Ten years ago, Harriett Oberhaus, a retired librarian encouraged Jim to write and illustrate his first children’s book. Jim submitted the completed manuscript “over the transom” to Houghton Mifflin, and within a month he had a publishing contract.

Since then, Jim has written and illustrated sixteen books. The subject matter of his books reflect his wide range of interests--from papermaking to Polynesian navigation to Egyptian hieroglyphs. His books—such as the critically acclaimed Traveling Man, Calabash Cat, Sequoyah, the Cherokee Man Who Gave his People Writing, and Silent Music, a Story of Baghdad—also draw on the experiences he has gained and the many languages he has learned while living and working abroad. Other books such as Don't Touch My Hat! and Tiger and Turtle take a humorous look at life, while his Beowulf is a serious retelling of that ancient Anglo-Saxon poem and has been acclaimed by many to be the best introduction for children of that early epic work.

Many of his books have won awards: The Sugarman Award for American Biography for his book Sequoyah, the Zolotow Honor Award for Calabash Cat and Silent Music, the Jane Addams Peace Honor Award for Sequoyah and Silent Music, and the Sibert Honor Award for Sequoyah. One book, A Chuva de Manga, which Jim wrote in Portuguese, has been honored in Brazil and has sold over forty thousand copies.

Apart from writing children’s books, Jim also runs Manoa Press, a private press he founded in 1986. In his studio, at his Honolulu home, he makes limited edition, handmade books. He makes the paper, sets the type, prints the pages on an antique iron press then hand binds the books.
 In Jim’s spare time, he and his wife hike, go to the beach, and rummage around Chinatown. “Hawai‘i is the perfect place for me,” he says. “There are so many cultures here, and there is so much to learn.”

It is Jim’s interest in learning something new—in expanding his horizons—that motivates him to create books that will inspire children to learn about the world around them.

To learn more about Jim, read the article about him in The Ninth Book of Junior Authors, published in 2005, and log on to Jama Kim Rattigan's blogsite at http://jamarattigan.livejournal.com/243837.html. For information about school visits, book signings and presentations; please contact Dwyer & O’Grady, Inc.