Illinois Authors

The Illinois Center for the Book banner

Emily McCully

Born: 1939 in Galesburg, Illinois
Pen Name: Emily Arnold McCully

Connection to Illinois: McCully was born in Galesburg and lived there until she was 5 years old.

Biography: Emily McCully is an author and illustrator. She majored in art history at college and acted and wrote for the theater. After illustrating other peoples' texts for several years and publishing two adult novels, McCully began writing her own picture books.McCully has illustrated more than a hundred books for children, including her own ''First Snow'' and ''Arnold Adoff's Black Is Brown Is Tan''.


Awards:
  • '''''Mirette On the High Wire'''''
  • -- Caldecott Medal
  • -- Starred Review, Horn Book
  • -- Starred Review, School Library Journal
  • -- Starred Review, BCCB '''''Pete Won't Eat'''''
  • -- Starred Review, Kirkus
  • -- Starred Review, School Library Journal '''''3, 2, 1, Go!,'''''

Primary Literary Genre(s): Fiction; Illustrator; Non-Fiction

Primary Audience(s): Children

:


Selected Titles

1, 2, 3, pull! /
ISBN: 0823445097 OCLC: 1097363714

Min wants to be in Ann's show, and after building a crane to remove the tree that has fallen on the stage, she gets her chance.

3, 2, 1, go! /
ISBN: 0823433145 OCLC: 878388016

Told she cannot step over the line to play school with the older girls, Min builds a catapult and flies over it, instead.

A promising life :
ISBN: 9781338043884 OCLC: 970604000

All his life Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, son of Sacagawea and a French fur-trapper, has lived in two worlds: the Westernized world of his godfather, William Clark, and the frontier world beyond St. Louis--but he is troubled by the way Americans mistreat tribes like the Osage, Arikara, and Mandan, and as a man of mixed ancestry, he must ultimately choose which of the two heritages is more important to him.

An outlaw Thanksgiving /
ISBN: 0803721978 OCLC: 37322250

Dial Books for Young Readers, New York : ©1998.

While travelling with her mother cross-country by train in 1896, a young girl unexpectedly shares Thanksgiving dinner with the notorious outlaw, Butch Cassidy.

Ballerina swan
ISBN: 9780545541008 OCLC: 710903820

Holiday House, New York : ©2012.

Sophie the swan joins a ballet class and works hard to earn a part in the end-of-year performance of Swan Lake.

Beautiful warrior :
ISBN: 0590374877 OCLC: 36364132

Arthur A. Levine Books, New York : 1998.

Tells the story of two unlikely kung fu masters and how their skill in martial arts saves them both.

Caroline's comets :
ISBN: 0823436640 OCLC: 957656340

"Caroline Herschel was the first woman to discover a comet and the first woman to be paid as a scientist."--

Clara :
ISBN: 0553522469 OCLC: 910073141

"A rhinoceros tours Europe in the mid-18th century and becomes a sensation--based on a true story"--

Crossing the new bridge
ISBN: 0440833574 OCLC: 34468047

Trumpet Club, [Place of publication not identified] : 1995.

When a new bridge is built over the river, the happiest person in the town must be the first to cross it.

Dreaming in code :
ISBN: 0763693561 OCLC: 1042892168

"Even by 1800s standards, Ada Byron Lovelace had an unusual upbringing. Her narcissistic mother worked hard at cultivating her own role as martyred ex-wife of bad-boy poet Lord Byron and had Ada tutored at home by some of the brightest minds. Ada developed a hunger for mental puzzles, mathematical conundrums, and scientific discovery that kept pace with the breathtaking advances of the industrial and social revolutions taking place in Europe. At seventeen, Ada met inventor Charles Babbage. In spite of the difference of their years, they were kindred spirits and intellects. Their ensuing collaborations would ultimately result in ideas that presaged computer programming by a century. Ada Lovelace is today recognized and celebrated as a pioneer and a prophet of the information age."--Page 2 of cover.

First snow /
ISBN: 0066238528 OCLC: 51818667

HarperCollins Publishers, [New York] : ©2004.

The first snow has fallen; so the mice children spend the day ice skating and sledding with their Grandma and Grandpa.

Four hungry kittens /
ISBN: 0803725051 OCLC: 43060588

Dial Books for Young Readers, New York : 2001.

In this wordless story, four kittens share adventures while their mother is away hunting food.

Grandmas at bat /
ISBN: 0064441938 OCLC: 25633852

HarperCollins, New York, NY : ©1993.

