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December 31: Today in the History of Children’s Books

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🎂 December 31, 1747 – Birth: Gottfried August Berg

Ger­man poetGot­tfried August Berg(Got­tfried August Bürg­er, 1747–1794) was born.

  • Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • He trans­lat­ed, adapt­ed, and pol­ished the sto­ry orig­i­nal­ly pub­lished anony­mous­ly in Eng­lish by Rudolf Erich Raspe into Ger­man, estab­lish­ing the…The Adven­tures of Baron Mun­chausen-Des frei­her­rn von Münch­hausenIt holds a clas­sic lit­er­ary sta­tus (also trans­lat­ed as “The Adven­tures of Baron Mun­chausen”).
  • Influ­ence: The book’s absurd and fan­tas­ti­cal tales, such as fly­ing on can­non­balls and pulling one­self and one’s horse out of a swamp, have become a part of world chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture.Exag­ger­a­tion and humorA mod­el of excel­lence, it was includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books”.

| born Got­tfried August Bürg­er | Got­tfried August Bürg­er (Wikipedia) |

🎂 December 31, 1878 – Birth: Horacio Quiroga

Uruguayan writer and play­wrightHora­cio QuirogaHora­cio Quiroga (1878–1937) was born. He lived main­ly in Argenti­na and is hailed as a mas­ter of the short sto­ry.

  • Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • His rep­re­sen­ta­tive work isTrop­i­cal Rain­for­est Sto­ry-Cuen­tos de la sel­vaPub­lished in 1918 (also trans­lat­ed as “The For­est Sto­ry”), it is a cor­ner­stone of Latin Amer­i­can chil­dren’s lit­er­a­ture.
  • style: Quiroga lived for many years in the jun­gles of Misiones, and his sto­ries depict the coex­is­tence and con­flict between humans and ani­mals in a harsh nat­ur­al envi­ron­ment. While often com­pared to Kipling’s *The Jun­gle Book*, Quiroga’s work pos­sess­es a unique…Latin Amer­i­can style and mag­i­cal col­orsIt was includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books”.

| born Hora­cio Quiroga | Hora­cio Quiroga (Wikipedia) |

⚰️ December 31, 2016 — Passed away Marilyn Sachs

Amer­i­can writ­ersMar­i­lyn Sachs(Mar­i­lyn Sachs, 1927–2016) passed away.

  • Impor­tant works and achieve­ments:
  • She con­fronts chil­dren’s lives direct­ly.Real-world prob­lemsIt is known for (such as pover­ty, obe­si­ty, and the shad­ow of war).
  • Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works: include“Bear House-The Bears’ House(Short­list­ed for the Nation­al Book Award finals) and “A pock­et full of seeds-A Pock­et Full of Seeds).
  • (Note: His birth­day was pre­vi­ous­ly men­tioned in a brief­ing on Decem­ber 18.)

| Death | Mar­i­lyn Sachs | Mar­i­lyn Sachs (Wikipedia) |

⚰️ December 31, 2004 — Passed away Pinin Kalpi

Ital­ian writer and illus­tra­torPinin Kalpi(Pinin Carpi, 1920–2004) died.

  • Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • His rep­re­sen­ta­tive work isWheat Ear Blue-Cion Cion Blu(Pub­lished in 1968) is a well-known clas­sic chil­dren’s book in Italy, telling the sto­ry of a Chi­nese farmer wear­ing an orange vest and blue pants search­ing for his stolen dog, full of poet­ry and warmth.
  • Anoth­er workThe sea at the end of the for­est-Il mare in fon­do al boscoIt is also includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books”.

| Death | Pinin Carpi | Pinin Carpi (Ital­ian Wikipedia) |

🎂 Born December 31, 1958: Steven Helik

Aus­tralian poet and writerSteven HelikSteven Her­rick was born. He was one of the pio­neers of Aus­tralian verse nov­els.

  • Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • His young adult nov­elRiver­side-By the Riv­er(Pub­lished in 2004) is writ­ten entire­ly in free verse and tells the sto­ry of a boy named Har­ry grow­ing up in a small town. It has won many awards and was includ­ed in “1001 Chil­dren’s Books”.

| born Steven Her­rick | Steven Her­rick (Wikipedia) |

🎂 December 31, 1906 – Birth: Pamela Bianco

British-Amer­i­can illus­tra­tor and painterPamela Bian­coPamela Bian­co (1906–1994) was born. She was the daugh­ter of Margery Williams Bian­co, author of “The Lit­tle Cloth Bun­ny”.

  • Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • She dis­played artis­tic tal­ent from a young age, con­tribut­ing to her moth­er’s work, “Lit­tle Wood­en Pup­pet-The Lit­tle Wood­en Doll(In 1925) drew illus­tra­tions, which are known for their exquis­ite detail.

| born Pamela Bian­co | Pamela Bian­co (Wikipedia) |

⚰️ December 31, 2013 — Passed away: Betty Len Wright

Amer­i­can writ­ersBet­ty Len Wright(Bet­ty Ren Wright, 1927–2013) passed away.

  • Impor­tant works and con­tri­bu­tions:
  • She cre­at­edChil­dren’s hor­ror and sus­pense nov­elsis famous.
  • Rep­re­sen­ta­tive works: 《Doll­house Mur­der-The Doll­house Mur­dersIt is both a child­hood trau­ma and a clas­sic mem­o­ry for gen­er­a­tions of Amer­i­can read­ers. Fur­ther­more, […].The Ghost of Pop­corn Moun­tain-The Ghost of Pop­corn Hill(This is also one of his pop­u­lar works.)

| Death | Bet­ty Ren Wright | Bet­ty Ren Wright (Wikipedia) |

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