Denys Cazet

Web site: http://www.harperchildrens.com/authorintro/

“Every moment in a writer’s life exerts some influence on his work, said Denys Cazet, author and illustrator of more than 25 picture books. With a background including jobs as a gardener, mail carrier, warehouse worker, cable line worker, cook, stock clerk, process server, school librarian, media specialist and elementary school teacher (25 years), you can say he has a variety of life experiences to influence him. But, it was his family and people he cared about that influenced his writing most.

Cazet was born in Oakland, California in 1938 and was raised in a family he describes as “a noisy cast of characters.”

“Family functions were like participating in a Renaissance fair held in the middle of a Barnum and Bailey freak show,” said Cazet. “Stories were told with great gusto, laughter and animation. Each version became more elaborate than the last. Children walked and talked with adults. They were treated with care, respect, and above all, were listened to. For a child it was like being in the bottom of a funnel of love.”

While most of Cazet’s books feature anthropomorphized animals – animals given human characteristics – Cazet says, “The truth is, they are all based on the wonderful people who influenced my life. They gave me much, and I try not to forget them. By putting them in my books, I hope to make them live forever.

Cazet’s books range in theme from gentle, reassuring stories to tales of total nonsense. His book, Never Spit on Your Shoes, received a California Young Reader Award in 1992.

Cazet’s books include:

• Requiem for a Frog, Sonoma State College, 1971
• The Non-Coloring Book: A Drawing Book for Mind Stretching and Fantasy Building, Chandler & Sharp, 1973
• The Duck with Squeaky Feet, Bradbury, 1980
• Mud Baths for Everyone, Bradbury, 1981
• You Make the Angels Cry, Bradbury, 1983
• Lucky Me, Bradbury 1983
• Big Shoe, Little Shoe, Bradbury 1984
• Christmas Moon, Bradbury 1984
• Saturday, Bradbury, 1985
• December 24, Bradbury 1986
• Frosted Glass, Bradbury 1987
• A Fish in His Pocket, Orchard, 1987
• Mother Night, Bradbury, 1987
• Sunday, Bradbury, 1988
• Great Uncle Felix, Orchard, 1988
• Good Morning, Maxine! Bradbury 1989
• Daydreams, Orchard, 1990
• Never Spit on Your Shoes, Orchard, 1990
• I’m Not Sleepy, Orchard, 1992
• Are There Any Questions? Orchard, 1992
• Born in the Gravy, Orchard, 1993
• Nothing at All! Orchard, 1994
• Dancing, music by Craig Bond, Orchard, 1995
• Night Lights: Twenty-four Poems to Sleep On, Orchard, 1997
• Minnie and Moo Go to the Moon, Dorling Kindersley, 1998
• Minnie and Moo Go Dancing, Dorling Kindersley, 1998