icious, Alfred Knopf (New York, NY), 1996.

Marc Gellman, Always Wear Clean Underwear!: and Other Ways Parents Say "I Love You," Morrow Junior Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Marilyn Burns, Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!: A Mathematical Story, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

Nancy Holyoke, Oops!: The Manners Guide for Girls, Pleasant Co. Publications (Middleton, WI), 1997.

Dennis Lee, Dinosaur Dinner (with a Slice of Alligator Pie) (poems), Alfred Knopf (New York, NY), 1997.

Pamela Jane, Take a Bow, Winky Blue!, Mondo (Greenvale, NY), 1998.

Mavis Jukes, Growing Up: It's a Girl Thing: Stright Talk about First Bras, First Periods, and Your Changing Body, Alfred Knopf (New York, NY), 1998.

Phillip M. Hoose, Hey Little Ant, Tricycle Press (Berkeley, CA), 1998.

Patrick J. Lewis, Riddle-Lightful: Oodles of Little Riddle-Poems, Alfred Knopf (New York, NY), 1998.

Laura Allen, The Quiz Book: Clues to You and Your Friends, Too!, Pleasant Company Publications (Middleton, WI), 1999.

Pamela Jane, Winky Blue Forever, Mondo (Greenvale, NY), 1999.

Pamela Jane, Right On, Winky Blue!, Mondo (Greenvale, NY), 1999.

Lee Harris, Never Let Your Cat Make Lunch for You, Tricycle Press (Berkeley, CA), 1999.

Marc Gellman, Lost and Found: A Kid's Book for Living through Loss, Morrow Junior Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Brenda Shannon Yee, Hide and Seek, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Suzanne C. Johnson, Fribbity Ribbit!, Alfred Knopf (New York, NY), 2001.

Laurie Miller Hornik, The Secrets of Ms. Snickle's Class, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Johanna Hurwitz, Busybody Nora, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.

Sarah Jane Brian, The Quiz Book 2, Pleasant Co. (Middleton, WI), 2001.

Johanna Hurwitz, Nora and Mrs. Mind-Your-Own-Business, HarperTrophy (New York, NY), 2001.

Johanna Hurwitz, Rip-Roaring Russell, HarperTrophy (New York, NY), 2001.

Johanna Hurwitz, Russell and Elisa, HarperTrophy (New York, NY), 2001.

Johanna Hurwitz, Russell Sprouts, HarperCollins Publishers (New York, NY), 2001.

Johanna Hurwitz, Superduper Teddy, HarperCollins Publishers (New York, NY), 2001.

Johanna Hurwitz, New Neightbors for Nora, HarperTrophy (New York, NY), 2001.

Johanna Hurwitz, Ever-Clever Elisa, Harper Trophy (New York, NY), 2002.

Pamela Jane, Way to Go, Winky Blue!, Mondo (New York, NY), 2002.

Roberta Baker, No Ordinary Olive, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 2002.

Mary Elizabeth Hanson, The Difference between Babies and Cookies, Silver Whistle/Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2002.

Kristine O'Connell George, Swimming Upstream: Middle School Poems, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Johanna Hurwitz, "E" Is for Elisa, Harper Trophy (New York, NY), 2003.

Pamela Jane, Winky Blue Goes Wild!, Mondo (New York, NY), 2003.

Johanna Hurwitz, Elisa Michaels, Bigger and Better, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2003.

Jerdine Nolen, Lauren McGill's Pickle Museum, Silver Whistle/Harcourt (San Diego, CA), 2003.

Roberta Baker, Lizard Walinsky, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2004.

David Michael Slater, Jacques and Spock, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Laurie Miller Hornik, Zoo School, Clarion Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Roberta Baker, Olive's Pirate Party, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2005.

Marc Gellman, Someday You'll Thank Me for This!: and Other Annoying (but True) Life Lessons, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2007.

Roberta Baker, Olive's First Sleepover, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2007.

