November 1st: Today in the history of children’s books

🎂 November 1, 1926 – Birth: Hilary Knight

Amer­i­can writer and illus­tra­torHilary KnightHilary Knight was born on Long Island, New York. He is known for…Unique and gor­geous pen draw­ingsShe is known for her style and her por­tray­al of the icon­ic char­ac­ter Eloise.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: Knight is a writerKay Thomp­son(Kay Thompson)‘sEloise-Eloise(Pub­lished in 1955) series of pic­ture booksIn-house illus­tra­torEloise is a mis­chie­vous girl liv­ing in the Plaza Hotel in New York, and Knight uses her…Refined, styl­ish and play­fulThe lines per­fect­ly cap­ture the charm of a mid-20th-cen­tu­ry city and the whim­sy of chil­dren.
• Influ­ence: “The “Elois” series is not only a clas­sic of chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture, but also an icon of 20th-cen­tu­ry Amer­i­can pop­u­lar cul­ture and design.

| born Hilary Knight | Hilary Knight (illus­tra­tor) (Wikipedia) |

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⚰️ November 1, 1967 – Died: Eloise Lonsbury

Amer­i­can writ­ersEloise Lons­bury(Eloise Lowns­bery, 1888–1967) died. She is best known for her his­tor­i­cal nov­els, often set in Europe.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • Her his­tor­i­cal nov­elStep­ping out of the flames-Out of the Flame(Pub­lished in 1931) won awards New­bery Hon­or, 1932This nov­el is set in 16th-cen­tu­ry France and tells the sto­ry of two young peo­ple in the French court.
• Influ­ence: Her work reflects the ear­ly 20th-cen­tu­ry Amer­i­can chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture’s inter­est in Euro­pean his­to­ry and hero­ism.

| Death Eloise Lowns­bery | Eloise Lowns­bery (Wikipedia) |

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⚰️ November 1, 1973 – Died: Elizabeth Sieger

Amer­i­can writ­ersEliz­a­beth SiegerEliz­a­beth Seeger (1889–1973) died. She was an edu­ca­tor and his­to­ri­an who focused on pop­u­lar­iz­ing com­plex glob­al his­to­ry for young peo­ple.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • Her first workGrand Cer­e­mo­ny in Chi­nese His­to­ry-Pageant of Chi­nese His­to­ry(Pub­lished in 1934) won awards New­bery Hon­or, 1935This work is con­sid­ered to be suit­able for young read­ers.A fas­ci­nat­ing intro­duc­tion to Chi­nese his­to­ry.
• Influ­ence: Seger’s works pro­vid­ed Amer­i­can young read­ers with a win­dow into non-West­ern cul­tures in the mid-20th cen­tu­ry, mak­ing an impor­tant con­tri­bu­tion to the pop­u­lar­iza­tion of his­to­ry.

| Death Eliz­a­beth Seeger | The Pageant of Chi­nese His­to­ry (Word­Press) |

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⚰️ November 1, 2006 — Passed away: Hilda van Stokum

Dutch-Amer­i­can author and illus­tra­torHil­da van Stokum(Hil­da van Stock­um, 1908–2006) died.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: Van Stokum’s works are most­ly inspired by herDutch and Irish back­ground, with itsWarm and vibrantIt is loved for its fam­i­ly sto­ries and humor­ous depic­tions of dai­ly life.
• Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works and achieve­ments: Her workA day of ice skat­ing-A Day on Skates: The Sto­ry of a Dutch Pic­nic(Pub­lished in 1934) won awards New­bery Hon­or, 1935The book vivid­ly depicts the joy­ful scene of Dutch chil­dren hav­ing a pic­nic on the ice.

| Death | Hil­da van Stock­um | Hil­da van Stock­um (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 November 1, 1877 – Birth: Els Yuri

Ger­man writerEls Yuri(Else Ury, 1877–1943) was born in Berlin.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: Yuri is best known for her **Nesthäkchen (Lit­tle Daugh­ter)** series, the first of which is…The youngest daugh­ter and her toy dolls-Nesthäkchen und ihre Pup­pen(Pub­lished in 1913) describes the sto­ry of Annemarie, a girl from a wealthy fam­i­ly, from child­hood to adult­hood.
• Far-reach­ing impact: Despite its strong his­tor­i­cal and class lim­i­ta­tions, the series pro­vides read­ers with an under­stand­ing of… Ger­man fam­i­ly and wom­en’s life in the ear­ly 20th cen­tu­ryIts cap­ti­vat­ing win­dow has earned it the title of “Ger­many’s Lit­tle Women” and it has been spe­cial­ly rec­om­mend­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up”.

