Robert Munsch

Robert Norman Munsch CM (born June 11, 1945) is an American-Canadian children's author.

Robert Munsch CM
Munsch signs autograph for a young fan at Guelph, Ontario, Canada in 1997
Born	Robert Norman Munsch (1945-06-11) June 11, 1945 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Author
Nationality	US / Canadian
Education	Master of Education (Child studies)
Alma mater	Fordham University Boston University Tufts University University of Guelph
Period	1979–present
Genre	Children's literature
Notable works	The Paper Bag Princess Love You Forever
Notable awards	Order of Canada
Children	5[1][2]
Website
www.robertmunsch.com

Personal life and career

Robert Munsch was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 11, 1945. He graduated from Fordham University in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and from Boston University in 1971 with a Master of Arts degree in anthropology.

He studied to become a Jesuit priest, but decided he would rather work with children after having jobs at orphanages and daycare centres. In 1973, he received a Master of Education in Child Studies from Tufts University. In 1975, he moved to Canada to work at the preschool at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario.[3] He also taught in the Department of Family Studies at the University of Guelph as a lecturer and as an assistant professor. In Guelph, he was encouraged to publish the many stories he made up for the children he worked with.

One of Munsch's best-known books, Love You Forever, was listed fourth on the 2001 Publishers Weekly All-Time Bestselling Children's Books list for paperbacks at 6.97 million copies (not including the 1.049 million hardcover copies).[4] It has since sold more than 30 million copies and has been featured on the episode "The One With the Cake" from the television show Friends, as well as being mentioned by Oprah Winfrey on Late Night with David Letterman as being her favorite children's book. His other famous book The Paper Bag Princess has sold more than seven million copies and is considered to be a feminist story, as well as a literary classic.[5][6]

Munsch and his wife Ann discovered they couldn't have biological children after two pregnancies ended with still-birth.[2] They have three adopted children.[1]

Health

Munsch has publicly talked about his bipolar disorder and addiction issues.[7][8] In August 2008, Munsch suffered a stroke that affected his memory. He has since retired; however, he continues to publish two previously written books each year.[9] On May 15, 2010, Munsch revealed that he has been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive and manic-depressive disorder, and that he had a cocaine addiction that started in 2005 and was an alcoholic; at the time, he had been clean for four months, and had regularly attended Alcoholics Anonymous for the previous 25 years and Narcotics Anonymous meetings more recently.[10][11][12]

Writing style

Munsch is known for his exuberant storytelling methods, with exaggerated expressions and acted voices. He makes up his stories in front of audiences and refines them through repeated tellings.

His stories do not have a recurring single character; instead, the characters are based on the children to whom he first told the story, including his own children. He often performs at children's festivals and appears at elementary schools, sometimes unannounced. In 1991, some of his books were adapted into the cartoon series A Bunch of Munsch.

Awards and honours

In 1985, Munsch won a Juno Award for his portrayal of "Murmel, Murmel, Munsch: More Outrageous Stories". In 1992, he was also chosen "Author of the Year" by the Canadian Booksellers' Association. [13] In 1999, Munsch was made a Member of the Order of Canada. On June 17, 2009, it was announced that Munsch would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. The induction ceremony was held on September 12, 2009, and in 2013, his star was revealed on King Street in Toronto.[14][15] In 2009, Robert Munsch Public School opened in Whitby, Ontario, and in 2014, a second Robert Munsch Public School opened in Uxbridge, Ontario.[16]

He is also the most stolen author at the Toronto Public Library.[17]

