Peter Mandel

Peter Mandel (born 1957) is an American author of children’s books including Jackhammer Sam (Macmillan/Roaring Brook, 2011), Bun, Onion, Burger (Simon & Schuster, 2010), and Say Hey! A Song of Willie Mays (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 2000), one of the early picture books about African-American baseball stars from the 1960s, which was included in the Baseball As America exhibit at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Smithsonian.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Mandel is a journalist,^[6][7] and essayist.^[8][9] One of his Boston Globe articles won a gold Lowell Thomas award from The Society of American Travel Writers in 2005 for adventure travel article of the year.^[10] Articles of Mandel's for The Washington Post won bronze Lowell Thomas awards in 2003 and 2006.^[11][12]

Biography

Son of Paul Mandel, a novelist and Life magazine editor,^[13][14] Mandel grew up in Manhattan,^[15] graduating from Middlebury College and Brown University.^[16][17]

He lives now in Providence, Rhode Island with his wife, Kathryn Byrd Mandel.

Works

Journalism

A contributor to the travel sections of The Washington Post,^[18][19] The Boston Globe,^[20][21][22] and The Huffington Post,^[23] Mandel’s essays for The Wall Street Journal, ^[24][25] The Philadelphia Inquirer, and other newspapers examine technology and contemporary trends.^[26][27]

Children's books

Mandel's picture books for young children tend to be simple texts with only a few rhyming or rhythmic phrases per page.^[28][29] Zoo Ah-Choooo, illustrated by Elwood Smith (Holiday House, 2012), fits this template, adding exaggerated animal sounds into the mix. "Gusty splatters and loud, boisterous sneezes can't lose with the preschool set,” said Kirkus Reviews.^[30] His picture book, Jackhammer Sam (Macmillan/Roaring Brook, 2011), picks up on the sound of a pneumatic drill, something Mandel recalls from growing up in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.^[15][31] "If a new Walt Whitman broke up sidewalks with a jackhammer, this is exactly what his 'Song of Myself' would be," wrote Mary Harris Russell in her review for The Chicago Tribune. "Like New York City itself, Sam is wonderful and overwhelming, rattling and mesmerizing," said Publishers Weekly in the magazine's 2011 review.^[32][33] Mandel’s Bun, Onion, Burger (Simon & Schuster, 2010) was named a Summer 2010 Children's Indie Next Pick by the American Booksellers Association,^[34] and the equally simple Red Cat White Cat, illustrated by Clare Mackie (Henry Holt, 1994), was an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists and received a starred review in Kirkus. Say Hey! A Song of Willie Mays (Hyperion/ Jump at the Sun, 2000) was selected for The Jump at the Sun Treasury: An African American Picture Book Collection (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 2001) ^[35] and was included in the Baseball As America exhibit curated by the National Baseball Hall of Fame as an example of baseball in popular culture.^[36] One of the early titles for young children about African-American baseball players from the 1960s, Say Hey! was followed by several picture books including Hank Aaron: Brave in Every Way by Peter Golenbock (Harcourt, 2001) and Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates by Jonah Winter (Atheneum, 2008).^[37][38]

• The Official Cat I.Q. Test, illustrated by June Otani (HarperCollins, 1991). ISBN 0060965924, ISBN 978-0060965921
• The Cat Dictionary, illustrated by Annette Busse (Penguin, 1994). ISBN 0140246614, ISBN 978-0140246612
• Red Cat White Cat, illustrated by Clare Mackie (Henry Holt, 1994). ISBN 080502929X, ISBN 978-0805029291
• Say Hey! A Song of Willie Mays, illustrated by Don Tate (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 2000). ISBN 0786804807, ISBN 978-0786804801
• My Ocean Liner: Across the North Atlantic on the Great Ship Normandie, illustrated by Betsey MacDonald (Stemmer House, 2000). ISBN 0880451491, ISBN 978-0880451499
• The Jump at the Sun Treasury: An African American Picture Book Collection (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 2001). ISBN 0786807547, ISBN 978-0786807543
• Planes at the Airport, illustrated by Edward Miller (Scholastic/Cartwheel, 2004). ISBN 0439564166, ISBN 978-0439564168
• Boats on the River, illustrated by Edward Miller (Scholastic/Cartwheel, 2004). ISBN 0439564158, ISBN 978-0439564151
• Bun, Onion, Burger, illustrated by Chris Eliopoulos (Simon & Schuster, 2010). ISBN 1416924663, ISBN 978-1416924661
• Jackhammer Sam, illustrated by David Catrow (Macmillan/Roaring Brook, 2011). ISBN 1596430346, ISBN 978-1596430341
• Zoo Ah-Choooo, illustrated by Elwood Smith (Holiday House, 2012). ISBN 0823423174, ISBN 978-0823423170

