Although he has lived in the United States since age eleven, David Macaulay was born in Burton-on-Trent, England, on December 12, 1946, and he remains a British citizen. He graduated from and taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and still lives in Providence, Rhode Island. His first book, Cathedral won him instant critical acclaim and was named a Caldecott Honor Book. He took his place among the select group of authors of juvenile literature whose books are read with equal pleasure by adults, and all his subsequent books have maintained that standard. It is a matter of evident pride for Macaulay, in fact, that he has made the picture-book a genre not limited in appeal to younger readers. His books are translated into many foreign languages and continue to win awards.

Although Macaulay's prose is a model of clarity, he is primarily an illustrator...