David McPhail, who was born on June 30th, has drawn ever since he could hold a pencil. As a child his canvas was as simple as a paper bag or the classroom wall, but he quickly found new ways to channel his artistic muse. "In 1963, I enrolled in the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, in Boston. But it was in 1966, while working as a shipping clerk in a book clearinghouse, that I rediscovered children's books. I would spend my lunch hours looking through the many picture books that crossed my desk. I started my own collection and soon began to write and illustrate stories of my own." Animal subjects are established favorites, especially pigs (Pigs A Plenty! Pigs Galore!) and bears (The Bear's Toothache). Over the years he has come to realize the importance of editors and shares with writers everywhere his insights; "when I write a story and send it out I'm so sure that every word is perfect—absolutely—there are no other words that could work. Then it comes back all marked up. Of course my first reaction is always 'No!' But when I really look I realize that the changes make more sense. I could never do it myself. I need my editors to point out my inadequacies."