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In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown
The extraordinary life of the woman behind the beloved children’s classics Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny comes alive in this fascinating biography of Margaret Wise Brown. Margaret’s books have sold millions of copies all over the world, but few people know that she was at the center of a children’s book publishing revolution. Her whimsy and imagination fueled a steady stream of stories, book ideas, songs, and poems and she was renowned for her prolific writing and business savvy, as well as her stunning beauty and endless thirst for adventure.Margaret started her writing career by helping to shape the curriculum for the Bank Street School for children, making it her mission to create stories that would rise above traditional fairy tales and allowed girls to see themselves as equal to boys. At the same time, she also experimented endlessly with her own writing. Margaret would spend days researching subjects, picking daisies, cloud gazing, and observing nature, all in an effort to precisely capture a child’s sense of awe and wonder as they discovered the world.Clever, quirky, and incredibly talented, Margaret embraced life with passion, lived extravagantly off of her royalties, went on rabbit hunts, and carried on long and troubled love affairs with both men and women. Among them were two great loves in Margaret’s life. One was a gender-bending poet and the ex-wife of John Barrymore. She went by the stage name of Michael Strange and she and Margaret had a tempestuous yet secret relationship, at one point living next door to each other so that they could be together. After the dissolution of their relationship and Michael’s death, Margaret became engaged to a younger man, who also happened to be the son of a Rockefeller and a Carnegie. But before they could marry Margaret died unexpectedly at the age of forty-two, leaving behind a cache of unpublished work and a timeless collection of books that would go on become classics in children’s literature.In In the Great Green Room, author Amy Gary captures the eccentric and exceptional life of Margaret Wise Brown, and drawing on newly-discovered personal letters and diaries, reveals an intimate portrait of a creative genius whose unrivaled talent breathed new life in to the literary world.
305 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 10, 2017
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March 25, 2019
With Women’s History month (2019) coming to a close I decided to squeeze in one more biography of a remarkable woman. I have long been drawn to biographies and memoirs from the time I was in grammar school, so I often browse that section of my library. Many times I have noticed a slim volume with a green cover that piqued my curiosity. Like many others, I had Goodnight, Moon read to me as a kid. The picture book where a children says goodnight to all the inanimate objects in her room has endured for seventy years. In her biography of Goodnight Moon’s author Margaret Wise Brown, Amy Gary brings to light the author of many classic children’s books.
Margaret Wise Brown was born in 1910 to a life of endless opportunities. Her father Bruce worked for an international shipping company and sailed around the world for months at a time. He came from a long line of Browns who had been influential members of society as well as lawmakers and hobnobbed with the upper echelons of society. He wanted his children to achieve great heights and built his family an expansive home on Long Island where his children Gratz, Margaret, and Roberta could explore nature and come to appreciate the wide world. Margaret from a young age was drawn to reading, especially magical characters like fairies, and made up stories for her younger sister Roberts. Even at an early age, it was apparent that storytelling was Margaret’s gift, and Bruce Brown hoped that his daughter would become a gifted novelist.
By the time Margaret Wise Brown graduated from Hollins College in 1933, few job opportunities were open to her as both a woman and an English major. Her brother Gratz was a doctor and Roberta has married Columbia English professor Basil Rauch. Both children were living the life that Bruce Brown desired, yet Margaret, the golden child, struggled to make ends meet. She “dabbled” in children’s stories, could make up a story or poem in her head on moment’s notice, yet had not exhibited motivation to move into the upper echelons of society. Margaret enjoyed living in New York City and received a monthly stipend from her father until she could make ends meet. She finally received a break when she on a whim applied for employment as a writer at Lucy Sprague Mitchell’s fledgling Bank Street College. As a think tank promoting a whole child’s education, Mitchell and her team of educators and writers were at the forefront of both children’s literature and textbooks. It was the start Margaret Wise Brown needed to springboard herself to a career as a prominent writer of children’s books and stories.
For the next twenty years Margaret Wise Brown would come up with ideas for hundreds if not thousands of children’s books, poems, and stories. Many would remain unpublished, especially during the years of World War II where paper was a hot commodity, and publishers cut down on the quantity of books published, especially children’s books. Margaret for the most part negotiated her own contracts and played publishing houses off of one another. She received the best deals from Harper and Brothers as well as a new publication house specializing in children’s books that emerged during the baby boom era: Little Golden Books. As the need for children’s books increased during the late 1940s, Margaret’s opportunities sky rocketed. During the decade she collaborated with illustrators Leonard Weisgard and Clem Hurd to produce memorable books as Little Green Wind, Runaway Bunny, and Goodnight, Moon. All would be known for their simple language that saw the eyes through the eyes of a child and have become timeless classics.
