But it also has an enormous cast of characters, a generous amount of exposition, a bizarre wordiness (gothic adjectives such as graustarkian, eldritch and stygian abound) and a distinctly creepy tone. It features all the Miss Nelson standards: a kind teacher, a befuddled principal, an elementary school setting, and a mystery surrounding a secret identity (the hallmark of the Miss Nelson series).
Miss Nelson Gets a Telephone Call is a peculiar work. Relatively little has been written about Marshall’s life and works but I have tracked down what I could and have come to consider myself something of a Marshall expert, so it was with great surprise and interest that I discovered a fourth Miss Nelson book, Miss Nelson Gets a Telephone Call, written, illustrated and self-published by Harry Allard in 2014, twenty two years after James Marshall’s death. I can think of very few creators whose entire body of work-unmistakable for its sense of fun, economy of language, subtle play between words and illustration and great respect for his young audience-I hold in higher regard. I became a confirmed James Marshall fan and sought to find as many of his works as I could. And it was much later as a young adult reading picture books for my own enjoyment that I would discover George and Martha. It was only later, as a teenager reading to my nephew and niece, that I would discover the Miss Nelson books.
Though awarded few professional honors, Marshall is considered by many as one of the picture book greats-his works are held alongside those of Maurice Sendak and Arnold Lobel (with whom Marshall shared close friendships) as classics.ĭespite growing up an avid reader in the early 1980s, I have no memories of reading any James Marshall books. Marshall published upwards of 80 books from 1967 until 1992 when he died, aged 50, from AIDS. He wrote and illustrated most of his stories himself, collaborated on several others with his friend and co-author Harry Allard, and illustrated the works of a few others. James Marshall, considered by Maurice Sendak to be one of the wittiest and most genuine children’s book author-illustrators, created the popular George and Martha stories, the charming Fox readers and the everlasting Miss Nelson picture books. The James Marshall Fellowship encourages the use of unique materials in the Northeast Children’s Literature Collection and provides financial support to authors and illustrators for travel to University of Connecticut’s Archives and Special Collections to conduct their research. He was recently awarded the James Marshall Fellowship to pursue a picture book project based on Harry Allard’s Miss Nelson stories.
The following guest post is by Jerrold Connors, an award-winning application developer, writer and children’s book author and illustrator from California.
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