James Burks

When James Burks was little, there was only one thing that he wanted to be when he grew up; a light-saber-wielding, truck-driving space pirate with a monkey for a first mate. But since his parents refused to buy him a monkey, he had to choose the next best thing; a pen-wielding father of two with a lovely wife, two cats, and two dogs, a constant hunger for Mexican food, a love of running marathons, writing stories and drawing pictures about anything and everything he can imagine. This led James to a long career working in animation on various feature films and television shows, including Space Jam, the Iron Giant, the Emperor’s New Groove, Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Home on the Range, Wow Wow Wubbzy, the Bravest Warriors and most recently the reboot of the Power Puff Girls (just to name a few).

James is also a published author who has written and illustrated numerous books for kids, including his long-running seven-book graphic novel series Bird and Squirrel, published by Scholastic/Graphix, which has been translated into Czech, Spanish, French, Castilian, Chinese, and even Farsi (the pirated edition in Iran). His other published works include Gabby and Gator (Yen Press), Beep and Bah (Carolrhoda), Pigs and a Blanket (Disney/Hyperion), and When Pigs Fly (Disney/Hyperion). He also has a new graphic novel series called Agent 9, published by Putnam/Penguin.