Other works

Three articles of Mandel's, from The Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun, were included in the 2015 anthology of travel journalism, Adventures of a Lifetime: Travel Tales from Around the World.^[39]

An essay by Mandel, "An American Cat in Paris," was included in the 1999 anthology, Chicken Soup for the Cat & Dog Lover's Soul, and reprinted in the 2008 anthology, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Loving Our Cats.^[40]

He contributed a brief autobiographical chapter and recipe to the 2006 anthology Authors in the Pantry.^[41]

References

1. Contemporary Authors (Gale Publishing, Volume 152) (Galenet) (subscription required)
2. Something About The Author (Gale Publishing, Volumes 87, 238) (Galenet)
3. Article about Peter Mandel, The Fall River Herald News, March 16, 2013: “Children's book author Peter Mandel to share publishing tips”
4. Amazon.com Author Page
5. Goodreads Author Page
6. Archive of Washington Post articles by Peter Mandel
7. “Tour of Manhattan Based on 'Stuart Little,' 'Eloise' and Other Children's Books”, article by Peter Mandel, The Washington Post, January 17, 2010
8. "I’ve Met the Enemy--And He is Using My Name", essay by Peter Mandel, The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, April 1, 2012
9. “How to Stop 'The End of Men'-–Bring it On”, essay by Peter Mandel, The Christian Science Monitor, May 4, 2012.
10. 2005 Boston Globe National Journalism Awards, SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition: Awards for Work Published in 2004-2005.
11. SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition: Awards for Work Published in 2002-2003
12. SATW Foundation Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition: Awards for Work Published in 2005-2006.
13. “The Lone Man”, essay by Peter Mandel, The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, November 16, 2008
14. “Memories of journeys past, thanks to Dad”, article by Peter Mandel (and others), The Boston Globe, June 17, 2012.
15. "Atta-Ratta-Binga-Bong!", online discussion with Peter Mandel re: his children’s book, Jackhammer Sam, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group website, November 10, 2011.
16. “The Ant Ate My Homework”, essay by Peter Mandel, The Globe and Mail (Canada), April 6, 2012
17. “Fresh Ink: Newly Published Books from Brown People”, Brown Alumni Magazine, January/February 2012.
18. “Among the animals in Uganda”, travel article by Peter Mandel, The Washington Post, July 27, 2012
19. “The song of the Royal Clipper”, travel article by Peter Mandel, The Washington Post, September 21, 2012.
20. "Big Sky in Botswana", travel article by Peter Mandel, The Boston Globe, January 16, 2005
21. “Cruise to Istanbul is like a floating hotel with views into history”, article by Peter Mandel, The Boston Globe, January 29, 2012
22. “Dead of winter? Not in Northern Europe”, article by Peter Mandel, The Boston Globe, December 12, 2010.
23. Huffington Post contributor archive: Peter Mandel.
24. “Welcome to the Library, Where Shushing Is Overdue”, essay by Peter Mandel, The Wall Street Journal, January 6, 2013
25. “Chatting With Thoreau About Twitter”, essay by Peter Mandel, The Wall Street Journal, August 1, 2011.
26. “I'm not always myself on Google”, essay by Peter Mandel, The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 16, 2012
27. “Dispatches from a heated republic”, essay by Peter Mandel, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 1, 2010.
28. "Red Cat, White Cat by Peter Mandel, Illustrated by Clare Mackie", review of Mandel's children's book, Red Cat White Cat, Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 1994
29. "Bun, Onion, Burger by Peter Mandel, Illustrated by Chris Eliopoulos", review of Mandel's children's book, Bun, Onion, Burger, Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2010.
30. "Zoo Ah-Choooo by Peter Mandel", review of Mandel's children's book, Zoo Ah-Choooo, Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2012.
31. Citation of Jackhammer Sam by Peter Mandel in textbook, Literature and the Child - 8th Edition, by Lee Galda, Lawrence R. Sipe, Lauren A. Liang, Bernice E. Cullinan (Wadsworth Publishing, 2013), ISBN 113360207X, ISBN 978-1133602071; page 117.
32. “Jackhammer Sam knows how to make himself heard”, review of Mandel's children's book, Jackhammer Sam, by Mary Harris Russell, The Chicago Tribune, December 9, 2011
33. "Jackhammer Sam: Peter Mandel, Author; David Catrow, Illustrator", review of Mandel's children's book, Jackhammer Sam, Publishers Weekly, October 17, 2011.
34. The Summer 2010 Children's Indie Next List, inclusion of Mandel's children's book, Bun, Onion, Burger, in "Books for Ages 4 to 8", American Booksellers Association, May 13, 2010; see also Indie Bound.
35. Inclusion of Say Hey! A Song of Willie Mays, by Peter Mandel, in children's book collection, The Jump at the Sun Treasury: An African American Picture Book Collection, edited by Disney Book Group (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 2001), ISBN 0786807547, ISBN 978-0786807543.
36. Baseball As America: Seeing Ourselves Through Our National Game by The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (National Geographic Books, 2005), ISBN 0792238982, ISBN 978-0792238980.
37. Hank Aaron: Brave in Every Way by Peter Golenbock (Harcourt Children's Books, 2001), ISBN 0152020934, ISBN 978-0152020934
38. Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates by Jonah Winter (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2008), ISBN 1416950826, ISBN 978-1416950820.
39. "Walks on the Wild Side in Uganda"; "Safari on Ice"; and "Hiking the Ancient Nakasendo Way", Adventures of a Lifetime: Travel Tales from Around the World edited by Janna Graber (World Traveler Press, 2015), ISBN 0990878627, ISBN 978-0990878629, pages 15-23; 105-112; and 205-214.
40. "An American Cat in Paris", Chicken Soup for the Cat & Dog Lover's Soul edited by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (HCI Publishing, 1999), ISBN 1558747109, ISBN 978-1558747104, pages 367-370. Reprinted in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Loving Our Cats edited by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (HCI Publishing, 2008), ISBN 1935096087, ISBN 978-1935096085.
41. Peter Mandel—Steamed Chinese Dumplings in anthology, Authors in the Pantry: Recipes, Stories, and More by Sharron L. McElmeel, Deborah L. McElmeel (Libraries Unlimited, 2006), ISBN 1591583217; pages 173-176.

