New York Times best-selling author and illustrator Michael Garland’s greatest success has been for writing and illustrating children’s picture books. Garland’s Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook won the California and Delaware State Reading Awards.
He is the author and illustrator of forty-four children’s picture books and illustrator for more than fifty books by other authors. He has illustrated best-selling books for James Patterson and Gloria Estefan.
Michael Garland has worked for all the major TV networks, and illustrated cover commissions for Forbes, Fortune and Newsweek. He has worked for all the major publishers.
He works in a wide variety of illustration styles.
His books are sold at the Museum of Modern art in NYC and at the Getty Museum in LA.
Recent books include: We’re Not Weird (Holiday House; 2025 California Young Reader’s Silver Award) and Ferry Boat (Holiday House). He illustrated/wrote The Traveling Camera by Alexandra Hinrichs (Getty Museum; 2022 Wisconsin Outstanding Book of the Year). Birds Make Nests earned a 2018 Correll Book Award, Bank Street Best Books Outstanding Merit, NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book, and Mazza Museum Caldecott Contender Selection. Pizza Mouse was a Junior Library Guild Selection. Fish Had A Wish (Holiday House) received a Publishers Weekly Starred Review and Kirkus Top 25 Picture Books of the Year. Grandpa’s Tractor won the Nebraska State Agricultural Award and was featured in the Society of Illustrators Original Art show. Icarus Swinbuckle won a Society of Illustrators Silver Medal.
Michael Garland is an award-winning fine artist featured in American Artist, Print, Communication Arts, and Conservation magazines. His gallery record includes the 2024 solo exhibition "Fantasy Faces" at the Tompkins Cultural Center, a Silver Award for Lattice Face at the Mark Twain Library Art Show, and a Gold Medal for Owl Face at the Society of Illustrators Member Show.
A nationwide speaker at schools from elementary to graduate levels, Garland has also taught as a professor at Marist and Mount Saint Mary colleges.