Margaret Wise Brown attempted to write books for adults yet admittedly never grew up to see the world as an adult. Deprived of a mother’s love as a child, Margaret made up for it as doting godmother to her dear friend’s Dot Wagstaff’s daughter Laurel. Creating stories about fairies and magical creatures, Margaret once again wove bedtime stories about nature for a new generation of children. She was also a renaissance woman as she enjoyed fox hunting and renovating her own homes Only House in Maine and Cobble Cottage in Greenwich Village, roles that had been primarily filled to that point by men. Yet, never having married, Margaret lived in a man’s world, publishing, horseback riding, driving classy automobiles. During the 1930s and onward, Margaret Wise Brown was not content to take a back seat to a man during a time when women had few societal opportunities available to them, and, as a result, through her writing, Brown prevailed as an independent woman.
While I learned much about a classic children’s writer, I thought that Amy Gary wrote simple chapters that only glossed the surface of the life of this fascinating woman. She could have done away with entire chapters devoted to Brown’s multifaceted love life and focused more on the writing process, yet the multiple layers to Brown’s personality undoubtedly contributed to her as a writer as well. Living as an independent woman at a time when most women were content to be housewives, Margaret Wise Brown emerged as a leading children’s author and educator of children as a whole person. Passing away at only forty two years of age, Brown lived life to the fullest and left behind a legacy of writing.
3.5 stars
Margaret Wise Brown was born in 1910 to a life of endless opportunities. Her father Bruce worked for an international shipping company and sailed around the world for months at a time. He came from a long line of Browns who had been influential members of society as well as lawmakers and hobnobbed with the upper echelons of society. He wanted his children to achieve great heights and built his family an expansive home on Long Island where his children Gratz, Margaret, and Roberta could explore nature and come to appreciate the wide world. Margaret from a young age was drawn to reading, especially magical characters like fairies, and made up stories for her younger sister Roberts. Even at an early age, it was apparent that storytelling was Margaret’s gift, and Bruce Brown hoped that his daughter would become a gifted novelist.
By the time Margaret Wise Brown graduated from Hollins College in 1933, few job opportunities were open to her as both a woman and an English major. Her brother Gratz was a doctor and Roberta has married Columbia English professor Basil Rauch. Both children were living the life that Bruce Brown desired, yet Margaret, the golden child, struggled to make ends meet. She “dabbled” in children’s stories, could make up a story or poem in her head on moment’s notice, yet had not exhibited motivation to move into the upper echelons of society. Margaret enjoyed living in New York City and received a monthly stipend from her father until she could make ends meet. She finally received a break when she on a whim applied for employment as a writer at Lucy Sprague Mitchell’s fledgling Bank Street College. As a think tank promoting a whole child’s education, Mitchell and her team of educators and writers were at the forefront of both children’s literature and textbooks. It was the start Margaret Wise Brown needed to springboard herself to a career as a prominent writer of children’s books and stories.
For the next twenty years Margaret Wise Brown would come up with ideas for hundreds if not thousands of children’s books, poems, and stories. Many would remain unpublished, especially during the years of World War II where paper was a hot commodity, and publishers cut down on the quantity of books published, especially children’s books. Margaret for the most part negotiated her own contracts and played publishing houses off of one another. She received the best deals from Harper and Brothers as well as a new publication house specializing in children’s books that emerged during the baby boom era: Little Golden Books. As the need for children’s books increased during the late 1940s, Margaret’s opportunities sky rocketed. During the decade she collaborated with illustrators Leonard Weisgard and Clem Hurd to produce memorable books as Little Green Wind, Runaway Bunny, and Goodnight, Moon. All would be known for their simple language that saw the eyes through the eyes of a child and have become timeless classics.
Margaret Wise Brown attempted to write books for adults yet admittedly never grew up to see the world as an adult. Deprived of a mother’s love as a child, Margaret made up for it as doting godmother to her dear friend’s Dot Wagstaff’s daughter Laurel. Creating stories about fairies and magical creatures, Margaret once again wove bedtime stories about nature for a new generation of children. She was also a renaissance woman as she enjoyed fox hunting and renovating her own homes Only House in Maine and Cobble Cottage in Greenwich Village, roles that had been primarily filled to that point by men. Yet, never having married, Margaret lived in a man’s world, publishing, horseback riding, driving classy automobiles. During the 1930s and onward, Margaret Wise Brown was not content to take a back seat to a man during a time when women had few societal opportunities available to them, and, as a result, through her writing, Brown prevailed as an independent woman.
