Allison Pfeifer
Author Study: Marc Brown
Picture
Author Information
 Marc Tolon Brown was born November 25, 1946. He is an American
writer of children's books. He writes as well as illustrates
his Arthur books, and is best known for that series and its spin-offs. He
is a Daytime Emmy award winner; the Arthur TV series adapted
from the books was named number ONE on PBS for three years
(1997, 2000, 2001). He currently lives in Hingham, Massachusetts.
 While growing up in Erie, Pennsylvania, with his three sisters, Brown’s
grandmother Thora told them many stories. This inspired Brown to
write stories of his own in the later years of his life. It was Grandma
Thora who also fueled Brown’s fondness for drawing which was
discovered at the age of six. Eventually, his high school art teacher
introduced him to watercolors, which he now uses for the majority of
his illustrations. Brown was inspired by other artists like Marc
Chagall. Maurice Sendak, the author of the children’s book Where the
Wild Things Are also influenced Brown in deciding on a career choice.
 With the help of his Grandma Thora, Brown was able to major in
graphic design at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Even with the
opposition from his colleagues, Brown continued onward with his
dream to be a children’s book illustrator. After graduating, Brown
presented a sample of his drawings to the publishing




company Houghton Mifflin, in Boston, Massachusetts, who offered
him a $5,000 deal. This offer allowed Brown to confirm his decision
of making professional illustrating his career. In 1969, he began parttime teaching at Garland Junior College in Boston and illustrated
textbooks.
Brown’s well-known character Arthur Read was born one night when
Brown was telling a bedtime story to his son. Since then, Brown’s
stories about Arthur have developed over the years into the first
Arthur book, Arthur’s Nose, which was published in 1976. After his
first book, Brown continued to write and illustrate more than thirty
other children’s books about Arthur and his younger sister Dora
Winifred Read. Many of the characters from his books were inspired
by people in Brown’s life growing up, such as Grandma Thora.
The names of his two sons, Tolon Adam and Tucker Eliot, have been
hidden in all of the Arthur books except for one. He also has a
daughter named Eliza Morgan, whose name appears hidden in at least
two books.
Brown looks at his past experiences and to his three children for
inspiration. He also gets suggestions from the students at the schools
he visits.
Brown’s Arthur books turned out to be very popular among young
audiences and sold five million copies over the years between 1976
and 1995. However, with the debut of the animated “Arthur” TV
series in 1996, another 45 million books were sold from 1996 to 2001.
Finally in 2001, the “Arthur” TV show was rewarded with the
prestigious Peabody Award. For this show, he was given the award
for the "best show in the history of this world and any other world"
Book List
Arthur Adventure Series







1976 - Arthur's Nose
1979 - Arthur's Eyes
1980 - Arthur's Valentine
1981 - ''Arthur and the True Francine''
1982 - Arthur Goes to Camp
1982 - Arthur's Halloween
1983 - Arthur's April Fool
























1983 - Arthur's Thanksgiving
1984 - Arthur's Christmas
1985 - Arthur's Tooth
1986 - Arthur's Teacher Trouble
1987 - Arthur's Baby
1989 - Arthur's Birthday
1990 - Arthur's Pet Business
1991 - Arthur Meets the President
1992 - Arthur Babysits
1993 - Arthur's Family Vacation
1993 - Arthur's New Puppy
1994 - Arthur's First Sleepover
1994 - Arthur's Chicken Pox
1995 - Arthur's TV Trouble
1996 - Arthur Writes a Story
1996 - Arthur's Reading Race
1997 - Arthur's Computer Disaster
1998 - Arthur Lost and Found
1999 - Arthur's Underwear
2000 - Arthur's Teacher Moves In
2000 - Arthur's Perfect Christmas
2002 - Arthur, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll
2006 - Arthur Jumps into Fall
2011 - Arthur Turns Green
Chapter Books










Arthur and the Mystery Envelope
Arthur and the Double Dare
Arthur and the Crunch Cereal Contest
Arthur and the Cootie-Catcher
King Arthur
Arthur and the Big Blow-up
Arthur and the Scare-your-pants-off Club
Arthur and the Lost Diary
Arthur and the 1001 Dads
Arthur and the Perfect Brother



















Arthur rocks with Binky'
Arthur and the Nerves of Steal
Arthur and the Poetry Contest
Arthur and the Popularity Test
Arthur Accused!
Arthur Loses His Marbles
Arthur Makes the Team
Arthur and the Comet Crisis
Buster Baxter, Cat Saver
Buster Makes the Grade
Buster's Dino Dilemma
Muffy's Secret Admirer
Francine, Believe It or Not
Francine the Superstar
"The Poetry Contest"
The Mystery of the Stolen Bike
Locked in the Library
Who's in Love with Arthur?
BINKY RULES
Good Sports Chapter Books







Arthur Race to Read
Arthur and the Best Coach Ever
Arthur and the Goalie Ghost
Arthur and the Pen-Pal Playoff
Arthur and the Recess Rookie
Arthur and the Seventh Inning Stretcher
Arthur and the Poetry Contest
Ideas that Link to the Literature
Themes across the books
 Everyday situations at school and within his family.
 How to overcome obstacles in life.
 Friends are always there for you during the good times and the bad.
Themes within the books:
 Sometimes family (little siblings) are annoying but in the end they are
always there for you and looking out for you when you don’t even
know it.
o Many Arthur books portray this.
 Encouragement from family and friends is always important and
something you see in all his books.
o Arthur Meets the President is a great example of this.
 In the end, things turn out the way they are suppose to; so don’t
sweat the small stuff.
Response activities:
 Keep a journal of the Arthur books and write down which situations
have happened in your life and which ones you can relate to.
 Do storytelling with a book or act out a book with the class.
 Write a letter to Marc Brown.
 Write your own Arthur story as a class.
Book Review
The *’s show my rating on the books (out of five)
 Arthur’s Valentine (***)
o This book would be a great book to read about Valentine’s Day.
It teaches you about secret admirers and how it’s ok if you have
one.
 Arthur’s Tooth (***)
o This book is excellent and deals with losing teeth. Everyone is
different and not everyone loses their teeth at the same time.
 Arthur’s Halloween (***)
o This book shows that not everyone’s opinion is always the right
one. Don’t be scared to do things on your own.
 Arthur’s Family Vacation (***)
o This book shows that you can make the best out of any
situation, even if you are stuck with your family. You’ll be
surprised how much fun you can have when you stop worrying
about other things.
 Arthur’s Nose (***)
o This book explains that it’s always best just to be yourself. If you
try to be someone else or want to change, you’ll realize that
being you is the best choice.
 Arthur’s Lost and Found (***)
o This book shows that it’s ok to step out of your comfort zone
sometimes. And when you do, some things could go terribly
wrong. Being responsible and asking for help is always the best
answer.
Websites
http://marcbrownstudios.com/
www.randomhouse.com/kids/arthur/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Brown_(author)