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Mark Teague

Biography

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Watch a video interview with Mark Teague.

As with all great discoveries, Mark Teague's eureka moment materialized from something seemingly unrelated when a move from San Diego to New York City planted the seed for his first picture book, The Trouble with the Johnsons. His debut earned him a feature in Publisher's Weekly as one of eleven prominent new authors of 1989 and secured his place among beloved children's authors.

Each of Teague's books starts as “notebooks full of sketches and scribbles, strange little drawings, and phrases that seem mostly cryptic that suddenly come together,” he explains. And though Teague developed his writing and painting talents without formal training, his boundless imagination has earned him a permanent place in the hearts of children.

His books tackle common childhood fears — imaginary monsters living in closets, being late for school, or meeting a new baby-sitter. Mark admits that his own daughter was pretty calm in comparison to the Eggmont children in Baby Tamer, but the idea for the book came from her. One Halloween Night sprung from his love for the holiday — the way a costume can give a person a whole new identity and how everything is transformed into something mysterious and spooky.

Teague has also collaborated with critically acclaimed authors Audrey Wood, Cynthia Rylant, and Jane Yolen. He has worked with Shana Corey on First Graders From Mars, a hilarious series that follows the trials and tribulations of kids on another planet. In the Poppleton series, Teague and Rylant bring to children stories about Poppleton the pig and his engaging community of friends. Teague has also worked with several other award-winning artists in Tales from Shakespeare.  This text features the collection of ten Shakespearean stories, which are brought to life by illustrations by twelve acclaimed illustrators.

How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? is Teague's critically acclaimed collaboration with Jane Yolen. The book was named a New York Times, Publishers Weekly and BookSense bestseller.  It also picked up numerous awards, including the Christopher Medal. The sequel, How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon? was published to critical acclaim as well.  Can you guess what it's about? The dinosaur children are in bed again — but this time it's with the flu!  The critically acclaimed team of Yolen and Teague have again joined forces to bring the dinosaurs to life in two board books How do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms?  And How do Dinosaurs Count to Ten?.

For his book, Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School, Teague tells the story of Ike, a dog who has been banished to the Igor Brotweiler Canine Academy — which is a nightmarish experience, according to the letters that Ike writes to his owner. But is Ike telling the truth? What is obedience school really like? Using the clever illustrations as clues, readers get to make the final decision.  It was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and received numerous other accolades.  In the hilarious sequel, Detective LaRue: Letters from the Investigation, Ike finds himself in jail, unfairly accused of terrorizing Hibbins’ cats.  To save himself, he once again pleads his case through letters to Mrs. LaRue.

Mark Teague currently lives in Coxsackie, New York, with his wife, Laura, and their two daughters, Lily and Ava.

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  The Doom Machine by Mark Teague When a spaceship lands in Vern Hollow, Jack's hometown, he and his no-account inventor-uncle Bud are busy trying to fix a car driven by Dr. Shumway and her daughter, Isadora. Although Uncle Bud secretly knows the aliens are after one of his inventions, everyone is surprised when the space aliens capture seven of Vern Hollow's residents and take them into outer space on a wild adventure. After a series of twists and turns, all of them are taken to Skreepia, the aliens' planet, where they have to defeat the Skreep queen before she can use Uncle Bud's invention to take over planet Earth. Filled with wonderful detail, humor, inventive dialog, and irresistible black-and-white spot art, THE DOOM MACHINE is a tour de force by one of America's most beloved storytellers. Readers will be caught up in the page-turning action, while at the same time they will love Mark's beautifully drawn evil space aliens--and an unlikely friendship between Jack and Isadora, who seem to have nothing in common at the beginning of the tale. As with the best science fiction, this novel speeds along without a hitch, and carries readers off into a brand-new world. A fantastic and accessible read for middle graders. Publishers Weekly Starred Review - Picture book author/illustrator Teague (Dear Mrs. LaRue) has produced a madcap, heavily illustrated tale chockfull of malevolent aliens and superscience as well as a fair share of silliness. The year is 1956 and young Jack Creedle is a good-natured juvenile delinquent who can work wonders with engines, while his disreputable Uncle Bud may just be the world's greatest inventor. Equally brilliant are Isadora and her straitlaced mother, Dr. Shumway ('A lady scientist!' remarks the mayor of Jack's town after the Shumways are stranded there. 'That's something you don't see every day'). When alien skreeps, led by Commander Xaafuun (who hates 'ooman bings'), invade in search of Bud's most recent invention, Jack and Isadora are caught up in a rollicking interstellar adventure, replete with a crew of space pirates, a deposed princess, a wide variety of monsters and a pugnacious rooster named Milo ('Growing up had made the chicken mean. He was a typical Creedle in that way'). Borrowing wildly from pulp fiction, bad movies and even Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, Teague has a wonderful time with this occasionally disjointed but endlessly inventive first novel. $17.99 books;hardcovers | Ages 9-12

  
  The Doom Machine
  Ages 9-12 $17.99
  
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  Querida Sra. LaRue by Mark Teague Meet Ike LaRue -- an imaginative dog "imprisoned" at a canine academy. If your child's ever felt homesick, he'll delight in the weepy letters Ike writes to his owner begging to come home. Split-screen illustrations paint what Ike's life is really like in color (dog treats and fun activities abound) while black-and-white drawings contrast the hardships Ike describes in his notes. Spanish-language edition. This lively picture book introduces the concept of irony, builds courage, $4.99 Paperback Book | Grades K-2

  
  Querida Sra. LaRue
  Grades K-2 $4.99