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

⚰️ December 12, 2014 — Passed away Norman Birdwell

Amer­i­can writer and illus­tra­torNor­man Bird­wellNor­man Brid­well (1928–2014) died.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • He is the author of the clas­sic Amer­i­can chil­dren’s book series **Clif­ford the Big Red Dog**.Clif­ford the Big Red DogThe cre­ator of (the first edi­tion in 1963).
• Influ­ence: Clif­ford, a red dog even big­ger than a house, became a child­hood com­pan­ion for many chil­dren with his loy­al, kind, but often well-inten­tioned yet mis­guid­ed char­ac­ter. The series was not only adapt­ed into a pop­u­lar ani­mat­ed film, but was also includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up”.

| Death | Nor­man Brid­well | Nor­man Brid­well (Wikipedia) |

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⚰️ December 12, 1889 – Died: Robert Browning

Major poets of the Vic­to­ri­an era in Eng­landRobert Brown­ingRobert Brown­ing (1812–1889) died.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • His famous nar­ra­tive poemHamelin’s Pied Piper-The Pied Piper of HamelinIt was orig­i­nal­ly writ­ten for actor William Macready’s sick son.
• sta­tus: This adap­ta­tion of a Ger­man folk­tale about bro­ken promis­es and revenge, with its catchy rhyme and dra­mat­ic ele­ments, has become a clas­sic in chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture. It has been rein­ter­pret­ed by count­less illus­tra­tors and is spe­cial­ly rec­om­mend­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up”.

| Death Robert Brown­ing | Robert Brown­ing (Wikipedia) |

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⚰️ December 12, 1954 – Died: Margaret Koms

British-Amer­i­can artist and illus­tra­torMar­garet KomsMar­guerite Kirmse (1885–1954) died. She was known for her etch­ings and…狗It is known for its vivid depic­tions.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • One of her most famous achieve­ments was forEric KnightEric Knight’s clas­sic nov­elLassie the Good Dog-Lassie Come-HomeThe book (pub­lished in 1940) fea­tures illus­tra­tions.
• Influ­ence: Her illus­tra­tions per­fect­ly cap­ture the loy­al­ty and resilience of this Scot­tish Shep­herd, becom­ing an inte­gral part of the sto­ry. The work is also includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up”.

| Death | Mar­guerite Kirmse | Mar­guerite Kirmse (Wikipedia) |

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⚰️ December 12, 2004 — Passed away Bernarda Bryson Shane

Amer­i­can illus­tra­tor and painterBernar­da Bryson ShaneBernar­da Bryson Shahn (1903–2004) died. She was the wife of the famous artist Ben Shahn and was also an out­stand­ing artist her­self.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • She relied on her work for “The sun is a gold­en ear­ring.-The Sun Is a Gold­en Ear­ringThe illus­tra­tions cre­at­ed by him (pub­lished in 1962) won an award. 1963 Calde­cott Hon­orThis book col­lects folk tales about celes­tial bod­ies from around the world, and its illus­tra­tions are del­i­cate and dec­o­ra­tive.

| Death Bernar­da Bryson | Bernar­da Bryson (Wikipedia) |