November 4th: Today in the History of Children’s Books

🎂 November 4, 1939 – Birth: Gail E. Haley

Amer­i­can writer and illus­tra­torGail E. HaleyGail E. Haley was born. She is a rare “dou­ble crown” win­ner, one of the few artists to have won the high­est pic­ture book awards in both the Unit­ed States and the Unit­ed King­dom.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments: Hay­ley’s works typ­i­cal­ly draw inspi­ra­tion from folk tales and myths from around the world, and employ unique tech­niques.Wood­cut prints(Wood Engrav­ing) tech­nique.
  • Calde­cott Medal: She retells and illus­trates the African Ashan­ti myth.The sto­ry of the sto­ry-A Sto­ry, A Sto­ry(Pub­lished in 1970) won an award 1971 Calde­cott Medal.
  • Kate Green­away Medal: Her self-writ­ten and self-illus­trat­ed pic­ture book,Post Office Cat-The Post Office Cat(Pub­lished in 1976) won awards Kate Green­away Medal, 1976.
• con­tribute: Hay­ley’s achieve­ments encour­aged chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture to…Mul­ti­cul­tur­al Folk TalesThe exca­va­tion and thePrint­mak­ing ArtThe appli­ca­tion of.

| born Gail E. Haley | Gail E. Haley (Wikipedia) |

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⚰️ November 4, 2003 — Passed away Charles Cosley

British poet and writerCharles CosleyCharles Caus­ley (1917–2003) died. He is con­sid­ered to be… The most out­stand­ing and pop­u­lar poet in 20th-cen­tu­ry Britainone.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: Cosley’s poet­ry is char­ac­ter­ized byClear and straight­for­wardThe lan­guage, forFolk bal­lads and tra­di­tion­al rhythmsKnown for its inge­nious use, it is loved by both chil­dren and adults.
• Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works: His poet­ry col­lec­tionFigie Hobin-Fig­gie Hob­bin(Pub­lished in 1970) was spe­cial­ly rec­om­mend­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up”.
• Influ­ence: His poet­ry blurs the lines between chil­dren’s and adult lit­er­a­ture, using…A sense of rhythm and the mag­ic of sim­plic­i­tyIt has inspired read­ers of all ages to have a pas­sion for poet­ry.

| Death Charles Caus­ley | Charles Caus­ley (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 November 4, 1906 – Birth: Sterling North

Amer­i­can writ­ersSter­ling North(Ster­ling North, 1906–1974) was born. He was a renowned author, jour­nal­ist, and his­to­ri­an.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: North’s most famous work is the semi-auto­bi­o­graph­i­cal nov­el *The Unknown*.Ras­cal the Rac­coon-Ras­cal(Pub­lished in 1963). The nov­el is set in Wis­con­sin in 1918 and tells the sto­ry of an 11-year-old boy named Ster­ling who spends a year with a rac­coon named Rath­cal.
• Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works and hon­ors: Rath­cal the Rac­coon won the award. 1964 New­bery Hon­orIt was adapt­ed into a Dis­ney movie and the Japan­ese ani­me “Lit­tle Rac­coon”.
• Influ­ence: The book is char­ac­ter­ized by its…Child­hood lone­li­ness, father-son rela­tion­ship and the rela­tion­ship between man and natureIts pro­found depic­tion of rela­tion­ships has made it a clas­sic of Amer­i­can ani­mal sto­ries and mem­oirs.

| born Ster­ling North | Ras­cal (Ster­ling North) (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 Born November 4, 1968: MT Anderson

Amer­i­can writ­ersMT Ander­son(MT Ander­son) was born. He is an extreme­ly…Inno­va­tion and ironyA young adult nov­el­ist.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments: Ander­son excels at sci­ence fic­tion, fan­ta­sy, and his­tor­i­cal fic­tion, with themes full of…Crit­i­cal and philo­soph­i­cal.
  • Nation­al Book Award: He gained fame with his his­tor­i­cal fan­ta­sy nov­el,The Amaz­ing Life of Octa­vian Nosinger, Vol­ume 1-The Aston­ish­ing Life of Octa­vian Noth­ing, Vol. 1(2006) Award­ed 2006 Nation­al Book Award.
  • New­bery Hon­or Award: He won the Nobel Prize for his nov­elElf Dog and Owl Head-Elf Dog and Owl Head(2023) Award­ed 2024 New­bery Hon­ors.
• con­tribute: His works are often in the style ofSub­ver­sive nar­ra­tiveand pairSoci­ety, pol­i­tics and con­sumerismIts sharp crit­i­cism chal­lenges the tra­di­tion­al bound­aries of youth lit­er­a­ture.

| born MT Ander­son | MT Ander­son (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 November 4, 1897 – Birth: Kurt Hyde

Ger­man-born Swiss writerKurt HydeKurt Held (orig­i­nal name KH Kläber, 1897–1959) was born. He was a…Anti-fas­cist writ­ersThe work is char­ac­ter­ized by its strongSocial jus­tice and the spir­it of resis­tanceAnd is known for it.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • His most famous young adult nov­el is […].Red-haired Zola-Die rote Zora und ihre Bande(Pub­lished in 1941). The nov­el tells the sto­ry of a group of orphans wan­der­ing the Croa­t­ian coast who, under the lead­er­ship of the strong-willed red-haired girl Zola, con­front social injus­tice and defend free­dom.
• Influ­ence: This work is con­sid­eredOne of the most impor­tant works of social real­ism in the his­to­ry of Euro­pean chil­dren’s lit­er­a­tureEncour­age chil­drenUni­ty and inde­pen­denceAnd its resis­tance to social injus­tice is spe­cial­ly rec­om­mend­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up”.

| born Kurt Held | Kurt Held (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 November 4, 1909 – Birth: Ciro Allegria

Peru­vian writer and jour­nal­istCiro Alle­gria(Ciro Ale­gría, 1909–1967) was born. He was one of the lead­ing fig­ures in the Indi­genism move­ment.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: Ale­gri­a’s lit­er­ary works pro­found­ly depictIndige­nous peo­ple of the Peru­vian AndesWhen faced with land­lords, cor­rup­tion, and dis­crim­i­na­tionLife dif­fi­cul­ties and strug­gles.
• Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works: His nov­elThe vast world-El mun­do es ancho y ajeno(Pub­lished in 1941) is hailed asMas­ter­pieces of Latin Amer­i­can Indige­nous Lit­er­a­tureAlthough the book is an adult nov­el, it is pop­u­lar because of its appeal to adults.Social jus­tice and the lives of the under­priv­i­legedHis pro­found account has also been includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up”.

| born | Ciro Ale­gría | Ciro Ale­gría (Wikipedia) |

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🎂 November 4, 1870 – Birth: BTB.

British illus­tra­tor, aris­to­cratBTB.(Born Basil Tem­ple Black­wood, 1870–1917)

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions: BTB is a writerHil­lel Bel­lock(Hilaire Belloc)‘s close friend and col­lab­o­ra­tor.
• Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works: He wrote for Bel­loc’s satir­i­cal col­lec­tion of poems,Chil­dren’s cau­tion­ary tales-Cau­tion­ary Tales for Chil­dren(Illus­trat­ed by [author’s name], pub­lished in 1907). This work…It imi­tates and sat­i­rizes the rigid moral­is­tic fairy tales of the Vic­to­ri­an era.It became a clas­sic for its absurd humor and satire and was includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books”.

| born | BTB (Basil Tem­ple Black­wood) | Cau­tion­ary Tales for Chil­dren (Wikipedia) |