December 8th: Today in the History of Children’s Books

🎂 December 8, 1894 – Birth: James Thurber

Amer­i­can humorist and car­toon­istJames ThurberJames Thurber (1894–1961) was born. He is hailed as… Amer­i­ca’s great­est humorist of the 20th cen­tu­ryone.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • His chil­dren’s book, *The Princess’s Moon*, is a work he cre­at­ed for chil­dren.Many MoonsPub­lished in 1943, illus­trat­ed by Louis Slo­bod­kin, it is a high­ly acclaimed mod­ern chil­dren’s book.
• Influ­ence: The sto­ry tells of a capri­cious lit­tle princess who wants the moon and the clever adults in the palace who can­not grant her wish. Ulti­mate­ly, a clown uses his wit to solve the prob­lem. The book is char­ac­ter­ized by…Philo­soph­i­cal humorand pairChil­dren’s Log­icRespect­ed for its mer­its, it won the Calde­cott Medal (illus­tra­tion) and was includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up”.

🎂 December 8, 1881 – Birth: Patrick Collum

Irish writer, poet, and play­wrightPatrick Col­lumPadra­ic Colum (1881–1972) was born. He was…Irish lit­er­ary revival move­mentHe was an impor­tant fig­ure and left a rich lega­cy for chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture, espe­cial­ly skilled in…Retelling myths and folk tales.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
  • He is a fre­quent recip­i­ent of the New­bery Hon­or, hav­ing won the Sil­ver Medal three times.
    • 1922: 《The Search for the Gold­en Fleece: The Leg­end of the Arg­onauts-The Gold­en Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles).
    • 1926: 《Nav­i­ga­tors: The Leg­end and Romance of Dis­cov­er­ing the Atlantic-The Voy­agers: Being Leg­ends and Romances of Atlantic Dis­cov­ery).
    • 1934: 《The Big Tree of Bon­lach: A Sto­ry of My Home­town-The Big Tree of Bun­lahy: Sto­ries of My Own Coun­try­side).

🎂 December 8, 1925 – Birth: Carmen Martin Gates

Span­ish writerCar­men Mar­tin GatesCar­men Martín Gaite (1925–2000) was born. She was one of the most impor­tant con­tem­po­rary Span­ish writ­ers.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • Her rep­re­sen­ta­tive work of chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture is “Lit­tle Red Rid­ing Hood of Man­hat­tan-Cape­ruci­ta en Man­hat­tan(Pub­lished in 1990) is a clas­sic fairy tale.Mod­ern Urban Rethink­ing.
• Influ­ence: In this ver­sion, Lit­tle Red Rid­ing Hood Sarah lives in mod­ern-day Brook­lyn, New York, and the sto­ry explores…Free­dom, Soli­tude, and Mod­ern LifeIts theme is includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up,” and it is a mod­ern clas­sic of Span­ish chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture.

🎂 December 8, 1832 – Birth: George Alfred Henty

British writerGeorge Alfred Hen­ty(GA Hen­ty, 1832–1902) was born. He was known for his cre­ative works.His­tor­i­cal adven­ture nov­elsHe is best known as the “King of Vic­to­ri­an Boys’ Nov­els”.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • His works, such asMy Days in India with Clive-With Clive in India(Pub­lished in 1884) places fic­tion­al young heroes with­in grand, real his­tor­i­cal events. While lim­it­ed by the con­straints of its time, its works great­ly inspired young peo­ple at the time.His­to­ry and Adven­tureHis inter­est was sparked and he was includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books”.

⚰️ December 8, 2008 — Passed away Olivier Postgate

British writer and ani­ma­torOlivi­er Post­gateOliv­er Post­gate (1925–2008) has passed away. He was a pio­neer of British chil­dren’s tele­vi­sion pro­gram­ming and cre­at­ed many beloved clas­sic char­ac­ters.

• Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • He col­lab­o­rat­ed with Peter Firmin on the book “Loco­mo­tive Ivor-Ivor the Engine(Start­ed in 1958) series.
• Influ­ence: This sto­ry about a lit­tle train on the Welsh Meri­o­n­is and Lantwilly Rail­way that want­ed to sing in the choir is full of…Unique British charm, warmth, and whim­syHis relat­ed books are includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up”.

⚰️ December 8, 1979 — Died: Ruth Klissmann Garnett

Amer­i­can illus­tra­torRuth Kliss­mann Gar­nettRuth Chris­man Gan­nett (1896–1979) passed away. She was the step­moth­er of the famous chil­dren’s author Ruth Stiles Gan­nett (best known for “My Father’s Drag­on”), and also cre­at­ed the clas­sic illus­tra­tions for the series.

• Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
  • She relied on Becky Rey­her The workMy mom is the most beau­ti­ful woman in the world.-My Moth­er Is the Most Beau­ti­ful Woman in the WorldThe illus­tra­tions by [author’s name] (pub­lished in 1945) won [award/recognition]. 1946 Calde­cott Hon­orThe book tells a Russ­ian folk­tale that empha­sizes…Beau­ty in the Eyes.