Bruce McMillan
Bruce McMillan is a contemporary American author of children books, photo-illustrator and watercolor artist living in Shapleigh, Maine. Born in Massachusetts, he grew up in Bangor, and Kennebunk, Maine. He received a degree in biology from the University of Maine. In addition to his 45 children's books, seven of them set in Iceland, he has authored two books of humor, Punography, featured in Life magazine, and Punography Too. His interest in biology is often reflected in his books' topics. He has published three genres of children's picture books - concept books, nonfiction, and fiction. In 2006, he was honored by the Maine Library Association with the honoring his outstanding body of work of children's literature in Maine.
McMillan's watercolor art has been in numerous juried shows in New England and Iceland. His were a two-page feature in the Maine Sunday Telegram Arts Section. His watercolor Browns Head Light Vinalhaven was Best in Show at the Port Clyde Art Gallery Third Annual Invitational 10 x 10 Show in 2017. His watercolors are in private collections in the US, Canada, Iceland, and Switzerland.
McMillan's most noted award-winning children's book is Nights of the Pufflings, set on the Icelandic island of Heimaey. The story introduces a local children's tradition of rescuing young birds, pufflings, which take their first flight on August nights, some stranded in the village streets. The children then set them free at the beach at daytime. His books were the first photo-illustrated children's books ever featured on the covers of The Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books, The Horn Book Guide, and Booklinks magazine.
McMillan was honored with a permanent corner in the Springvale Public Library's Children's Room,, where nine of his original photo-illustrations from Grandfather's Trolley are on permanent display.
McMillan has taught writing, illustrating, and publishing children's picture books for the Professional Development division open to the public at the University of Southern Maine and the University of New Hampshire, with students successfully published by major US publishers. He has spoken at hundreds of schools and conferences in the US.
Several of McMillan's children's books were translated into other languages - Icelandic, German and Korean. Hand-colored original photo-illustrations from Grandfather's Trolley are in the public collections of the Mazza Collection, University of Findlay, Findlay, Ohio, Keene State College original children's art collection in Keene, New Hampshire, the Kennebunk Free Library in Kennebunk, Maine, and the Springvale Public Library in Springvale, Maine.
"My publishing success with books, creating those playful learning tools for children, as a writer, as a photographer, as a teacher, has its roots in the patient, almost invisible, nurturing from boy to adult of my wise father, Frank Harold McMillan, Jr." -Bruce McMillan, November 7, 2021
Bruce McMillan was twice married, Valeria Therese "Terry" Loughran McMillan, 1968-1985, and Lori Beth Evans, 1997-2001. He has one son, Brett Brownrigg McMillan and two grandsons, Finn and Teague.
Children's books
How the Ladies Stopped the Wind, Houghton Mifflin, 2007 The Problem with Chickens, Houghton Mifflin, Salka, 2005 Going Fishing, Houghton Mifflin, Salka, 2005Days of the Ducklings, Houghton Mifflin, 2001Gletta the Foal, Cavendish, 1998Salmon Summer, Houghton Mifflin, 1998Wild Flamingos, Houghton Mifflin, 1997My Horse of the North, Scholastic, 1997The Picture that Mom Drew, Walker, 1997 - by Mallat and McMillan Jelly Beans for Sale, Scholastic, 1996Grandfather's Trolley, Candlewick, 1995Summer Ice: Life along the Antarctic Peninsula, Houghton Mifflin, 1995 Puffins Climb, Penguins Rhyme, Harcourt, 1995Nights of the Pufflings, Houghton Mifflin, 1995Sense Suspense: A Guessing Game for the Five Senses, Scholastic, 1994Penguins at Home: Gentoos of Antarctica, Houghton Mifflin, 1993A Beach for the Birds. Houghton Mifflin, 1993Mouse Views: What the Class Pet Saw , Holiday House, 1993Going on a Whale Watch, Scholastic, 1992Beach Ball - Left Right, Holiday House, 1992 and Apple Island Books, 1998The Baby Zoo, Scholastic, 1992 and Apple Island Books, 1998Eating Fractions, Scholastic, 1991Play Day: A Book of Terse Verse, Holiday House, 1991 and Apple