Pip's two grandmothers, who cannot agree on anything, take over coaching her baseball team and create chaos.

Grandmas at the lake /
ISBN: 0064441776 OCLC: 30604771

HarperTrophy, New York : 1994, ©1990.

Pip and Ski have a hard time enjoying themselves at the lake with Pip's two grandmothers, who cannot agree on anything.

Grandmas trick-or-treat /
ISBN: 0064442772 OCLC: 44270314

HarperCollins Publishers, New York : 2001.

Pip's two grandmothers, who cannot agree on anything, take Pip and her friends trick-or-treating on Halloween.

Ida M. Tarbell :
ISBN: 0547290926 OCLC: 816499010

Tarbell was the catalyst for exposing the truth behind corruption and unfair business practices. She investigated and published works about the Standard Oil Trust for McClure's Magazine that informed the world of shady business dealings and skyrocketed her into the public eye. She wrote inspiring and engaging biographies on public figures, her most notable on Abraham Lincoln. Although largely forgotten as the country forged into the 20th century, her writing of the truth lives on.

Little ducks go /
ISBN: 9780823429417 OCLC: 835611603

Mother Duck is on the run trying to keep her ducklings safe.

Manjiro :
ISBN: 0374347921 OCLC: 150255944

Farrar Straus Giroux, New York : 2008.

This is the true story of a determined and resourceful young man whose intimate knowledge of two cultures later led him to play an important role in the opening of Japan to Western trade and ideas.

Marvelous Mattie
ISBN: 9781250058355 OCLC: 866931120

Square Fish 2014.

Min makes a machine /
ISBN: 0823439704 OCLC: 1000447146

"On a very hot day, Min, a budding engineer, builds a machine that draws water from a well and into a swimming pool"--

Mirette & Bellini cross Niagara Falls /
ISBN: 0399233482 OCLC: 41380411

Putnam, New York : 2000.

With the help of a young immigrant boy they meet on their crossing to America, two famous tightrope walkers manage to survive the treachery of a rival showman.

Mirette on the high wire /
ISBN: 0698114434 OCLC: 24544979

G.P. Putnamʼs Sons, New York : ©1992.

Mirette learns tightrope walking from Monsieur Bellini, a guest in her mother's boarding house, not knowing that he is a celebrated tightrope artist who has withdrawn from performing because of fear.

Monk camps out /
ISBN: 0439099765 OCLC: 41238482

A young mouse decides to spend the night camping out alone in his backyard, but his parents have other ideas.

New baby /
ISBN: 0060241306 OCLC: 16351634

Harper & Row, New York : ©1988.

The youngest mouse in a large family discovers excitement and frustration when a new baby arrives.

Pete likes Bunny /
ISBN: 082343687X OCLC: 934937334

"Pete likes Bunny, the new girl in his class; and despite teasing from classmates, Bunny likes Pete too"--

Pete won't eat
ISBN: 9780823428533 OCLC: 812729441

Holiday House, New York : ©2013.

Pete the pig does not want to eat his slop, but cannot go out to play with his brother and sisters until he does.

Picnic /
ISBN: 0066238544 OCLC: 52003543

HarperCollinsPublishers, [New York] : ©2003.

A little mouse gets lost on the way to a family picnic.

Popcorn at the palace /
ISBN: 0152776990 OCLC: 34557605

Browndeer Press, San Diego : ©1997.

In the mid-1800's Maisie Ferris and her father travel to England to introduce the American phenomenon of popcorn.

Queen of the diamond :
ISBN: 0374300070 OCLC: 873985323

"A picture book biography about Lizzie Murphy, the first woman to play in a major league exhibition game and the first person to play on both the New England and American leagues' all-star teams"--

She did it! :
ISBN: 1368019919 OCLC: 1031409173

"Prepare to discover new heroes among these twenty-one women who challenged the status quo, championed others, and made their voices heard. From Jane Addams to Alice Waters, from groundbreaking artists and social justice advocates to scientific pioneers and business innovators, a strong thread of trailblazing women runs through American history. Written in compelling, accessible prose and vividly illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Emily Arnold McCully, this collection of inspiring and expertly researched profiles charts the bold paths these women forged in the twentieth century."--Publisher annotation.

Speak up, Blanche! /
ISBN: 0060242272 OCLC: 21904369

Stagestruck Blanche would like to be a part of a theatrical bear troupe's new play, but, her shyness causes problems until she discovers a special talent of her very own.

