John Bemelmans Marciano never met his famous grandfather, but thanks to a treasure trove of family memorabilia, he knows a great deal about the man who gave the world Madeline.
With no visual aids, John captivated his Mazza audience with stories for 45 minutes, proving that he is not only an incredibly talented illustrator, but storyteller as well.
We got a peek into John’s rural New Jersey childhood, which was peppered with German and Italian family influence.
In addition to his successful revival of the Madeline picture books, look for The Nine Lives of Alexander Baddenfield, Marciano’s recently-published middle grade novel from Viking Children’s Books.
Diversely talented and fascinating, Marciano ended our morning with a thoughtful presentation about children’s books and the industry that creates them.