While I learned much about a classic children’s writer, I thought that Amy Gary wrote simple chapters that only glossed the surface of the life of this fascinating woman. She could have done away with entire chapters devoted to Brown’s multifaceted love life and focused more on the writing process, yet the multiple layers to Brown’s personality undoubtedly contributed to her as a writer as well. Living as an independent woman at a time when most women were content to be housewives, Margaret Wise Brown emerged as a leading children’s author and educator of children as a whole person. Passing away at only forty two years of age, Brown lived life to the fullest and left behind a legacy of writing.
3.5 stars
February 7, 2017
I enjoyed this enough to get past the slightly creepy narrative style that related a lot of MWB's intimate diary angst in the omniscient third person. Like I wouldn't have minded a direct quote once in a while instead of constant "Margaret secretly despaired that deep down blah blah blah" paraphrase. But I am pretty obsessed with reading about the children's literature scene in 1940s New York and the clever weirdos who populated it, and this delivered. A good portion of it is well-heeled literary lifestyle porn, which is fine, I guess. I mean, I've read three or four books about this world now and from what I can tell, everyone was constantly stumbling across ramshackle old farmhouses and/or quaint coldwater flats and buying and/or renting them for a song and filling them with charming antiques (apparently MWB furnished one of her places with FURS) and that all sounds like fun. I wish the book had been a little more gossipy (I have the feeling MWB herself would have dished) and/or more lit-critical, though I'll probably check out the Leonard Marcus bio of Brown at some point for that reason. Overall this was fine; just not quite as chewy as I like them.
August 29, 2016
One of my favorite reading experiences is when the topic of a memoir, autobiography, or biography is about someone totally unknown to me but who has led an interesting and adventurous life, and it’s especially enticing if the person is quirky and has had a wide variety of friendships with famous (and infamous) people . The Great Green Room totally filled the bill.
When I started this this, I knew nothing about Margaret Wise Brown. I don’t remember my parents reading bedtime stories and since I never had children in my life, the only experiences I had with Brown’s books were checking out countless copies of The Runaway Bunny and Goodnight Moon at the Library’s circulation desk and trying to keep copies in stock when I spent 17 years as the bookmobile librarian. I remember children and parents asking for Goodnight Moon almost daily.
What a fascinating (and at times melancholy) life she led. The author’s writing style was captivating and moving; my heart ached at the treatment Margaret received from her contemporaries and librarians (I think the NY Public Library librarians and others who rejected her books should be—or should have been--totally ashamed). I couldn’t stop reading about this extraordinary woman and wished she had received the attention and acclaim she deserved. And the tragic ending of her life and missed opportunity to finally be happy in a relationship brought me to tears, and it’s rare for me to weep while reading a biography.
I recommend this as a good life story, even those (like me) who know nothing about Brown, and will also endorse this to all of the youth librarians I know. What I really like about this book is I can recommend it to just about anyone, especially parents and teens, and even older children who can understand some of the content. It would also be an inspiration to anyone wanting to become a writer.
Thanks to Flatiron/Macmillan publishers for the advance copy.
When I started this this, I knew nothing about Margaret Wise Brown. I don’t remember my parents reading bedtime stories and since I never had children in my life, the only experiences I had with Brown’s books were checking out countless copies of The Runaway Bunny and Goodnight Moon at the Library’s circulation desk and trying to keep copies in stock when I spent 17 years as the bookmobile librarian. I remember children and parents asking for Goodnight Moon almost daily.
What a fascinating (and at times melancholy) life she led. The author’s writing style was captivating and moving; my heart ached at the treatment Margaret received from her contemporaries and librarians (I think the NY Public Library librarians and others who rejected her books should be—or should have been--totally ashamed). I couldn’t stop reading about this extraordinary woman and wished she had received the attention and acclaim she deserved. And the tragic ending of her life and missed opportunity to finally be happy in a relationship brought me to tears, and it’s rare for me to weep while reading a biography.
I recommend this as a good life story, even those (like me) who know nothing about Brown, and will also endorse this to all of the youth librarians I know. What I really like about this book is I can recommend it to just about anyone, especially parents and teens, and even older children who can understand some of the content. It would also be an inspiration to anyone wanting to become a writer.
Thanks to Flatiron/Macmillan publishers for the advance copy.
March 25, 2017
Unfortunately, her most famous poem, "Goodnight Moon", which explains the title of this biography of the famous children's author Margaret Wise Brown, is not found within "The Great Green Room" by Amy Gary. (I wish it had been). Forty-eight million copies of the book have been sold, even though The New York Library refused to stock it until twenty years after it was published. For me, it certainly is the most memorable of her books that I have read to my children. The title will forever evoke scenes of warm little boys' bodies snuggled on my rocking chair beside me, gradually letting go of the busy day to an easy goodnight, as I read the story innumerable times over many years.