Publications

Year	Title	Illustrator	ISBN	Publisher
1979	Mud Puddle	Sami Suomalainen	1-55037-468-0	Annick Press
	The Dark	Michael Martchenko	1-55037-450-8
1980	The Paper Bag Princess		0-920236-16-2[5]
1981	Jonathan Cleaned Up — Then He Heard a Sound (also known as Blackberry Subway Jam)		0-920236-21-9
1982	Murmel Murmel Murmel		1-55037-012-X
	The Boy in the Drawer		0-920303-50-1
1983	David's Father		1-55037-011-1
1984	Mortimer		0-920303-11-0
1985	Thomas' Snowsuit		1-55451-115-1
1986	50 Below Zero		0-920236-91-X
	Love You Forever	Sheila McGraw	0-920668-37-2	Firefly Books
1987	I Have To Go!	Michael Martchenko	0-920303-51-X	Annick Press
1988	Angela's Airplane		0-920236-75-8
	Millicent and The Wind	Suzanne Duranceau	0-920236-93-6
1989	Giant; or Waiting for the Thursday Boat	Gilles Tibo
	Pigs!	Michael Martchenko	1-55037-388-9
1990	Something Good		1-55037-390-0
1991	Good Families Don't	Alan Daniel		Doubleday
	Show and Tell	Michael Martchenko		Annick Press
1992	A Promise is a Promise (co-authored with Michael Kusugak)	Vladyana Krykorka
	Moira's Birthday	Michael Martchenko
	Purple, Green and Yellow	Hélène Desputeaux	1-55451-113-5
1993	Wait and See	Michael Martchenko
1994	Where is Gah-Ning?	Hélène Desputeaux
1995	From Far Away	Michael Martchenko
1996	Get Me Another One	Mike Boldt		Doubleday
	Stephanie's Ponytail	Michael Martchenko	1-55451-114-3	Annick Press
1997	Alligator Baby			Cartwheel
1998	Get Out of Bed	Alan Daniel & Lea Daniel
	The Fire Station	Michael Martchenko	1-55037-171-1	Annick Press
1999	Andrew's Loose Tooth			Cartwheel
	We Share EVERYTHING!
2000	Aaron's Hair	Alan Daniel & Lea Daniel
	Mmm, Cookies	Michael Martchenko	0590516949
2001	Up, Up, Down		0439988152
2002	Makeup Mess		978-0439988964
	More Pies		978-0779113637
	Playhouse		978-0439989596
	Ribbon Rescue	Eugenie Fernandes	0590038710
2003	Lighthouse	Janet Wilson	978-0439946568
	Zoom	Michael Martchenko
2004	Boo!		978-0439961264
	Smelly Socks		978-0439967075
2005	The Sandcastle Contest		978-0439955904
2006	Deep Snow		978-0439946582	Scholastic
	I'm So Embarrassed!		978-0439952392	Cartwheel
	No Clean Clothes		0-439-93790-6	Scholastic
2007	Class Clown
2008	Just One Goal!		0-545-99035-1
	Look at Me!
	Kiss Me, I'm Perfect!			Cartwheel
2009	Down the Drain		0-545-98600-1	Scholastic
	Roar!		0-545-98020-8
	Braids!			Scholastic
2010	Put Me in a Book		1-4431-0080-3	Scholastic
	Too Much Stuff!		978-1443102452
2011	Moose!		1-4431-0718-2
	Give Me Back My Dad!		1-4431-0764-6
2012	Finding Christmas
	It's My Room!
2013	Seeing Red!		1-4431-2446-X
	Swamp Water
2014	Hugs
	Pyjama Day!
2015	Ready, Set, Go!
2016	So Much Snow!		1-4431-4617-X
2017	Blackflies	Jay Odjick
	The Enormous Suitcase	Michael Martchenko
2018	Hugs	Michael Martchenko		Scholastic
2018	Put Me in a Book!	Michael Martchenko		Scholastic
2018	Moving Day!	Michael Martchenko		Scholastic
2019	Just One Goal!	Michael Martchenko		Scholastic
2019	Sounds Like Christmas	Michael Martchenko		Scholastic
2019	Bear for Breakfast	Jay Odjick		Scholastic
2019	School Rules!	Dave Whamond		Scholastic

