James Horvath
{{short description|American writer}}
James Horvath is a children’s writer, illustrator and author of Dig, Dogs, Dig: A Construction Tail, Build, Dogs, Build: A Tall Tail and Work, Dogs, Work: A Highway Tail. He is also head of Jamestoons Studios, a design company that has illustrated images for ad, marketing and branding agencies as well as other writers.
Education and background
Horvath was born in South Amherst, Ohio. Though he was interested in drawing as a child, he did not know what to do with his hobby. He held down a number of jobs after high school, including a stint in the Navy, in construction and as a bicycle messenger in Washington, D.C. He returned to illustration when he first worked with an Apple computer in 1990 while attending Northern Virginia Community College. He currently resides in Morro Bay, California.{{Cite web |url= http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/05/06/2497506/morro-bay-resident-james-horvath.html |archive-url= https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20170525083649/http://www.sanluisobispo.com/entertainment/books/article39443382.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= May 25, 2017 |publisher= The Tribune (San Luis Obispo) |title= Morro Bay man realizes dream of publishing children's book |accessdate= August 31, 2014 }}{{Cite web |url= http://caitymccardell.com/2014/01/james-horvath/ |publisher= caitymccardell.com |title= James Horvath |accessdate= August 31, 2014 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20140903204559/http://caitymccardell.com/2014/01/james-horvath/ |archive-date= September 3, 2014 |url-status= dead }}
In 2002, Hovath established Jamestoons Studios, and worked with Google, Nestlé, Reader’s Digest, Sprint, Tyco and Toshiba International. His work appeared in advertising, computer games for children and other books. His influences include Josh “Shag” Agle, Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel and Hanna-Barbera cartoons.{{Cite web |url= http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/weblog/2013/07/dig-into-dig-dogs-dig-by-james-horvath.html |publisher= The Children’s Book Review| title= Dig into "Dig, Dogs, Dig!" by James Horvath |date= 3 July 2013|accessdate=August 31, 2014}}
Work
Horvath said his inspiration for his series of stories about dogs in construction came from his own sons’ interest in stopping to watch building job sites.
HarperCollins accepted his first book, Dig, Dogs, Dig: A Construction Tail, which tells the story of a construction crew of canines who are building a park, shortly after Horvath attended the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators' Los Angeles summer conference in August 2011. The publisher extended a three-book contract to the writer/illustrator.
Dig, Dogs, Dig: A Construction Tail was published on April 23, 2013; its followup, Build, Dogs, Build: A Tall Tail (a story about the crew taking down and constructing a building) was released on December 30, 2013.Work, Dogs, Work: A Highway Tail will be released on September 23, 2014.
His series of books have been well received by reviewers, with Kirkus Reviews noting that it is engaging and solid.{{Cite web |url= https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/james-horvath/work-dogs-work/ |publisher= Kirkus Reviews| title= WORK, DOGS, WORK |accessdate=August 31, 2014}}{{Cite web |url= https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/james-horvath/dig-dogs-dig/ |publisher= Kirkus Reviews| title= DIG, DOGS, DIG |accessdate=August 31, 2014}}{{Cite web |url= https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/james-horvath/build-dogs-build/ |publisher= Kirkus Reviews| title= BUILD, DOGS, BUILD |accessdate=August 31, 2014}} The New York Times also described the illustrations as reflecting Horvath’s influences in comics and cartoons as well as featuring "Hanna-Barbera panoramas".{{Cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/books/construction-kitties-and-dig-dogs-dig.html?_r=1&&pagewanted=all |work= The New York Times| title= Building a Playground |date= 15 May 2013|accessdate=August 31, 2014|last1= Paul|first1= Pamela}} Atlanta Parent also named Dig, Dogs, Dig as one of its Best Books of 2013.{{Cite web |url= http://www.atlantaparent.com/article/detail/best_books_of_20131 |publisher= atlantaparent.com| title= Best Books of 2013 |date= 29 October 2013|accessdate=August 31, 2014}} The series is also praised for its inclusiveness of female characters in construction and being the favorite of a reviewer’s child.{{Cite web |url= http://thepicturebookreview.com/2014/04/04/dogs-construction-new-favorite-construction-picture-book-build-dogs-build-by-james-horvath/ |publisher= The Picturebook Review| title= dogs + construction = new favorite construction picture book: build, dogs, build by james horvath |date= 4 April 2014|accessdate=August 31, 2014}}
List of works
- Dig, Dogs, Dig: A Construction Tail (2013) {{ISBN|978-0062189646}}
- Build, Dogs, Build: A Tall Tail (2013) {{ISBN|978-0062189677}}
- Work, Dogs, Work: A Highway Tail (2014) {{ISBN|978-0062189707}}
References
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External links
- [http://www.jamestoons.com James Horvath and Jamestoons Studios’ homepage]
- [http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6899978.James_Horvath James Horvath’s GoodReads profile]
- [http://digdogsdig.blogspot.com James Horvath’s book blog]
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Category:American children's writers
Category:American children's book illustrators
Category:People from Morro Bay, California
Category:People from Lorain County, Ohio