November 12: Today in the History of Children’s Books

🎂 November 12, 1929 – Birth: Mitchell Ende

Ger­man writerMitchell EndeMichael Ende (1929–1995) was born. He is wide­ly rec­og­nized as… Giants of Ger­man and inter­na­tion­al fan­ta­sy lit­er­a­ture in the sec­ond half of the 20th cen­tu­ryOne of them is that his works are full ofPhilo­soph­i­cal spec­u­la­tion, poet­ry, and reflec­tions on mod­ern soci­etyMetaphor­i­cal cri­tique.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • Ende’s rep­re­sen­ta­tive works include “A sto­ry that will nev­er end-The Nev­erend­ing Sto­ry, 1979) and “Mao Mao-Momo(1973).
  • 《A sto­ry that will nev­er endThe sto­ry tells of a lone­ly boy named Bas­t­ian who enters a world called “Fan­ta­sy­land” by read­ing a mag­ic book and ulti­mate­ly saves it. This epic fan­ta­sy nov­el explores…The pow­er of imag­i­na­tion, the bound­ary between real­i­ty and fan­ta­sy,as well asSelf-aware­nessIts pro­found themes have been adapt­ed into mul­ti­ple films and includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books,” mak­ing it a glob­al­ly rec­og­nized clas­sic of fan­ta­sy lit­er­a­ture.
  • “Momo” tells the sto­ry of a lit­tle girl named Momo’s strug­gle against the “Grey Man” (a time thief) in alle­go­ry form, explor­ing the themes of time, con­sumerism, and human nature.The book, which is par­tic­u­lar­ly pop­u­lar in Chi­na and oth­er Asian coun­tries due to its essence, has sig­nif­i­cant social and edu­ca­tion­al val­ue.
• Far-reach­ing impact: Ende’s work chal­lenges tra­di­tion and advo­catesThe Pow­er of Imag­i­na­tionIt is a glob­al­ly rec­og­nized clas­sic of fan­ta­sy lit­er­a­ture.

| born Michael Ende | Michael Ende (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 November 12, 1930 – Birth: Donk Delacroix

Dutch writer and illus­tra­torDonk Delacroix(Tonke Dragt) was born. She is believed to be…The most impor­tant writer in the his­to­ry of Dutch chil­dren’s lit­er­a­tureOne of the works is itsMedieval fan­ta­sy, chival­ry, and sus­penseis famous.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • Her epic young adult nov­elA let­ter to the King-De brief voor de kon­ing(Pub­lished in 1962) tells the sto­ry of a young knight-erran­t’s jour­ney filled with tests of loy­al­ty.
• Hon­ors and Influ­ence: “Let­ter to the King” won the high­est hon­or in Dutch chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture, the “Chil­dren’s Book of the Year Award,” and was includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books.” Her works have influ­enced gen­er­a­tions of fan­ta­sy lit­er­a­ture read­ers world­wide.

| born Tonke Dragt | Tonke Dragt (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 November 12, 1888 – Birth: Anne Parish

Amer­i­can writ­ersAnne ParishAnne Par­rish (1888–1957) was born. She was a pro­lif­ic writer, known for her works…Imag­i­na­tive fan­ta­sy nov­elsAnd it has been praised.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments: Parish is Mid-20th Cen­tu­ry New­bery MedalA reg­u­lar cus­tomer.
  • Her fan­ta­sy nov­elFloat­ing island-Float­ing Island(Pub­lished in 1930) won awards New­bery Hon­or, 1931The book tells the sto­ry of a fam­i­ly who acci­den­tal­ly drift at sea to a small island and have an extra­or­di­nary adven­ture.
  • She has anoth­er bookDream Coach-The Dream Coach, 1924) and “The Sto­ry of Apple­by Kapoor-The Sto­ry of Apple­by Cap­ple(1950) also won New­bery Medal.

| born | Anne Par­rish | Anne Par­rish (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 Born November 12, 1956: Ruth Behar

Cuban-Amer­i­can writer and anthro­pol­o­gistRuth Behar(Ruth Behar) was born. She focus­es on cre­at­ing works about…Immi­gra­tion, Jew­ish cul­tur­al her­itage, and wom­en’s iden­ti­tyNov­els for young adults.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments: Beha’s nov­els are root­ed in herCuban-Jew­ish Immi­gra­tion Expe­ri­ence.
• Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works and hon­ors: Her workCross­ing so many oceans-Across So Many Seas(Pub­lished in 2024) won the award 2025 New­bery Hon­orThe book, through the per­spec­tives of sev­er­al Jew­ish girls liv­ing in dif­fer­ent coun­tries, show­cas­es…Fam­i­ly his­to­ry and iden­ti­ty across time and space.

| born Ruth Behar | Ruth Behar (Wikipedia) |