|
Hours: Monday 2pm - 8pm Tuesday Closed Wednesday 9am - 3pm Thursday 2pm - 8pm Friday Closed Saturday 9am - 3pm Sunday Closed |
Maine Writers Index - Detail (Return to List) Margaret Wise Brown (1910 - 1952) Margaret Wise Brown (1910 - 1952) Born in Brooklyn, NY, on 23 May 1910, Margaret Wise Brown, first as an editor and then as a writer, had a significant role in the creation of the twentieth-century picture book. A number of her books, such as Good Night Moon (1947) and The Runaway Bunny (1942), are considered children's classics. Most of her dreamy and solitary childhood was lived in Whitestone Landing, Long Island, NY. Brown's family often spent their summer vacations in Maine. After graduating from Hollins College (VA) in 1932, Brown was a student in a Columbia University writers course. She then enrolled in a teacher program at the innovative Bank Street School. She quickly learned teaching was not what she wanted to do. She remained at the school, however, as a member of its publication staff. The school's 'here-and-now' philosophy, which focused on children's sensory experiences of the world, was a major influence on her writing. In 1938 she became the editor for the newly created children's department of W.R. Scott publishers. She continued as editor until 1941 when she began her full-time writing career during which she published over 100 books. Brown used three pseudonyms: Timothy Hay, playfully chosen for Horses (1947); Golden MacDonald (the name of an elderly Maine handyman Brown knew) used for all books published for Doubleday editor Margaret Lesser; and Juniper Sage (influenced by Junipero Serra's name) for her collaborations with Edith Thacher Hurd. In 1943 Brown purchased a former quarry master's house on Vinalhaven Island, Maine, as a summer place where she entertained many writer and illustrator friends. In fact, a small island seen from her property was the inspiration for The Little Island (1946) for which Leonard Weisgard's illustrations received a Caldecott Medal. On the day she was to be released from a Nice, France, hospital after a successful appendectomy, 13 Nov. 1952, she died unexpectedly from an embolism. Her ashes were brought to Maine and scattered in the ocean off Vinalhaven. A simple stone marker on her island property commemorates her life. More biographical information is available online. Books published during Brown's lifetime include:
As Brown left many unfinished manuscripts when she died, her books are still being published years after her death. Some posthumous offerings include Another Important Book (1999), a picture book showing kids the important things about being ages 1-6, Robin's Room (2002, illus. Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher), My World of Color (2002, illus. Loretta Krupinski), Sailor Boy Jig (2002), Sheep Don't Count Sheep (2003), about a lamb having trouble falling asleep until his mother tells him to count butterflies, Sneakers, the Seaside Cat (2003), The Fierce Yellow Pumpkin (2003), and A Child is Born (2003; ill. Floyd Cooper; board book). The Waterboro Public Library also has Litle Donkey Close Your Eyes, Home for a Bunny, The Steamroller, Sleepy ABC, and Three Orphan Kittens. Two Brown bibliographies are available online, one from Bev Dittberner and another from the Margaret Wise Brown Web Resource. Rebecca Platzner has written an insightful study of The Dead Bird (1958; illustrated by Remy Charlip). Biographical sources include Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the
Moon (1992/1999) by Leonard S. Marcus. Juvenile titles are Carol Greene's
Margaret Wise Brown -- Author of Goodnight Moon (1993) and
Margaret, Frank, and Andy: Three Writers' Stories (1996) by
Cynthia Rylant. In addition, Joan W. Blos adapted some Brown personal
notes and published them as The Days Before Now: An Autobiographical Note
by Margaret Wise Brown (1994). Her papers are at Hollins College. |