Big brown bear

David McPhail was raised in Newburyport, Massachussetts. In 1963, he graduated from high school and attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He became interested in children’s books, and was heavily influenced by Maurice Sendak’s illustrations. After he married, he returned to Newburyport with his wife to raise his four children. He now lives in Rye, New Hampshire. He writes and draws in a studio in his home.