Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
|
Loading... Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon (1992)by Leonard S. Marcus
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.  jbarr5 | Dec 16, 2015 |   After graduating from Hollins College, she became involved with the Bank Street School in New York City and the philosophy of its founder, Lucy Sprague Mitchell. Mitchell disapproved of fairy tales and thought children's books should be about their own lives. On a personal level, Ms. Brown was involved with Michael Strange, an ex-wife of John Barrymore, who explained that she, Strange, wrote "big" books for grownups, while Brown wrote "little" books for children---like Brown's book, The Little Fireman. I was left with the feeling that Strange had delusions of grandeur and Brown, lacking self confidence, was convinced of her inferior status by Strange. After Strange's death, Brown met a younger man, James Rockefeller; they were going to marry when he returned from an around-the-world sailing trip. Alas, she died in a bizarre accident at the age of 42: after about two weeks of bed rest following an operation in a hospital in Europe she kicked up her leg while still lying down, causing an embolism to travel through her system and died almost immediately. Like many of her social class at that time, Brown was anti-semitic without giving it much thought. She was shocked to discover that her friend and illustrator, Esphyr Slobodkina, was Jewish. I, on the other hand, was delighted to learn this because I had always thought that Caps for Sale felt very Jewish and I hadn't been able to find any information about her religion. (  ) raizel | Jul 21, 2011 | ) labwriter | Jan 7, 2010 | ) JNSelko | Jun 19, 2008 | no reviews | add a review
"Leonard S. Marcus... has masterfully written about a fascinating woman who in her short life changed literature for the very young. I was throroughly enchanted."--Eric Carle Nearly fifty years after her sudden death at the age of forty-two, Margaret Wise Brown remains a legend and an enigma. Author of Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, and dozens of other children's classics, Brown all but invented the picture book as we know it today. Combining poetic instinct with a profound empathy for small children, she understood a child's need for security, love, and a sense of being at home in the world. Yet, these were comforts that had eluded her. Her sparkling presence and her unparalleled success as a legendary children's book author masked an insecurity that left her restless and vulnerable. In this authoritative and moving biography, Leonard S. Marcus, who had access to never-before-published letters and family papers, portrays Brown's complex character and her tragic, seesaw life. Colorful, thoughtful, and insightful, Margaret Wise Brown is both a portrayal of a woman whose stories still speak to millions and a portrait of New York in the 1930s and 1940s, when the literary world blossomed and made history. No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.52Literature American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1900-1945LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.79)
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia in English (3)
1
Story about Margaret, her life, her relatives and what interests they had while she grew up.
Different places she visited and lived and books they read and games they played.
Moves onto her adult life also and her book writing. Like stories she's written and the way she uses furry animals.
Loved hearing of her island house and all the struggles with her books, makes you appreciate them a lot more. (