Squirrel and John Muir /
ISBN: 0374336970 OCLC: 52086291

Farrar Straus Giroux, New York : 2004

In the early 1900s, a wild little girl nicknamed Squirrel meets John Muir, later to become a famous naturalist, when he arrives at her parents' hotel in Yosemite Valley seeking work and knowledge about the natural world.

Starring Mirette and Bellini /
ISBN: 0399226362 OCLC: 32855659

G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York : ©1997.

After the Great Bellini teaches young Mirette to walk the high wire, she uses her talent to free him from prison, and both resolve to help others become free.

Strongheart :
ISBN: 0805094482 OCLC: 868276729

When silent movie director Larry Trimble decides to put Strongheart, a police dog, into his movies as the lead actor, he must first train him to play with toys and walk like a regular dog, but Strongheart becomes a sensation until his military training leads to trouble, and possibly the end of his career. Includes author's note on the real Strongheart.

Taking off :
ISBN: 0823449661 OCLC: 1226816771

"A biography of Mary Wilkins Ellis, a woman pilot who flew planes for Britain's Air Transport Auxiliary during World War II and ran an airport on the Isle of Wight"--

The ballot box battle /
ISBN: 0679893121 OCLC: 32969027

Knopf, New York : ©1996.

Just in time for the presidential election comes Caldecott medalist Emily Arnold McCully's stirring tale of a young girl's act of bravery inspired by the great Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It is the fall of 1880, and Cordelia is more interested in horse riding than in hearing her neighbor, Mrs. Stanton talk about her fight for women's suffrage. But on Election Day, Mrs. Stanton tells the heart-wrenching story of her childhood. Charged with the story's message, Cordelia determines to go with Mrs. Stanton to the polls in an attempt to vote--above the jeers and taunts of the male crowd. With faces, landscapes, and action scenes brought to life by McCully's virtuosic illustrations, Cordelia's turning-point experience is sure to inspire today's young girls (and boys) everywhere.

The battle for St. Michaels /
ISBN: 0060287284 OCLC: 47922772

HarperCollins, New York : 2002.

In 1813, nine-year-old Caroline, a fast runner, helps the residents of Saint Michaels, Maryland, as they defend their town against the British.

The bobbin girl /
ISBN: 0803718276 OCLC: 32133641

Dial Books for Young Readers, New York : ©1996.

A ten-year-old bobbin girl working in a textile mill in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1830s, must make a difficult decision--will she participate in the first workers' strike in Lowell?

The Christmas gift /
ISBN: 0060242116 OCLC: 16979228

Harper & Row, New York : ©1988.

When a little mouse's treasured Christmas gift is broken, Grandpa consoles her with a toy train from his own childhood.

The escape of Oney Judge :
ISBN: 0374322252 OCLC: 78756130

Farrar Straus Giroux, New York : ©2007

Young Oney Judge risks everything to escape a life of slavery in the household of George and Martha Washington and to make her own way as a free black woman.

The grandma mix-up :
ISBN: 0064441504 OCLC: 24927653

HarperTrophy, New York : 1991, ©1988.

Young Pip doesn't know what to do when two very different grandmothers come to baby sit, each with her own way of doing things.

The orphan singer /
ISBN: 0439192749 OCLC: 45172332

Arthur A. Levine Books, New York : 2001.

Determined that their daughter realize her musical destiny, her poor but devoted parents send her away as a baby to the Venetian "ospedale," knowing she will be raised as an orphan and will never again be allowed to return home.

The pirate queen /
ISBN: 0399226575 OCLC: 31207725

G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York : ©1995.

Recounts the life of the renowned sixteenth-century Irish woman pirate.

The secret cave :
ISBN: 9780374366940 OCLC: 318641422

Farrar Straus Giroux, New York : 2010.

Jacques, Jojo, Simon, and Marcel were looking for buried treasure when they explored a cave in the south of France in 1940. But the treasure inside was not what they expected, and in fact far more valuable: the walls were covered with stunning prehistoric paintings and engravings, preserved within the sealed cave for over 17,000 years. This is the true story of the boys who discovered the cave of Lascaux, bringing to the modern world powerful examples of the very beginning of art.--Amazon.com.

Wonder horse /
ISBN: 0805087931 OCLC: 310224869

Henry Holt, New York : 2010.

A fictionalized account of Bill "Doc" Key, a former slave who became a veterinarian, trained his horse, Jim Key, to recognize letters and numbers and to perform in skits around the country, and moved the nation toward a belief in treating animals humanely. Includes an author's note.

 

 

Accessibility