About Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret's Personal Life
Margaret Wise Brown is best known for writing the children's books "Goodnight Moon" and "Runaway Bunny".
Maragaret was born in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia in 1928. After receiving her Bachelors of Arts in English she received a full time job but found herself writing children's books on the side. In 1937, her first book was published - When the Wind Blew.
While she was never married, she dated seriously and was engaged as well. However; she was never married and died in 1952, at age 42 of an embolism. By the time of her death, she had published over 100 books. Because she was never married, she left all her book earnings to a neighbor's son who was 9 years old at the time of her death.
Though she wrote many children's novels she never had any children of her own and another author even said "she liked children in theory but in person it was a different story."
Margaret's Study & Theories on Children's Books
She wrote with the then "new" idea that children would rather read about their own lives instead of fairytales and fables. This approach, dubbed the "here and now" philosophy, was created and tested at the Bank Street Experimental School in New York City. There, under Lucy Sprague Mitchell's tutelage, Margaret encouraged children to swap stories with her. In that special writing laboratory, she communicated with children about what they wanted to read and the problems they faced.
Margaret Wise Brown is best known for writing the children's books "Goodnight Moon" and "Runaway Bunny".
Maragaret was born in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia in 1928. After receiving her Bachelors of Arts in English she received a full time job but found herself writing children's books on the side. In 1937, her first book was published - When the Wind Blew.
While she was never married, she dated seriously and was engaged as well. However; she was never married and died in 1952, at age 42 of an embolism. By the time of her death, she had published over 100 books. Because she was never married, she left all her book earnings to a neighbor's son who was 9 years old at the time of her death.
Though she wrote many children's novels she never had any children of her own and another author even said "she liked children in theory but in person it was a different story."
Margaret's Study & Theories on Children's Books
She wrote with the then "new" idea that children would rather read about their own lives instead of fairytales and fables. This approach, dubbed the "here and now" philosophy, was created and tested at the Bank Street Experimental School in New York City. There, under Lucy Sprague Mitchell's tutelage, Margaret encouraged children to swap stories with her. In that special writing laboratory, she communicated with children about what they wanted to read and the problems they faced.
Within a few short years dozens of Margaret Wise Brown books reached bookstore shelves, with dozens more in the publishing pipeline. Brownie said the stories wouldn't stop flowing. She woke up with a "head full of stories" and by the time she could scribble them down more ideas would pour in. She kept six publishers busy with her prolific output and created pen names to keep from flooding the market with Margaret Wise Brown titles. Golden MacDonald, Juniper Sage, Kaintuck Brown and Timothy Hay were among the nom de plumes she used.
List of Books Published
- When the Wind Blew (Harper & Brothers, 1937)
- The Runaway Bunny (Harper & Row, 1942)
- Don't Frighten the Lion (Harper & Brothers, 1942)
- Red Light Green Light (Doubleday, Doran and Company, 1944) ‡
- They All Saw It, illustrated by Ylla (Harper & Brothers, 1944)
- Little Lost Lamb (Doubleday, 1945) ‡
- The Little Island (Doubleday, 1946) ‡
- Little Fur Family (Harper & Brothers, 1946)
- Goodnight Moon (Harper & Brothers, 1947)
- The Golden Egg Book (Western Publishing Company, 1947)
- The Sleepy Little Lion, illustrated by Ylla (Harper & Brothers, 1947)
- Wait till the Moon is Full (Harper & Brothers, 1948)
- The Important Book (Harper & Brothers, 1949)
- The Color Kittens (Little Golden Books, 1949)
- My World (Harper, 1949)
- O Said the Squirrel, illustrated by Ylla (London: Harvill Press, 1950)
- Fox Eyes (Pantheon, 1951)
- The Duck, illustrated by Ylla (Harper & Brothers; London: Harvill Press, 1952)
- Mister Dog: The Dog Who Belonged to Himself (Golden Press, 1952)
- Little Frightened Tiger (Doubleday, 1953) ‡
- Scuppers The Sailor Dog (Little Golden Books, 1953)
- Big Red Barn (Addison-Wesley, 1954)
- Three Little Animals (Harper & Brothers, 1956)
- Home for a Bunny (Golden Press, 1956)
- Whistle for the Train (Doubleday, 1956) ‡
- Another Important Book (Joanna Cotler Books, 1999)
- Noisy Book series
- The (City) Noisy Book
- The Country Noisy Book
- The Indoor Noisy Book
- The Quiet Noisy Book
- The Seashore Noisy Book
- The Summer Noisy Book
- The Winter Noisy Book
- About Margaret Wise Brown
