James Howe is an American children's writer with more than 79 juvenile and young adult fiction books to his credit. He is known best for the Bunnicula series about a vampire rabbit that sucks the juice out of vegetables.
Biography
Howe was born in Oneida, New York. At the age of nine or ten, Howe wrote a play based on the "Blondie" comic strip as well as a variety of short stories and self-published newspapers. Of the latter his favorite is The Gory Gazette which he made for a self-founded club, Vampire Legion. Howe would continue to write plays during his theater studies at Boston University, and eventually move to New York City to pursue a career as an actor and model while directing plays and working as a literary agent. In the mid-1970s, Howe's mother-in-law encouraged him and his wife, Deborah Howe, to create a children's story based on a character the two had created while watching older Dracula movies, which at the time were played late at night on TVs. With his wife, he created Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery, about a pet rabbit suspected of being a vampire. The book would go on to win more than ten Children's Choice awards, including the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award and the Nene Award, and eventually evolve into a series. Shortly after Bunnicula was published Deborah fell victim to cancer and died, inspiring the creation of The Hospital Book. In 1981, Howe began writing full-time. In addition to the Bunnicula series, Howe has written picture books, children's novels, nonfiction, adaptations of classic stories, and screenplays for movies and television. In 1997, he published his first young adult novel, The Watcher. The Misfits, itself inspired by his daughter Zoey's difficult experiences in middle school, was the inspiration behind GLSEN's annual . After the death of his first wife, Howe remarried and fathered a daughter, Zoey. Howe and his second wife divorced after Howe came out as gay. In 2007, James Howe was the recipient of The E.B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Books for his book Houndsley and Catina, illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay, and published by Candlewick Press. On September 17, 2011, Howe married Mark Davis, a partner in the New York law firm Engel and Davis, at a home in Dorset, Vermont. He was a consulting producer for the animated adaptation of the books.
''The Misfits series''
The Misfits
Totally Joe
Addie on the Inside
Also Known as Elvis
''Bunnicula'' series
Audiobook versions were also released featuring narrators Victor Garber and Patrick Mulvihill.
, Deborah and James Howe, illustrated by Alan Daniel ; numerous editions including 25th Anniversary Edition
All illustrated by Brett Helquist. Audiobook versions of many titles in this series were released featuring narrator Joe Grifasi.
It Came From Beneath the Bed!
Invasion of the Mind Swappers from Asteroid 6!
Howie Monroe and the Doghouse of Doom
Screaming Mummies of the Pharaoh's Tomb II
Bud Barkin, Private Eye
The Odorous Adventures of Stinky Dog
Tales From the House of Bunnicula: Writing Journal
''Bunnicula and Friends'' a ''Ready-To-Read'' series
Many of these titles are re-workings of previously released Bunnicula books rewritten by James Howe for younger readers and featuring new illustrations by Jeff Mack.