Sidelights

The fun-filled cartoon art of Debbie Tilley has appeared in picture-book stories by a wide variety of writers, among them Johanna Hurwitz, Dennis Lee, Pamela James, Rabbi Marc Gellman, and Roberta Baker. James' entertaining "Winky Blue" series for elementary-grade readers, which includes Right On, Winky Blue!, Take a Bow, Winky Blue!, and Winky Blue Forever!, focus on Rosie and her pet parrot as the talented talking bird takes the girl and her school friends on a series of fun adventures. Noted for their energy and animation, Tilley's "quirky" drawings for Brenda Shannon Yee's Hide and Seek were recommended for their ability to "engage even very young listeners," by School Library Journal contributor Rosalyn Pierini. The scratchy lines and splashes of color that characterize the illustrator's work contribute what a Kirkus Reviews writer described as "humorous expressions" and "clever … details" to Jerdine Nolen's picture book Lauren McGill's Pickle Museum, and also "capture the essence" of Johanna Hurwitz's "appealing chapter book" Elisa Michaels, Bigger and Better, in the opinion of School Library Journal writer Leanna Manna.

A girl named Olive is the star of several beginning readers by Baker in which "Tilley's watercolor-and-ink illustrations create the spirited environment of grade-school children," according to School Library Journal contributor Tracy Bell. Reviewing Olive's First Sleepover, for example, Susan Moorhead concluded in the same periodical that the illustrator's brightly colored "flyaway sketches … capture … the action" of Baker's spunky young heroine "with exuberance and domestic charm," while Booklist contributor Carolyn Phelan observed that "intriguing details fill" Tilley's "lively ink-and-watercolor illustrations" for Olive's Pirate Party. In another Baker-Tilley collaboration, Lizard Walinsky, a Kirkus Reviews writer concluded that the artist's "expressionistic" cartoon drawings "transform a somewhat ordinary story into a lively celebration of special friends."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 15, 2001, Ilene Cooper, review of Hide and Seek, p. 1761; January 1, 2003, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of Swimming Upstream: Middle School Poems, p. 878; December 15, 2003, Lauren Peterson, review of Bigger and Better, p. 753; June 1, 2004, Kay Weisman, review of Zoo School, p. 1726; August, 2005, Carolyn Phelan, review of Olive's Pirate Party, p. 2033; March 1, 2007, Ilene Cooper, review of Some Day You'll Thank Me for This!: And Other Annoying (but True) Life Lessons, p. 82; July 1, 2007, Gillian Engberg, review of Olive's First Sleepover, p. 66.

Horn Book, January-February, 2003, Martha V. Parravano, review of Swimming Upstream, p. 89; November-December, 2003, Roger Sutton, review of Bigger and Better, p. 747.

Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2002, review of No Ordinary Olive, p. 250; April 15, 2002, review of The Difference between Babies and Cookies, p. 568; May 1, 2003, review of Lauren McGill's Pickle Museum, p. 681; May 1, 2004, review of Lizard Walinsky, p. 438; May 15, 2004, review of Zoo School, p. 492; July 1, 2005, review of Olive's Pirate Party, p. 730; June 15, 2007, review of Olive's First Sleepover.

Publishers Weekly, April 8, 2002, review of No Ordinary Olive, p. 226; April 22, 2002, review of The Difference between Babies and Cookies, p. 68; April 14, 2003, review of Lauren McGill's Pickle Museum, p. 70; May 24, 2004, review of Zoo School, p. 62; June 7, 2004, review of Lizard Walinsky, p. 49.

School Library Journal, July, 2001, Rosalyn Pierini, review of Hide and Seek, p. 92; August, 2001, Terrie Dorio, review of The Secrets of Ms. Snickle's Class, p. 154; May, 2002, Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, review of No Ordinary Olive, p. 104; September, 2002, Kristen Oravec, review of Swimming Upstream, p. 244; July, 2003, Eve Ortega, review of Lauren McGill's Pickle Museum, p. 102; March, 2004, Leanna Manna, review of Bigger and Better, p. 170; June, 2004, Jean Gaffney, review of Zoo School, p. 110; June, 2004, Kelley Rae, review of Lizard Walinsky, p. 96; December, 2004, James K. Irwin, review of Jacques and Spock, p. 122; November, 2005, Tracy Bell, review of Olive's Pirate Party, p. 82; June, 2007, Jayne Damron, review of Someday You'll Thank Me for This!: And Other Annoying (but True) Life Lessons, p. 170; July, 2007, Susan Moorhead, review of Olive's First Sleepover, p. 66.