I thought this book would be just what I needed to teach young students about the person Margeret Wise Brown. An author study done for me in such an engaging and beautiful way. My favorite lines:
"....when one of Margaret's rabbits died, she skinned that rabbit and wore its pelt...There are people who will say a story like this doesn't belong in a children's book. But it happened. Margaret Wise Brown took up a rabbit and took off its pelt, and she did it when she was a child. And isn't it important that children's books contain the things children do, even if these things seem strange?"
However, I do take issue with one sentence on page 22 which indicates that Anne Carroll Moore disliked Margaret's books "because she was a conservative." It is unclear whether he means that in a political sense but that is a bit manipulative...and really at that point not honoring to children. Previously the book had explained the fact that Margaret loved both men and women. Then page 19 says," Some people when they see something strange, become bothered. These people build worlds that make perfect sense, even if that means ignoring many strange things around them. " Pages 20 and 21 continue by suggesting just how narrow Moore's world was in her little room at the New York Public Library where she worked stamping children's books with the words,"NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PURCHASE..." Followed by page 22 which makes the connection for the children that such people are called "conservatives." Hmmmm
The illustrations are gorgeous. So much of the information is pertinent to what children should know about the person Margaret Wise Brown. But for all of the talk of honoring children in the way a book is written, I was dissappointed in the not so subtle manipulation.
Anyway, make of that what you will.
The Important thing about Margaret Wise Brown is that she wrote really beautiful children's books.
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