GOODNIGHT MOON
"In the great green room
There was a telephone
And a red balloon
And a picture of
The cow jumping over the moon
And there were three little bears sitting on chairs
And two little kittens
And a pair of mittens
And a little toy house
And a young mouse
And a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush
And a quiet old lady who was whispering “hush”
Goodnight room
Goodnight moon
Goodnight cow jumping over the moon
Goodnight light
And the red balloon
Goodnight bears
Goodnight chairs
Goodnight kittens
And goodnight mittens
Goodnight clocks
And goodnight socks
Goodnight little house
And goodnight mouse
Goodnight comb
And goodnight brush
Goodnight nobody
Goodnight mush
And goodnight to the old lady whispering “hush”
Goodnight stars
Goodnight air
Good night noises everywhere".
---Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret Wise Brown grew up in a wealthy and socially connected family in New York State. Her upbringing and education, combined with an allowance from her father well into adulthood, gave her the advantage of tremendous freedom of choice in her career and relationships. She stumbled into writing children's books, finally choosing to teach at a progressive school in fear of her father cutting off her income. Her efforts at adult writing had been dismal, but when the school needed curriculum materials, her talents at storytelling became a creative force. She also discovered and enlisted talented illustrators.
Amy Gary had access to papers, unpublished books and diaries recently discovered, filed away after Margaret's death in early middle age by her sister Roberta, and some of the poetry introduces each chapter of this book. Margaret was fanciful, messy, impulsive and erratic, and managed to create a life for herself that nudged societal norms yet kept her surrounded by the artistic, vital community which was supportive and supported by her work. Post WWII, the market for children's literature became very lucrative and Wise Brown had contracts with Disney and Golden Books. One gets the sense that she was always unsettled, off on tangents, mid-book here, new project there, off to parties, picnics and doomed romances, perpetually energetic and did not find a sense of serenity until late in her shortened life.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.00. My other wish is that Amy Gary had included a list of Brown's published books. I imagine that I might remember a few Golden Books that I didn't know she wrote.
Here is GOODNIGHT MOON, on video
https://youtu.be/djEk8gTbTBg
GOODNIGHT MOON
"In the great green room
There was a telephone
And a red balloon
And a picture of
The cow jumping over the moon
And there were three little bears sitting on chairs
And two little kittens
And a pair of mittens
And a little toy house
And a young mouse
And a comb and a brush and a bowl full of mush
And a quiet old lady who was whispering “hush”
Goodnight room
Goodnight moon
Goodnight cow jumping over the moon
Goodnight light
And the red balloon
Goodnight bears
Goodnight chairs
Goodnight kittens
And goodnight mittens
Goodnight clocks
And goodnight socks
Goodnight little house
And goodnight mouse
Goodnight comb
And goodnight brush
Goodnight nobody
Goodnight mush
And goodnight to the old lady whispering “hush”
Goodnight stars
Goodnight air
Good night noises everywhere".
---Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret Wise Brown grew up in a wealthy and socially connected family in New York State. Her upbringing and education, combined with an allowance from her father well into adulthood, gave her the advantage of tremendous freedom of choice in her career and relationships. She stumbled into writing children's books, finally choosing to teach at a progressive school in fear of her father cutting off her income. Her efforts at adult writing had been dismal, but when the school needed curriculum materials, her talents at storytelling became a creative force. She also discovered and enlisted talented illustrators.
Amy Gary had access to papers, unpublished books and diaries recently discovered, filed away after Margaret's death in early middle age by her sister Roberta, and some of the poetry introduces each chapter of this book. Margaret was fanciful, messy, impulsive and erratic, and managed to create a life for herself that nudged societal norms yet kept her surrounded by the artistic, vital community which was supportive and supported by her work. Post WWII, the market for children's literature became very lucrative and Wise Brown had contracts with Disney and Golden Books. One gets the sense that she was always unsettled, off on tangents, mid-book here, new project there, off to parties, picnics and doomed romances, perpetually energetic and did not find a sense of serenity until late in her shortened life.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.00. My other wish is that Amy Gary had included a list of Brown's published books. I imagine that I might remember a few Golden Books that I didn't know she wrote.
