Joyce, William (1957-…), is an American children’s author and illustrator . After establishing himself in children’s literature , Joyce extended his career into television and motion pictures . He has created covers for The New Yorker magazine. His artwork has also been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States.
William Edward Joyce was born on Dec. 11, 1957, in Shreveport, Louisiana. He graduated with a B.A. in film from Southern Methodist University in 1981 and began his career as an illustrator. The first children’s book with Joyce as the illustrator appeared in 1983. Joyce’s first book as both writer and artist was George Shrinks (1985). The book tells about the adventures of a boy who has shrunk to 3 inches (8 centimeters) in height. The character became the star of a popular animated children’s television series in the early 2000’s.
One of Joyce’s most popular characters is a boy robot named Rolie Polie Olie. He lives on a planet in which everything is round. The character appears in Rolie Polie Olie (1999) and several later books. Joyce had developed Rolie Polie Olie for an animated television series that ran from 1998 to 2004. Joyce’s other popular books as author and illustrator include Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo (1988), A Day with Wilber Robinson (1990, revised 2006), Bently & Egg (1992), and Santa Calls (1993). Joyce also created a series of modern fairy tales called “The Guardians of Childhood.” The first book in the series was The Man in the Moon (2011).
Joyce helped create characters for the popular animated motion pictures Toy Story (1995), A Bug’s Life (1998), and Robots (2005). He wrote and co-directed The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011), which won the Academy Award for best animated short film in 2012. He also served as co-executive producer of a motion picture adaptation of “The Guardians of Childhood” stories called The Rise of the Guardians (2012).
