Margaret Wise Brown, the author of "Goodnight Moon" and dozens of other children's classics, all but invented the picture book as we know it today....
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Jan 16, 2009
Christine
rated it: 
I read this book on the heels of "The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll," so it's hard not to compare the two.
Whereas Jean Nathan takes a sort of nostalgic, protective ownership of Dare Wright, Leonard S. Marcus treats Margaret Wise Brown from the standpoint of an academic. Curiously, I appreciate both approaches. The result in MWB: Awakened by the Moon is that this is as much a history of the American picture book as it is a biography of Brown.
What I'm taking away More...
Whereas Jean Nathan takes a sort of nostalgic, protective ownership of Dare Wright, Leonard S. Marcus treats Margaret Wise Brown from the standpoint of an academic. Curiously, I appreciate both approaches. The result in MWB: Awakened by the Moon is that this is as much a history of the American picture book as it is a biography of Brown.
What I'm taking away More...
Jan 27, 2010
Molly
rated it: 
I didn't read 'Goodnight Moon' as a child. I think I must have been one of the only ones. The picture book, which was published in 1947, is one of the bestselling and most beloved books in American publishing history. Reading it now, I see why. It's a haunting, lovely, elegiac piece of writing. A perfect goodnight poem.
Its author was equally haunting and lovely. And surprising and mercurial and incredibly prolific. By the time she died, Margaret Wise Brown had authored more than 100 More...
Its author was equally haunting and lovely. And surprising and mercurial and incredibly prolific. By the time she died, Margaret Wise Brown had authored more than 100 More...
Jun 24, 2010
Susann
rated it:
Excellent biography of Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon, Runaway Bunny, and somewhere around 100 other published works. (I don't have my book with me to check my facts.)
Marcus does his usual bang-up job at bringing his subject to life. I had no idea that MWB was so prolific and was especially drawn to her work at the Bank Street program and her collaborations with so many wonderful illustrators. Her long-term, dysfunctional love affair made me squirm for her, and her cas More...
Marcus does his usual bang-up job at bringing his subject to life. I had no idea that MWB was so prolific and was especially drawn to her work at the Bank Street program and her collaborations with so many wonderful illustrators. Her long-term, dysfunctional love affair made me squirm for her, and her cas More...
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Jun 27, 2010
Waller
rated it:
Hearing Leonard Marcus talk about MWB at the New York Public Library celebration of the 100th anniversary of her birth inspired me to take this down off the shelves, where it has been sitting for some 15 years, and finally read it. I was impressed to learn about all the rest of her activity beyond the well-known *Goodnight Moon*, *Runaway Bunny*, and Little Golden Books, and by the complex web of connections between MWB and just about everybody who was anybody in children's books in the 1930s a
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Sep 28, 2010
Jenny
rated it: 
This was one of those books that when you are done has made you think less of the subject. Since my children loved Brown's books when they were little, The Runaway Bunny and Goodnight Moon, I was saddened to find that the author wasn't someone I had all that much respect for.
The book itself sheds a lot of light on the history of children's books in the 20th century and is worth reading for that.
The book itself sheds a lot of light on the history of children's books in the 20th century and is worth reading for that.
Dec 06, 2008
Carol
rated it:
Biography of the author of "Goodnight Moon," the bedtime picture book classic. I loved reading this as a follow-up to the same author's book "Minders of Make Believe." MWB lived 1910-1952 and although she died young, she was a major influence in the development of literature for preschool children. She was an unconventional, complex personality.
Mar 15, 2011
Alison
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Oh how I love reading about the authors, illustrators and editors of the great works of 20th century Children's Literature. Leonard Marcus is the preeminent children's literature historian and scholar.
Feb 21, 2010
Wendy
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A great biography! Being a children's book writer and editor, I liked learning about the beginnings of Bank Street.
Jan 12, 2011
David
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I have to say, I'm a little disappointed in this biography. It seemed more a summary of her career and less of a detailed insight into her personal life, which is what I was anticipating. This would be an excellent academic read for people interested in gaining knowledge of early to mid 20th-century juvenile literature; but honestly, I'm just not very impressed with the biographical information portrayed here.
Feb 27, 2009
Julie
rated it:
this book was well written and easy to read. additionally, this was kind of a double biography: the life story of margaret wise brown and also the beginnings of the children's publishing industry.
Jul 28, 2008
Rachel
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This book was slow going for most of it, but I was left with a good overall impression. Her death, which I didn't know any details of before, was quite sudden and sad, in life and in the book.
May 29, 2008
Danielle
rated it:
A wonderful biography of the beloved children's book author. All the information you ever wanted/needed to know about Margaret Wise Brown including childhood photos and personal correspondence.
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