In Little Fur Family, the little 'fur child' explores the wood all by himself, out 'till sunset. The criminally underread Mister Dog is about a dog and a boy's mastery of their own lives - 'Crispin's Crispian: the dog who belonged to himself.' (It's also got a nice recipe for bone broth in it.)Ĭlose overlay Buy Featured Book Title North, South, East, West Author Margaret Wise Brown and Greg Pizzoli

Brown's books are stories told through the eyes of children, with equal parts wonder and terror at the infinite world, and a brave yearning for independence. She may not have liked them, but she knew them. She was ambivalent about her audience, famously telling a reporter, 'I don't particularly like children.' She had dramatic and tumultuous love affairs with both men and women. When she received her first check for writing, she didn't buy necessities or even champagne, but an entire cart full of flowers. It's tempting to believe that Brown was herself the old lady whispering hush, but it's gratifying to find from her two biographies (Amy Gary's recent In the Great Green Room and Leonard Marcus' 1992 Awakened By the Moon) that she was a babe - seriously, she glows like Carole Lombard - and more importantly, she was a rebel. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. They're a pleasure to read - precise and rhythmic - words that don't rhyme still harmonize so beautifully that even the most halting reader can become a poet, telling her child a blessing.Ĭlose overlay Buy Featured Book Title Goodnight Moon Author Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd Goodnight Moon, and indeed most of Brown's exceptional and quirky bibliography, are that perfect marriage of mesmerizing for children and tantalizing for adults. One became so battered that it fell apart at the old lady whispering hush - split into two parts, invocation ('In the great green room') and benediction ('Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere'). In my own nursery no less than four copies have passed through. Of the more than 100 published and unpublished books written by the intrepid and prolific Margaret Wise Brown, there is probably none more well-worn than Goodnight Moon.

Weekend Edition books editor Barrie Hardymon talks with Lulu Garcia-Navarro about the thread of adventure that runs through Brown's life and work. And, it's been 75 years since The Runaway Bunny first left home. A new biography by Amy Gary, called The Great Green Room, has just been released, along with a previously unpublished picture book called North, South, East, West. She died suddenly at age 42, leaving behind a body of unpublished work.Ĭhildren's book doyenne Margaret Wise Brown is having a big week. Margaret Wise Brown is the author of beloved children's books such as Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny.

Good night moon by m wise brown