Island Books, 1998The Weather Sky, Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1991One Two One Pair!, Scholastic, 1991 and Apple Island Books Mary Had a Little Lamb, Scholastic, 1990 and Apple Island Books, 1998One Sun: A Book of Terse Verse, Holiday House, 1990 and Apple Island Books, 1998Time To..., Scholastic, 1989Everything Grows, Crown, 1989Super, Super, Superwords, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1989Fire Engine Shapes, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1988Growing Colors, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1988 and Apple Island Books Dry or Wet?, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1988Step by Step, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1987 and Apple Island Books, 1995Becca Backward, Becca Frontward: A Book of Concept Pairs, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1986Counting Wildflowers, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1986Kitten Can..., Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1984Here a Chick, There a Chick, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1983Ghost Doll, Houghton Mifflin, 1983 and Apple Island Books, 1997Puniddles, Houghton Mifflin, 1982Making Sneakers, Houghton Mifflin, 1980Apples: How They Grow, Houghton Mifflin, 1979 and Apple Island Books The Remarkable Riderless Runaway Tricycle, Houghton Mifflin, 1978 and Apple Island Books, 1978The Alphabet Symphony, Greenwillow, 1977 and Apple Island Books, 1978Finestkind o' Day: Lobstering in Maine, Lippincott, 1977 and DownEast, 1978Humor books
- Punography Too, Penguin Books, 1980
- Punography, Penguin Books, 1978
Icelandic books (published in Iceland)
- Puffins from the Other Side of Iceland, Salka, 2006
- Postcards from the Other Side of Iceland: Where the Grass is Greener, Salka, 2006
Children's book awards
| Book | Awards |
| The Problem with Chickens | New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2005 Parents' Choice Approved Picture Book seal A Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of 2005 Star Review - School Library Journal, 2005 Star Review - Publishers Weekly, 2005 |
| Days of the Ducklings | Parents' Choice Non-fiction, 2001 A Best Children's Book of the Year 2002, Children's Book Committee at the Bank Street College of Education Star Review, Children's Book Committee Bank Street College of Education, 2002 Triangle Review, the Horn Book Guide, Spring 2002 |
| Jelly Beans for Sale | American Library Association Notable Book, 1997 New York Public Library 100 Best Books for Reading and Sharing, 1996 Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best, 1996 |
| Puffins Climb, Penguins Rhyme | American Bookseller Association Pick of the List, 1995 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children - National Science Teacher's Association / Children's Book Council, 1995 Two Star Review - Science Books and Films, 1995 |
| Nights of the Pufflings | American Library Association Notable Book, 1996 A Children's Book of Distinction - Hungry Mind Review, 1996 Parents' Choice Picture Book, 1995 Parenting magazine Certificate of Excellence, 1995 A Lupine Honor Book, Maine Librarians' Association, 1996 A Best Book of the Year, School Library Journal, 1995 A Best Kids' Book of the Year, Crayola Kids magazine, 1995 A Few Good Books selection, Booklinks magazine, 95 A Blue Ribbon Book, The Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books, 1995 Star Review, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 1995 Star Review, School Library Journal, 1995 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children - National Science Teachers Association / Children's Book Council, 1995 First photo-illustrated book featured on the cover of The Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books, 1995 First photo-illustrated book featured on the cover of The Horn Book Guide |
| One Sun, A Book of Terse Verse | American Library Association Notable Book, 1991 A Best Kid's Book of 1990 - Parents magazine, 1990 Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children, National Science Teacher's Association / Children's Book Council, 1990 Star Review - The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 1990 Selection - Children's Book-of-the-Month Club, 1990 Selection - Junior Library Guild, 1990 |