| born Else Ury | Nesthäkchen and ihre Pup­pen (Goodreads) |

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🎂 November 1, 1892 – Birth: Mabel Lee Hunter

Amer­i­can writ­ersMabel Lee HunterMabel Leigh Hunt was born. She focus­es on cre­at­ing for teenagers.Amer­i­can his­tor­i­cal biogra­phies and nov­els.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: Hunter is ded­i­cat­ed to intro­duc­ing chil­dren to for­got­ten fig­ures and events in Amer­i­can his­to­ry.
• Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works and achieve­ments: Her two bio­graph­i­cal works have won awards.New­bery Hon­or:
  • 《Have you ever met Tom Sam?-Have you seen Tom Thumb?(1942): Award­ed 1943 New­bery Sil­ver Medal.
  • 《His more wide­ly known name is John­ny Apple­seed.-Bet­ter Known as John­ny Apple­seed(1950): Award­ed 1951 New­bery Sil­ver Medal.

| born | Mabel Leigh Hunt | Mabel Leigh Hunt (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 November 1, 1946 – Birth: Shimizu Yuko

Japan­ese-Amer­i­can illus­tra­torShimizu YukoYuko Shimizu was born. She is an impor­tant fig­ure in the con­tem­po­rary inter­na­tion­al illus­tra­tion world, known for her…Vibrant, blend­ing Japan­ese print­mak­ing style with mod­ern West­ern nar­ra­tiveHe is known for his cre­ative works.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: Yuko Shimizu is pri­mar­i­ly active in the adult illus­tra­tion and design world, but her chil­dren’s pic­ture books have received extreme­ly high praise in recent years.
• Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works and hon­ors: Her illus­tra­tions have won awards twice.Calde­cott Hon­or:
  • 《The Cat Peo­ple of Alep­po-The Cat Man of Alep­po(2020): Award­ed 2021 Calde­cott Hon­or.
  • 《Upward, upward, always upward! Junko Tabei’s moun­tain life-Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Moun­tains(2024): Award­ed 2025 Calde­cott Hon­or.

| born | Yuko Shimizu | Yuko Shimizu x Vault Edi­tions: Artist Inter­view – See its awards infor­ma­tion |

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🎂 November 1, 1912 – Birth: Gerhard Gorman

Ger­man illus­tra­tor and graph­ic design­erGer­hard Gor­man(Ger­hard Goß­mann, 1912–1994) was born.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: Gün­mann was one of the most famous book illus­tra­tors of the for­mer East Ger­many (GDR), hav­ing illus­trat­ed more than 270 books through­out his life. His works range from lit­er­ary clas­sics to young adult adven­ture nov­els.
• Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works: HeBeno Prudela(Ben­no Pludra)‘sPirate Heart-Das Herz des Pirat­enThe illus­tra­tions were cre­at­ed by [author’s name] in 1985. This nov­el is high­ly rec­om­mend­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up”.

| born Ger­hard Goß­mann | Illus­tra­toren­ga­lerie: Ger­hard Goss­mann (Detlef-Hein­sohn) |

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🎂 Born November 1, 1971: Pablo Amago

Span­ish illus­tra­tor and design­erPablo Ama­go(Pablo Amar­go) was born.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: Amago’s illus­tra­tion style is extreme­lyModer­ni­ty and Con­cep­tu­al­i­tyHe excels at using min­i­mal­ist lines, strong col­or con­trasts, and graph­ic design to bring a fresh inter­pre­ta­tion to lit­er­ary clas­sics.
• Inter­na­tion­al recog­ni­tion: He 2005 With his work on Hans Chris­t­ian Ander­sen’s fairy talesThe Princess and the Pea-La prince­sa y el guisante) won theMedal Award at the Bratisla­va Inter­na­tion­al Bien­ni­al of Illus­tra­tion (BIB)(BIB Plaque).

| born Pablo Amar­go libros Pablo Amar­go (Offi­cial Web­site) |