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THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TREE IN THE WORLD
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TREE IN THE A Christmas Story For Children by Leonard Weisgard. 1956 Hardcover 6 1/2 x 8 inches, 22 pages. Wonder Books.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1954
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About the author
Leonard Weisgard
185 books18 followersLeonard Weisgard, Caldecott award-winning illustrator of more than 200 children’s books was perhaps best known for his collaboration with the author Margaret Wise Brown.
Weisgard was born in New Haven, Connecticut but spent much of his early childhood in England, where his father originally came from.
His interest in the quality of children’s books began after his family moved back to the USA when he was 8. As a schoolboy in New York, he was dissatisfied with the books supplied by the public schools he attended. He found the illustrations monotonous and thought that the world could not be all that dreary and limited to only one color.
He went on to study art at the Pratt Institute and the New School for Social Research, where he was influenced by primitive cave paintings, Gothic and Renaissance art and avant-garde French illustrators of children’s books of the 1920s.
He used a wide range of colors and media in his books, including gouache, poster paint, crayon, chalk, decoupage, stenciling and pen and ink.
Leonard Weisgard also studied dance with Martha Graham and worked in the field of window display. He began his career making illustrations for magazines such as Good Housekeeping, The New Yorker and Harper’s Bazaar.
Weisgard also collaborated with other children’s book writers and wrote books he illustrated himself, sometimes under the pseudonym “Adam Green".
Leonard Weisgard married Phyllis Monnot in 1951 and they had three children, Abigail (1952), Christina (1954) and Ethan (1957).
Leonard and Phyllis often worked together creating set and costume designs with Leonard sketching and Phyllis making patterns so the designs could become a reality. He designed the stage sets and costumes for several productions of the San Francisco Ballet, including The Dryad and The Nutcracker.
During the years he lived in Roxbury, Connecticut, Weisgard was deeply involved with children's education. He lectured extensively and worked closely with The American Library Association.
Leonard Weisgard moved to Denmark with his wife and children in 1969 where he lived for the rest of his life. His children and grandchildren - Ethan and Midoriko's son Yuji (1989) and daughter Nanami (1987) - all live in Copenhagen.
"Books, he once said in an interview, have always, for as long as I can recall, been a source of real magic in this wildly confusing world."
(Sources: The LA Times from the 24th of January, 2000 and The New York Times the 27th of January, 2000)
Weisgard was born in New Haven, Connecticut but spent much of his early childhood in England, where his father originally came from.
His interest in the quality of children’s books began after his family moved back to the USA when he was 8. As a schoolboy in New York, he was dissatisfied with the books supplied by the public schools he attended. He found the illustrations monotonous and thought that the world could not be all that dreary and limited to only one color.
He went on to study art at the Pratt Institute and the New School for Social Research, where he was influenced by primitive cave paintings, Gothic and Renaissance art and avant-garde French illustrators of children’s books of the 1920s.
He used a wide range of colors and media in his books, including gouache, poster paint, crayon, chalk, decoupage, stenciling and pen and ink.
Leonard Weisgard also studied dance with Martha Graham and worked in the field of window display. He began his career making illustrations for magazines such as Good Housekeeping, The New Yorker and Harper’s Bazaar.
Weisgard also collaborated with other children’s book writers and wrote books he illustrated himself, sometimes under the pseudonym “Adam Green".
Leonard Weisgard married Phyllis Monnot in 1951 and they had three children, Abigail (1952), Christina (1954) and Ethan (1957).
Leonard and Phyllis often worked together creating set and costume designs with Leonard sketching and Phyllis making patterns so the designs could become a reality. He designed the stage sets and costumes for several productions of the San Francisco Ballet, including The Dryad and The Nutcracker.
During the years he lived in Roxbury, Connecticut, Weisgard was deeply involved with children's education. He lectured extensively and worked closely with The American Library Association.
Leonard Weisgard moved to Denmark with his wife and children in 1969 where he lived for the rest of his life. His children and grandchildren - Ethan and Midoriko's son Yuji (1989) and daughter Nanami (1987) - all live in Copenhagen.
"Books, he once said in an interview, have always, for as long as I can recall, been a source of real magic in this wildly confusing world."
(Sources: The LA Times from the 24th of January, 2000 and The New York Times the 27th of January, 2000)
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 15, 2022
A simple little tale about a family with a huge evergreen tree that gets selected for display in New York.
Fun pictures!
Ages: 3 - 8
Cleanliness: nothing to note.
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Fun pictures!
Ages: 3 - 8
Cleanliness: nothing to note.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
December 18, 2020
A family has their beloved evergreen tree chosen as the Rockefeller center Christmas tree. Together they decide to let go of the tree so everyone can enjoy it. The story is from the 1950s and there are definitely a few moments where it’s a bit outdated (had to laugh at dad “watching” his children while mom went to have a new baby), but nothing overly offensive.
April 8, 2016
I didn't realize this had been published as a book! I have the Family Circle version of this story. Mom had cut it out (along with many other clippings) and saved it until my sister and I were old enough to appreciate the story. She read it to us while we gazed at the lights on our own Christmas tree. We thought the story was wonderful ... but that's probably because the story was part of our Christmas tradition.
I should also have two or three other Family Circle Christmas stories. Now I'm inspired to pull them all out and read them again. Maybe next Christmas, on a snowy day, I'll call my sister and we can sit in front of the tree and share these stories.
I should also have two or three other Family Circle Christmas stories. Now I'm inspired to pull them all out and read them again. Maybe next Christmas, on a snowy day, I'll call my sister and we can sit in front of the tree and share these stories.
January 8, 2013
A Christmas story for children written in the 50's. According to the cover, this book cost 39 cents back then, yet it cost me a whole dollar from the used book store. Inflation! A pleasant read, although you can definitely tell this book is from 60 years ago- the mother is just sort of off having another baby.
August 13, 2016
One of my all-time favorite Christmas-related stories when I was a kid.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews