Author Study: James Dean
READ 240 - Myers
Ali O'Brien
Works Cited
Bynum, Russ. "Pete the Cat Makes Leap from Folk Art to Kid Books." The Big Story. Associated Press, 28 Nov. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. <http://bigstory.ap.org/article/pete-cat-makes-leap-folk-art-kid-books>.
"James Dean." HarperCollins US. Harper Collins Publishers, 2015. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. <http://www.harpercollins.com/cr-106243/james-dean>.
"Pete the Cat: About the Artist." Pete the Cat. Pete the Cat, 2015. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. <https://www.petethecat.com/about>.
"Pete the Cat." Pete the Cat. Harper Collins Publishers, 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. <http://www.harpercollins.com/childrens/feature/petethecat>.
Additional Works
- Pete the Cat: Wheels on the Bus
- Pete the Cat: Old MacDonald Had a Farm
- Pete the Cat: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
I Can Read Books
- Pete the Cat: Too Cool for School
- Pete the Cat: Play Ball
- Pete the Cat: Pete's Big Lunch
- Pete the Cat: Pete at the Beach
- Pete the Cat: A Pet for Pete
- Pete the Cat and the Bad Banana
- Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving
- Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure
- Pete the Cat: Valentine's Day is cool
- Pete the Cat: Construction Destruction
- Pete the Cat: Cavecat Pete
- Pete the Cat: Rock on, Mom and Dad!
Pete's Adventures
Transformation to Children's Literature
- In 2006, Dean published his first work, an adult publication called The Misadventures of Pete the Cat, which was a collection of his artwork.
- In 2008, he self-published his first children's book co-authored with Eric Litwin, Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, which was picked by Harper Collins in 2010.
- The duo released three additional Pete books by 2014.
- In 2014, the two parted ways, and Dean began co-authoring books with his wife Kim.
Early Works
- Dean worked with Georgia Power for nearly 20 years before leaving to pursue his dreams of drawing
- He began drawing landscapes, meanwhile adopting a kitten from a local animal shelter
- He began drawing his cat doing "cat" things such as hanging on doors or sleeping in laundry baskets.
- Dean has been drawing Pete and his adventures for more than 13 years.
James Dean
- Born in 1957 in Fort Payne, Alabama
- Spent much of his childhood years admiring his dad's work as a "self-taught artist" and began drawing cartoons such as Disney and Charlie Brown at the age of 7
- Explored musical talents in high school, then dreaming to become a professsional musician
- Went to Auburn University, graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering