Only Margaret

October 1, 2021
Halley's comet brightened the skies when Margaret Wise Brown was born. Brooklyn-born Brown went on to blaze trails, too, and demonstrated her quirky personality early on, once toting a rabbit in a basket onto a train. (This rabbit became a talisman, as Brown wrote 26 books whose titles bore the words bunny or rabbit.) After her college magazine published one of her pieces, a professor urged Brown to become a writer. In 1934, she moved to New York City and took a writing course at Columbia University; losing confidence, she switched to a teacher's college. Ultimately, Brown decided against teaching and settled on writing children's books--then an unusual pursuit. This was "a happy accident" for both her and children's literature. Brown traveled around the U.S. and world, eventually purchasing a house on an island off the Maine coast; she died in Nice, France, in 1952, aged 42. This simple, straightforward biography emphasizing Brown's strong personality in lyrical language may arouse interest among Brown fans but only vaguely skims the surface. The author broaches Brown's bisexuality by mentioning in the narrative that Brown and the female poet Michael Strange "became very close" and in the notes that she was engaged to a man. The colorful, somewhat na�ve illustrations don't attempt verisimilitude. Brown is White, as is most of the supporting cast. A supplement to Brown's own charming books. (author's note, timeline, partial list of Brown's books, selected bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)

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October 15, 2021
Grades 1-3 A picture book about the beloved author of Goodnight Moon, Ransom's appealing biography opens with Brown's auspicious birth under Halley's Comet. That sets the tone, emphasizing Brown's slightly eccentric life while still focusing on childlike wonder. Brown is portrayed as someone who tapped into the magic of words as she wrote her classics and who was inspired by the natural world, especially when visiting her house in Maine. While Ransom doesn't delve into more problematic aspects of Brown's eccentricity, as did Mac Barnett's The Important Thing about Margaret Wise Brown (2019), it manages to charmingly present her life. Lawson's illustrations feature Brown's sloe-eyed beauty and capture the author in silent contemplation, with ideas swirling about her as she writes. Back matter offers a time line and partial list of the many books Brown wrote. An author's note interestingly touches on how prolific she was and how so many of her books (26) featured bunnies like the one in her memorable bedtime tale. A competent introduction to a figure who will be familiar to many young readers.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2021
Margaret Wise Brown’s singular mind and flair for the extravagant are expressed in this picture book biography. When little Margaret gets the neighbor’s dogs to haul her sled, her family marvels, “Only Margaret would think of that.” When she grows up and decides that she’ll be a writer of books for children, her friends say, “Only Margaret would make up her own job.” Ransom waxes eloquent: “Stories scrolled from her typewriter. Poems flowed from her pen.” Soon, the figure produces a picture book; with the money, she buys out a flower merchant’s entire inventory: “Only Margaret!” Unlined digital spreads by Lawson have the feel of old cartoon stills; if the prose and art feel discordant with the creator’s own work, this profile may nevertheless pique young readers’ interest in it. Back matter includes an author’s note and timeline. Ages 5–9.

November 1, 2021

K-Gr 3-Only Margaret would hitch the neighbor's pups to a sled, board a train with a rabbit, buy an entire crateful of flowers, or take a 600-mile taxi ride. This picture book biography of the beloved author celebrates her life, work, and unique sensibility. After college, Brown tried her hand at writing, but was uninspired. She then attended teaching college at Bank Street, where she had the opportunity to listen to and observe the wonder and magic of a young child's mind. She began to think like one herself as "...she watched a crow's wing slice the air" or "...heard a mouse swallow." She decided to devote herself to creating children's books with accomplished illustrators such as Garth Williams and Clement Hurd. In her short life, she wrote 100 books. While many of these are appended in a selected list, the back stories of When the Wind Blew, The Important Book, Goodnight Moon, and The Little Island are highlighted within the narrative. The digitally created illustrations capture the subject's playfulness, while the palette reflects her great affinity for the natural world. An author's note, time line, and selected bibliography are included, satisfying all requirements for school reports. Mac Barnett and Sarah Jacoby's The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown is written in a more irreverent style for a more sophisticated audience. VERDICT This engaging, attractive title is an excellent resource for author studies or biography assignments.-Barbara Auerbach, Cairo P.L., NY

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