Paul Brewer’s Life Story

When PAUL BREWER was young, two of his favorite things were telling jokes with his friends and doodling, especially in class, where he was supposed to be paying attention.

Paul Brewer’s Employment History

His very first job was selling humorous greeting cards, door to door, followed by a mish-mash of others….stomping grapes for making wine in Corfu, Greece; drummer in a rock band; unloading coal freighters in a shipyard; working at a reception desk in a youth hostel in Amsterdam, Holland, where he was also the resident artist/sign maker; truck driver; forklift operator; boat builder; valet parking attendant for the rich and famous in Palm Springs; working in several art galleries in sales, and installing art shows; custom picture framer, including frames for an ex-President and other celebrities; clockmaker; cabinet and furniture maker; dreamer and procrastinator.

Then he saw the light. In 1993 he received a Certificate in Graphic Communications from the University of California-San Diego, with a particular interest in children’s book illustration. His first book illustrations appeared in French Fries Up Your Nose: 208 Ways to Annoy People, written by Alden Nusser (a 12-year-old boy), followed by The Grossest Joke Book Ever, his own compilation. Today he is a full-time illustrator and (sometimes) writer of children’s books.

And now….

Paul Brewer is the illustrator of the popular “Robert” series of chapter books for grades 2-3, written by Barbara Seuling. Oh No, It’s Robert, Robert and the Attack of the Giant Tarantula, Robert Takes a Stand, and Robert and the Practical Jokes are just a few of the nearly thirty books in the series, published over the last seven years. Published by Cricket Books in hardcover, they are also available in Scholastic paperback in stores and from the Scholastic Book Club. Reviewers have raved about these humorous school stories, describing the artwork as “quirky,” “offbeat,” and “funny.”

His full-color picture books are How to Trick or Treat in Outer Space and Clip, Clip, Clip: Three Stories about Hair (both published by Holiday House and written by his wife, Kathleen Krull (www.kathleenkrull.com). School Library Journal found “great wit and a wild palette of colors” in the “vibrant” illustrations.

One of his more recent books (and a great passion of his) is You Must Be Joking: Lots of Cool Jokes, With 17 ½ Tips For Remembering, Telling, and Making Up Your Own Jokes (Cricket Books), which he wrote and illustrated. (www.youmustbejoking.net) The sequel, You Must Be Joking, Two! is in stores now and available at www.cricketmag.com.

Paul is always working on new humorous ideas. Be on the lookout for more projects (including joke books) in the future.

He lives in San Diego, where he jokes around with his wife, the author Kathleen Krull, his two daughters, Jacqui and Melanie, and his new grandson, Ethan, who is just learning how to laugh, but still too young to understand the jokes that Paul tries to tell him.