Macaulay, David

“There are things I think people have a need to know . . . I want them to look around more-to pay attention to the world around them, to take an extra moment to look at things, to think about things.”

–David Macaulay

Born on December, 2, 1946, David Macaulay was eleven when his parents moved from England to Bloomfield, New Jersey. He found himself having to adjust from an idyllic English childhood to life in a fast-paced American city. During this period of change, he began to draw seriously. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the Rhode Island School of Design, from which he received a bachelor’s degree in architecture, and spent his fifth year at RISD in the European Honors Program, studying in Rome, Herculaneum, and Pompeii.

After working as an interior designer, a junior high teacher, and a teacher at RISD, Macaulay began to experiment with creating books. He published his first book, Cathedral, in 1973. Since then, he has created a number of spectacular titles about various subjects-including the construction of a Roman city (City), the erection of the monuments to the pharaohs (Pyramid), the building of medieval fortresses (Castle), the evolution of a New England mill town (Mill), the making of tall skyscrapers (Unbuilding), and the secret of a city’s hidden support system (Underground)-as well as picture books such as Rome Antics, Shortcut, Angelo, and Black and White (a Caldecott Medal winner). Macaulay is the creator of the international bestseller The Way Things Work, which was expanded and updated in 1998 and is now The New Way Things Work. In 2000, Houghton Mifflin Company published Macaulay’s Building Big, the companion book to the successful PBS series, which explores the engineering feats behind bridges, tunnels, dams, domes, and skyscrapers.

David Macaulay’s elaborate show-and-tells have made him beloved by adults and children throughout the world. Time magazine once wrote, “what he draws, he draws better than any other pen and ink illustrator in the world.” His books have sold more than two million copies in the United States alone, and his work has been translated into a dozen languages. Five of his titles have been made into PBS television programs and Macaulay and his books have garnered a number of awards.

David Macaulay lives with his family in Rhode Island. To learn more about Mr. Macaulay and his books, visit his Web site, www.davidmacaulay.com.

          – Courtesy of Houghton Mifflin

 

 

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