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Wigger
Separated from her blanket, Wigger, an orphan nearly dies of loneliness until an extraordinary wind from Zurich brings them together again.
First published September 1, 1974
About the author
William Goldman
93 books2,693 followersGoldman grew up in a Jewish family in Highland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, and obtained a BA degree at Oberlin College in 1952 and an MA degree at Columbia University in 1956.His brother was the late James Goldman, author and playwright.
William Goldman had published five novels and had three plays produced on Broadway before he began to write screenplays. Several of his novels he later used as the foundation for his screenplays.
In the 1980s he wrote a series of memoirs looking at his professional life on Broadway and in Hollywood (in one of these he famously remarked that "Nobody knows anything"). He then returned to writing novels. He then adapted his novel The Princess Bride to the screen, which marked his re-entry into screenwriting.
Goldman won two Academy Awards: an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for All the President's Men. He also won two Edgar Awards, from the Mystery Writers of America, for Best Motion Picture Screenplay: for Harper in 1967, and for Magic (adapted from his own 1976 novel) in 1979.
Goldman died in New York City on November 16, 2018, due to complications from colon cancer and pneumonia. He was eighty-seven years old.
William Goldman had published five novels and had three plays produced on Broadway before he began to write screenplays. Several of his novels he later used as the foundation for his screenplays.
In the 1980s he wrote a series of memoirs looking at his professional life on Broadway and in Hollywood (in one of these he famously remarked that "Nobody knows anything"). He then returned to writing novels. He then adapted his novel The Princess Bride to the screen, which marked his re-entry into screenwriting.
Goldman won two Academy Awards: an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for All the President's Men. He also won two Edgar Awards, from the Mystery Writers of America, for Best Motion Picture Screenplay: for Harper in 1967, and for Magic (adapted from his own 1976 novel) in 1979.
Goldman died in New York City on November 16, 2018, due to complications from colon cancer and pneumonia. He was eighty-seven years old.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 18, 2013
I loved this book as a kid. I tracked it down to read again. It's still the best book ever. There's death, sorrow, armed robbery, and general mayhem solved by a pink blanket. GENIUS. Thank you, Mr. Goldman.
July 3, 2011
So I love William Goldman and I love childen's books I've missed. This...this was an odd one. The unfortunate title is just the beginning.
Short version is a little orphan ahs a pink blanket that's her only friend, and she talks to it (and it talks back), and then the blanket gets stolen and changes hands around the world while the little girl nearly dies of lonliness, and there's only barely a happy ending.
This is just one of the most utterly bleak children's books I've ever read. Aside from what I've just described, the awfulness of the girl's life as an orphan is hammered home, and they're literally building a coffin for her before she's even dead. And all she needs is a raggedy blanket with an unintentionally racist name. The illustrations by Errol LeCain are lovely, but again, sort of creepy -- the blanket is always depicted with a vague almost-a-face.
This is obviously a bedtime story Goldman made up, written in the frequent-chapter-break style of his NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY, but lord, this is weird!
A fascinating curosity, but not nearly as good as his "S. Morgernstern" books.
Short version is a little orphan ahs a pink blanket that's her only friend, and she talks to it (and it talks back), and then the blanket gets stolen and changes hands around the world while the little girl nearly dies of lonliness, and there's only barely a happy ending.
This is just one of the most utterly bleak children's books I've ever read. Aside from what I've just described, the awfulness of the girl's life as an orphan is hammered home, and they're literally building a coffin for her before she's even dead. And all she needs is a raggedy blanket with an unintentionally racist name. The illustrations by Errol LeCain are lovely, but again, sort of creepy -- the blanket is always depicted with a vague almost-a-face.
This is obviously a bedtime story Goldman made up, written in the frequent-chapter-break style of his NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY, but lord, this is weird!
A fascinating curosity, but not nearly as good as his "S. Morgernstern" books.
August 20, 2011
This is my favorite book from childhood. The illustrations and formatting are wonderful. The story is well written, although a bit sad. I still have a copy of this on my bookshelf and break it out every once in a while.
November 25, 2009
Wonderful children's book by the author of The Princess Bride. Unfortunate title.
March 24, 2019
I heard about this little book via a New Yorker article earlier this year and the way the writer described it made me seek it out via interlibrary loan. It was easier to get than I expected.
William Goldman is a gem. He packs a lot into little space, as he does in the short paragraph where Susanna loses everything she’s ever had except her beloved blanket Wigger. (As the article writer noted, this is a most unfortunate name.) What happens to Susanna as a result and what happens to Wigger in the meantime are two journeys that again get so much description and feeling packed into so little space.
I’m having the girls read this one - it strikes me as one of those odd stories that you read when you are a kid and it just sticks with you. I can’t wait to read even more Goldman.
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-...
William Goldman is a gem. He packs a lot into little space, as he does in the short paragraph where Susanna loses everything she’s ever had except her beloved blanket Wigger. (As the article writer noted, this is a most unfortunate name.) What happens to Susanna as a result and what happens to Wigger in the meantime are two journeys that again get so much description and feeling packed into so little space.
I’m having the girls read this one - it strikes me as one of those odd stories that you read when you are a kid and it just sticks with you. I can’t wait to read even more Goldman.
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-...
March 11, 2019
Excellent book by the author of The Princess Bride. This book came on my radar after reading the following New Yorker piece.
"Published in 1974, and now little-known and difficult-ish to obtain, it is about the love between a seven-year-old girl named Susanna and her pink blankie, Wigger. Goldman is best known either for writing the screenplay of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” or for his film adaptation of “The Princess Bride..."
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-...
"Published in 1974, and now little-known and difficult-ish to obtain, it is about the love between a seven-year-old girl named Susanna and her pink blankie, Wigger. Goldman is best known either for writing the screenplay of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” or for his film adaptation of “The Princess Bride..."
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-...
November 22, 2018
RIP William Goldman.
April 12, 2019
This was very dark and weird, and I’m not sure I should have read it to my six-year-old because it’s pretty depressing. Glad I got ahold of it all the same.
July 12, 2025
A bit odd, and darker than modern children's books, but still fascinating.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews