Customer Reviews

Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened By the Moon

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An absorbing book that provides a fascinating, respectful biography of Brown, as well as an intriguing history of the Golden Age of children's publishing. Finely written and well documented.

A fascinating account of a pioneer of children's literature. This book provides a great deal of insight into the personal and professional dealings of children's book publishing in the earliest days. Margaret seems to have been a woman ahead of her time in many ways and quite a character herself. A very entertaining and well researched book.

The bizarre bohemian-preppy life of Margaret Wise Brown captured by Leonard Marcus in "Awakened by the Moon" is an excellent enjoyable read comparable to Andrew Wilson's "Beautiful Shadow" biography of Patricia Highsmith. The only flaw is Marcus did not interview Albert Clark, the chief beneficiary of Brown's will and the inheritor of the royalties of "Goodnight Moon."

This is a highly detailed book, and so it is more "by a writer, for writers" than a general or curious audience.

It's no small task to create an enchanting picture of an adored figure in children's literature. Unfortunately, Leonard Marcus was not up to the challenge. The biography is too linear, too literal, and written too much like a graduate school study. Still, the segment about her studies at Bank Street College of Education (I'm a grad) was interesting, as was the description of her evolving sense of child development as it affected her story crafting.

I used this book for my report on Margaret Brown. It was helpful, but theres a lot to read.

Thoughtfully written biography of an intriguing woman author. All the "interesting" details present without dropping into lurid. Many would consider this a "dry" reading book, but in the context of that specific time in US history she really broke ground, both professionally and personally.

This is one of my favorite books in the genre of literary biography. I found the details to be fascinating and Wise's life to be quite bohemian and a fascinating study. For me, it WAS a page turner and worthy of anyone's time. In fact, I chose to use it as the basis for an hour long presentation for various book clubs. Everyone was familiar with GoodNight Moon and enjoyed hearing about Wise's life. I heartily recommend this book. It's just that good.

This is a wonderful book. Everyone knows The Runaway Bunny and Goodnight Moon, but who knew about the amazing woman who wrote them? A must for every adult with kids!

Awakened by the Moon is a somewhat interesting account of the life and times of Margaret Wise Brown but it drags itself down in minute details.

It could have moved along a little faster but it is essentially an interesting read. Just don't expect a page-turner.