March 15: Today in the History of Children’s Books

🎂 Born March 15, 1964: Kate DiCamillo

One of the most out­stand­ing con­tem­po­rary Amer­i­can chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture authorsKate DiCamil­loBorn. She is known for her emo­tion­al­ly charged writ­ing and pro­found explo­ration of “love and hope”.

  • Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
  • Dou­ble New­bery Medal:
  • 2004: With theRoman­tic Mouse Depero-The Tale of Des­pereauxThis was the first time the film had won an award. It tells the sto­ry of a brave lit­tle mouse who falls in love with a princess and with the light.
  • 2014: With theFlo­ra and Squir­rel-Flo­ra & UlyssesThis is anoth­er heart­warm­ing work full of whim­sy and imag­i­na­tion, which won the gold medal again.
  • Oth­er clas­sics: Her break­through workDumb Dog Wen­dick-Because of Winn-Dix­ie) won the 2001 New­bery Sil­ver Medal;Edward’s Mirac­u­lous Jour­ney-The Mirac­u­lous Jour­ney of Edward TulaneIt is a tear-jerk­ing mas­ter­piece that has moved count­less read­ers around the world.

| Birth | Kate DiCamil­lo | Kate DiCamil­lo (Wikipedia) |


⚰️ March 15, 2010 — Passed away Patricia Wrightson

Aus­tralian nation­al trea­sure chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture authorPatri­cia Wright­sonHe died in 1921–2010.

  • High­est Hon­or:
  • Hans Chris­t­ian Ander­sen Award (HCAA): At 1986 Award­edInter­na­tion­al Hans Chris­t­ian Ander­sen Award for Writ­ersShe is the first Aus­tralian author to receive this hon­or.
  • Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works include “Nagan and the Stars-The Nar­gun and the Stars)and“Astro­naut’s Per­il-Down to Earth).
  • Artis­tic fea­tures: She per­fect­ly blend­ed Aus­tralian Abo­rig­i­nal myths and leg­ends with mod­ern chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture, giv­ing Aus­tralian chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture a unique local foun­da­tion and mag­i­cal real­ism, and is hailed as the “God­moth­er of Aus­tralian Lit­er­a­ture”.

| Passed Away | Patri­cia Wright­son | Patri­cia Wright­son (Wikipedia) |


⚰️ March 15, 1942 – Death: Rachel Field

Amer­i­can writer and poetRachel FieldHe died in 1894–1942.

  • Impor­tant works and his­tor­i­cal achieve­ments:
  • New­bery Medal: With theThe Wood­en Dol­l’s Jour­ney》 or trans­la­tion 《The Leg­end of the Wood­en Doll (100-Year-Old)-Hit­ty, Her First Hun­dred Years(Pub­lished in 1929) won an award New­bery Medal, 1930.
  • His­tor­i­cal sig­nif­i­cance: She is in his­to­ryThe first female author to win the New­bery Medal.
  • New­bery Sil­ver Medal: In 1932, with the help of “Lau­rel Fairy》 or trans­la­tion 《Cal­i­co bush­es-Cal­i­co BushShe won an award. Her writ­ing is ele­gant, melan­cholic, and poet­ic.

| Passed Away | Rachel Field | Rachel Field (Wikipedia) |


🎂 Born March 15, 1936: Francisco Ibáñez

Span­ish com­ic book giantFran­cis­co IvanesBorn (1936–2023).

  • Impor­tant works and influ­ence:
  • Mott and PhilMor­tade­lo y FilemónThis com­ic, which began in 1958, is a sym­bol of Span­ish pop­u­lar cul­ture.
  • fea­ture: It tells the sto­ry of two clum­sy but always suc­cess­ful secret agents. Its non­sen­si­cal phys­i­cal humor and satire of social real­i­ties have made it the most suc­cess­ful com­ic series in Span­ish his­to­ry, and it has been includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books”.

| Birth | Fran­cis­co Ibáñez | Fran­cis­co Ibáñez (Wikipedia) |


🗓️ Other Important Person Briefings

eventfig­ureDetails/AwardsMain Ref­er­ence
bornAdele Grass (Adèle Geras)British writer. His most famous work is *Troy*.Troy(This is a col­lec­tion of 1001 chil­dren’s books, which recon­structs Home­r’s epics from a very female per­spec­tive.)Adèle Geras (Wikipedia)
bornAnn Lüt­gers (An Rut­gers)A Dutch author. A two-time win­ner of the Ger­man Youth Lit­er­a­ture Prize (DJLP), spe­cial­iz­ing in depict­ing com­ing-of-age sto­ries of teenagers imbued with social respon­si­bil­i­ty.An Rut­gers (Wiki­da­ta)
bornEleonore Schmid (Eleonore Schmid)Swiss illus­tra­tor.Award­ed the BIB Badge of Hon­or twice, in 1969 and 1977.It is known for its exquis­ite and detailed nature pic­ture books.N/A
DeathHarold Court­land (Harold Cour­lan­der)Amer­i­can folk­lorist.1948 New­bery Sil­ver MedalThe win­ner (of “The Cow Tail Brush”)The Cow-Tail Switch), ded­i­cat­ed to col­lect­ing African and Caribbean folk tales.Harold Cour­lan­der (Wikipedia)
DeathMary Tut­tle (Mary Tour­tel)British artist. Cre­ator of the “Rupert Bear” char­ac­ter, one of the most impor­tant car­toon char­ac­ters in British his­to­ry.Mary Tour­tel (Wikipedia)
DeathAlex Whit­ing (Alex Wed­ding)Ger­man writer. His most famous work is *Ed and Nku*.Edu und UnkuIt is set against the back­drop of the friend­ship between a Sin­ti girl and a Ger­man boy and is includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books”.Alex Wed­ding (Wikipedia)
DeathFritz Weg­n­er (Fritz Weg­n­er)An Aus­tri­an-born British illus­tra­tor. Her most famous work is “Please, Mrs. But­ler,” known for its humor­ous school illus­tra­tions, which were includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books.”Fritz Weg­n­er (Wikipedia)