After Margaret Wise Brown’s untimely death at age 42 in 1952, dozens of her unpublished writings were found almost forty years later in 1990. The papers, preserved in a cedar-lined trunk and stored in the attic of a Vermont barn belonging to Brown’s sister, had sat largely untouched since the early 1950s. Those stories are now being published as brand-new books (read more here).
Sometime after my first grandson was born, we discovered The Fathers Are Coming Home (2010, illustrated by Stephen Savage and previously blogged about here).
My daughter discovered Two Little Trains (2003, re-illustrated, but first published in 1949) at their local library for grandson number two.
The illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon are sleek, with muted colors. They fit Brown's imaginative story perfectly. Any child's imagination would be stirred by the fun pictorial match-up details of both trains' journeys!
Recently, since the birth of our third grandchild, I've discovered three more books by this prolific children's book author! The first two are stand alone stories that also happen to be included in my newest find and third recommendation, Mouse of My Heart, a collection from the archives of Margaret Wise Brown.
Book #1 - All the Little Fathers (2015), has colorful, fun illustrations by Marilyn Faucher...
Animal fathers are caring for and playing with their animal children. The lions are roaring, the dogs are getting bones, the monkeys are hanging out, the cats are purring... and of course in the end, the fathers are putting their children to bed. This book would be a perfect Father's Day gift!
I haven't seen the original book, or the one illustrated by Daniel Kirk, featuring a child's foot on a shovel (published in 1995), but I was immediately drawn to the bright, quirky, fun pictures by French illustrator, Antoine Corbineau in the newest edition, published in 2013! Future diggers and engineers will love it!
Finally, Book #3 - Mouse of My Heart, A Treasury of Sense and Nonsense, (2001) with sweet illustrations by Loretta Krupinski, has won my heart!
It's a collection of 56 poems and stories by Margaret Wise Brown, many previously unpublished. This anthology is grouped according to themes such as Adventure, Love and Friendship, Bedtime, Happiness, Big and Little, and Nature.
I found my copy used online - and it's a treasure! The introduction is by Brown's noted biographer, Leonard S. Marcus. The whimsical illustrations by Loretta Krupinski are gorgeous, done in jewel-tone colors.
All of Margaret Wise Brown's stories and poems are timeless, as she invites us in...
Do you have a favorite?
MOUSE OF MY HEART
Mouse mouse
Why do you start
Timid and shy
As a human heart?
Mouse mouse
Where do you glide
Like a soft gray shadow
Trying to hide?
Mouse mouse
Where is your den
Far from the eyes
Of cats and men?
