Chris Van Dusen
author of
Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee
and
A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee
Chris
Van Dusen was born down by the sea in Portland, Maine. His interest in
illustration and design began at a young age, when he would go to the
library and check out as many Dr. Suess books as he could carry. He pursued
his interest at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, graduating
in 1982 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Since then, he has done many
illustrations for magazines, newspapers, books, and T-shirts.
But one thing he always wanted to do was paint a boat stuck in the top of a tree. He decided to write a story around that idea—figuring out a way to get the boat into the tree and then down again—and his first picture book, Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee, was born. Set in a coastal town loosely based on his current hometown of Camden, Maine, this ebullient picture book takes readers on a wild, tale-splashing adventure introducing readers to Mr. Magee and his little dog Dee. The lighthearted story and kitschy, distinctive illustrations make it one whale of a tale!
As
a child, Chris loved to go camping with his family—hence the inspiration
for his latest book, A
Camping Spree with Mr. Magee. In this new adventure, Mr. Magee and
his trusty dog, Dee, are enjoying a peaceful camping trip—in a very
cool camper hitched up to their Rambler convertible—when along comes
a lumbering, marshmallow-loving bear and the excitement begins. The next
thing the two heroes know, they are plunging down a mountain, racing down
a river and teetering on the edge of a huge waterfall! Chris has filled
this whimsical calamity with such charming illustrations and playful,
rhyming prose that even adults will love reading it again and again!