Marla Frazee (born January 16, 1958) is an American author and illustrator of children's literature. She has won two Caldecott Honors for picture book illustration. Early life and college Frazee was born in Los Angeles, California and moved to Glendale, California, during her childhood. She is of Lebanese descent. Frazee found her early inspiration in children's books such as Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are and Robert McCloskey's Blueberries for Sal. She illustrated her first book in third grade, which was called The Friendship Circle. After it won an award in a state fair competition, Frazee created a duplicate for her school library. It was Frazee's first book. She attended college in the Greater Los Angeles Area, where she earned her bachelor of fine arts at Art Center College of Design and graduated in 1981. While attending school, Frazee met photographer Tim Bradley. The two married in 1982 and raised three sons: Graham, Reed and James. The marriage ended in divorce in 2013. Career After college (1981–1990) After graduating from college, Frazee worked for various companies in advertising, educational publishing, toys, games, and magazines. She did toy design with companies like Mattel, Milton Bradley, and Parker Brothers. Frazee made Happy Meal boxes for McDonald's and team characters for the National Football League. World-Famous Muriel and the Magic Mystery and That Kookoory! (1990–1995) In 1990 Frazee illustrated her first published book, World-Famous Muriel and the Magic Mystery, written by Sue Alexander. After Muriel, Frazee illustrated That Kookoory!, written by Margaret Walden Froehlich. She received positive reviews of her work in the Horn Book Magazine, a journal for children's literature and young-adult literature. The Seven Silly Eaters (1997) The release of The Seven Silly Eaters, written by Mary Ann Hoberman, marked a turning point in Frazee's career. The book revolves around a family with seven children, each of whom are extremely picky eaters. A review from the Horn Book called it, "A pleasure for parent and child." More positive reviews followed. On the Morn of Mayfest – Mrs. Biddlebox (1998–2002) Following the release of The Seven Silly Eaters, Frazee illustrated many books which increased her popularity. In 1998, Frazee illustrated On the Morn of Mayfest written by Erica Silverman. After the publication of On the Morn of Mayfest, Frazee's next book was Hush, Little Baby. Frazee illustrated the classic folk song in 1999. In 2000, Frazee illustrated a book written by