External links

• Official website

• Profile of Peter Mandel as part of the "Inside the Writer’s Studio" series about authors on the Read Local/Barrington Books (R.I.) website.

• Citation of article by Peter Mandel in book, Sacred Stacks: The Higher Purpose of Libraries And Librarianship by Nancy Kalikow Maxwell (American Library Association, 2006); ISBN 0838909175.

• "Zoo Ah-Choooo: Peter Mandel, Author", review of Mandel's children's book, Zoo Ah-Choooo, Publishers Weekly, February 1, 2012.

• "Jackhammer Sam by Peter Mandel; illustrated by David Catrow", https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/peter-mandel/jackhammer-sam/, review of Mandel's children's book, Jackhammer Sam, Kirkus Reviews, September 14, 2011.

• "Bun, Onion. Burger: Peter Mandel, Author", http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4169-2466-1, review of Mandel's children's book, Bun, Onion, Burger, Publishers Weekly, June 14, 2010.

• "My Ocean Liner: Across the North Atlantic on the Great Ship Normandie, Peter Mandel, Author; Betsey MacDonald, Illustrator; John Maxtone-Graham, Introduction", review of Mandel's children's book, My Ocean Liner, Publishers Weekly, Oct. 28, 2000.

• Interview with Peter Mandel on website for guidebook, Travel Writing 2.0: Earning Money from Your Travels in the New Media Landscape by Tim Leffel (Splinter Press, 2010); ISBN 1609101081, ISBN 978-1609101084.

• Interview with Peter Mandel, Kidoinfo.com website.