Compilations

Year	Title	ISBN	Stories Included
1998	Munschworks: The First Munsch Collection	978-1-55037-523-7	The Paper Bag Princess • I Have to Go! • David's Father • The Fire Station • Thomas' Snowsuit
1999	Munschworks 2: The Second Munsch Treasury	978-1-55037-553-4	Pigs • Purple, Green and Yellow • Mortimer • Murmel, Murmel, Murmel • Something Good
2000	Munschworks 3: The Third Munsch Treasury	978-1-55037-633-3	Stephanie's Ponytail • Angela's Airplane • Jonathan Cleaned Up • Show and Tell • A Promise Is a Promise
2001	Munschworks Grand Treasury	978-1-55037-685-2	The Paper Bag Princess • The Fire Station • I Have to Go! • David's Father • Thomas' Snowsuit • Pigs • Mortimer • Purple, Green and Yellow • Murmel, Murmel, Murmel • Something Good • Stephanie's Ponytail • Angela's Airplane • Jonathan Cleaned Up - Then He Heard a Sound • Show and Tell • A Promise Is a Promise
2002	Munschworks 4: The Fourth Munsch Treasury	978-1-55037-766-8	Moira's Birthday • From Far Away • 50 Below Zero • The Boy in the Drawer • Millicent and the Wind
2004	Munsch More!	978-0-439-96135-6	Alligator Baby • Andrew's Loose Tooth • Get Out of Bed • Mmm, Cookies! • Ribbon Rescue
2006	Murmel Murmel Munsch! (audio CD)	1897166273	Mud Puddle • Pigs! • Boo! • Kendro's Braids • Squished Squash • I'm So Embarrassed! • Lacey's Kiss • Murmel, Murmel, Murmel • Flowers on My Jeans • Andrew's Loose Tooth • Something Good • Victoria's Lunch • Makeup Mess • Zoom!
2007	Much More Munsch!: A Robert Munsch Collection	978-0-43993-571-5	We Share Everything! • Aaron's Hair • Up, Up, Down • Makeup Mess • Playhouse
2010	Mad About Munsch: A Robert Munsch Collection	978-1-44310-239-1	More Pies! • Zoom! • Smelly Socks • Boo! • The Sandcastle Contest • Braids
2010	Munsch Mini-Treasury One	978-1-55451-273-7	Angela's Airplane • The Paper Bag Princess • 50 Below Zero • Pigs • A Promise Is a Promise
2010	Munsch Mini-Treasury Two	978-1-55451-274-4	Stephanie's Ponytail • The Fire Station • I Have to Go! • Moira's Birthday • Thomas' Snowsuit
2013	Munsch Mania!	978-1-44312-826-1	Class Clown • I'm So Embarrassed! • Just One Goal! • Look at Me! • No Clean Clothes
2014	Munsch Mini-Treasury Three	978-1-55451-651-3	David's Father • Mortimer • Purple, Green and Yellow • Show and Tell • Something Good
2017	The Robert Munsch Collection: Volume One	978-1-50404-984-9	The Paper Bag Princess • Stephanie's Ponytail • 50 Below Zero • Pigs • The Fire Station • A Promise Is a Promise • Jonathan Cleaned Up - Then He Heard a Sound • Moira's Birthday • Show and Tell • Mortimer
2017	The Robert Munsch Collection: Volume Two	978-1-50404-985-6	Angela's Airplane • David's Father • I Have to Go! • Mud Puddle • Murmel, Murmel, Murmel • Something Good • The Boy in the Drawer • The Dark • Thomas' Snowsuit • Wait and See
2019	Marvellous Munsch!	978-1-44314-863-4	Down the Drain! • Put Me in a Book! • Too Much Stuff! • Moose! • Give Me Back My Dad! • Hugs'

References

• "Canadian Who's Who 1997". Retrieved May 8, 2006.

1. "70 amazing facts about Robert Munsch". CBC books. June 11, 2018.
2. Ann Hui (November 10, 2010). "The Backstory, Bestselling children's author Robert Munsch faces a crisis". The Walrus.
3. "All About Robert Munsch | The Official Website of Robert Munsch". robertmunsch.com. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
4. "All-Time Bestselling Children's Books". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on May 1, 2006. Retrieved September 25, 2006.
5. Siegel, Alisa; Levine, Karen; Holdsworth, Pauline (13 December 2019). "It does have a happy ending". The Sunday Edition. CBC Radio. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
6. Wiznura, Robert; Grandy, Karen. "Robert Munsch". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
7. Picard, André (October 9, 2009). "How Robert Munsch grabbed a lifeline". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
8. "Growing Up Munsch (aired May 15, 2010)". Global Television Network, 16:9 (TV series). May 11, 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
9. "Munsch Recovering From Stroke". Waterloo Region Record. November 1, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
10. "Munsch admits to cocaine, alcohol addiction". =The Globe and Mail. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
11. "Robert Munsch admits to cocaine, alcohol abuse". Maclean's. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
12. Hague, Matthew (17 May 2010). "Robert Munsch to cocaine: I won't love you forever". Toronto Life. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
13. Wiznura, Robert; Grandy, Karen. "Robert Munsch". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
14. "The Stars Align at the 12th Annual Canada's Walk of Fame". Canada's Walk of Fame. 2009-06-16. Archived from the original on 2009-06-20. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
15. Jones, Allison (2009-09-12). "Mandel, Munsch among new Canada Walk of Fame inductees". Toronto: The Globe and Mail, syndicated from The Canadian Press. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
16. "Robert Munsch Public School".
17. Robinson, Michael (15 July 2015). "Gone but not forgotten: 100,000 Toronto library books outstanding". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 16 July 2015.

External links

• Official website
• Video interview at AuthorViews
• Robert Munsch at publisher Annick Press
• Robert N. Munsch at Library of Congress Authorities, with 46 catalogue records