Author and illustrator Michael McCurdy, who was born on February 17th, began his love affair with wood carving and printing as a small boy. "I wanted to set type, smell printers ink, hear the clank of presses and produce little newspapers. I wanted to put words together in a way that would please the eye." He attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and graduated from Tufts University in Massachusetts. Today over 190 books contain his illustrations including Owl-Scatterer (listed by the New York Times as one of the best illustrated children's books of 1986) and The Seasons Sewn: A Year in Patchwork (1996). He also formed and ran a small press, Penmaen Press, from 1968-1985 designing and illustrating both his own books and those of others. McCurdy is a perfect example of making childhood dreams a reality.