Here is GOODNIGHT MOON, on video
https://youtu.be/djEk8gTbTBg
September 22, 2019
While I was indeed much looking forward to perusing Amy Gary’s In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown when I signed it out from my local library in the spring of 2017, I actually do not remember all that many specifics about my actual reading experience except to say that because I am first and foremost interested in Margaret Wise Brown as an author and certainly NOT AT ALL in her love life (and that she might have been bisexual), the fact that Amy Gary rather too often seems to over-focus on this really did manage to majorly bore me. For really, I personally could absolutely care less about whom Margaret Wise Brown had romantic and/or sexual affairs with, as to and for me, Margaret Wise Brown is first and foremost important (with a bit of a literary pun intended here) as a children’s literature author, as well as equally being in my opinion pretty much the midwife of contemporary picture books for the youngest children (picture books that take toddler readers or rather toddler listeners seriously and cater to their desires, their wants and are penned and illustrated according to their emotional and maturity levels).
Now I guess that with In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown, Amy Gary is trying to present to her readers an all encompassing so-called warts and all personal and avant-garde “modern” biography. But indeed, I for one have found way too much of the author’s narrative and textual musings tedious, repetitive, full of strange speculation, full of rumour and innuendo and with most definitely not NEARLY ENOUGH details included about Margaret Wise Brown as an author, with not sufficient information on her writing career and on her philosophy regarding children’s literature (and especially picture books). For albeit that some of Margaret Wise Brown’s books are briefly and vaguely mentioned and pointed out by Amy Gary, I most certainly have ended up with the distinct impression that for the author, it is obviously (and annoyingly sadly) much more interesting and necessary to dig up biographical dirt on Margaret Wise Brown, that Margaret Wise Brown’s eccentricities and yes, her unconventional lifestyle and love interests seemingly count more than her writing and her life as an author.
Not a terrible or horrid biography by any stretch of the imagination and also not as far as I can tell inappropriately presented is In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown. And yes, there might well be some readers who will in fact truly both enjoy and appreciate what I personally do consider as much much too speculative and frustratingly tabloid-like for my reading tastes (for indeed, even with my personal distaste of having Margaret Wise Brown’s love laundry aired by Amy Gary, if there were a more substantial amount of narrative specifically and with distinct purpose focusing on Margaret Wise Brown’s writing, I probably would be ranking In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown with three and not with two stars).
Now I guess that with In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown, Amy Gary is trying to present to her readers an all encompassing so-called warts and all personal and avant-garde “modern” biography. But indeed, I for one have found way too much of the author’s narrative and textual musings tedious, repetitive, full of strange speculation, full of rumour and innuendo and with most definitely not NEARLY ENOUGH details included about Margaret Wise Brown as an author, with not sufficient information on her writing career and on her philosophy regarding children’s literature (and especially picture books). For albeit that some of Margaret Wise Brown’s books are briefly and vaguely mentioned and pointed out by Amy Gary, I most certainly have ended up with the distinct impression that for the author, it is obviously (and annoyingly sadly) much more interesting and necessary to dig up biographical dirt on Margaret Wise Brown, that Margaret Wise Brown’s eccentricities and yes, her unconventional lifestyle and love interests seemingly count more than her writing and her life as an author.
Not a terrible or horrid biography by any stretch of the imagination and also not as far as I can tell inappropriately presented is In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown. And yes, there might well be some readers who will in fact truly both enjoy and appreciate what I personally do consider as much much too speculative and frustratingly tabloid-like for my reading tastes (for indeed, even with my personal distaste of having Margaret Wise Brown’s love laundry aired by Amy Gary, if there were a more substantial amount of narrative specifically and with distinct purpose focusing on Margaret Wise Brown’s writing, I probably would be ranking In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown with three and not with two stars).
July 16, 2017
I really didn't like the narrative style of this book, even though it made for a quick read. I also didn't really find Margaret to be an engaging or accessible person -- her privilege was completely uninterrogated by her and by Gary, and because of this I found it hard to be sympathetic to Margaret's recurring bad choices.
February 7, 2017
Margaret Wise Brown comes across as a captivating person which adds to my dismay about how this biography was written. Except for a one word exclamation by MWB and a single diary entry on the last page, there are no direct quotes by anyone. The book is straight narrative. This method seemed to keep its subject distant, at least from this reader. Also, no photos! I was so looking forward to reading this book. What a disappointment. Oh well, the title is brilliant.
February 5, 2017
"A writer of songs and nonsense " is how Margaret Wise Brown beloved children's book author asked to be remembered. Her life was magical and tragic filled with dogs and astonishingly queer. This book was beautifully and thoughtfully written. It was educational and engaging - I'm so pleased to have read it. This feels like an important missing piece of queer and storybook history I'm so glad has been uncovered.
April 20, 2017
On the one hand, Brown's life was interesting. But the writing in this book--it's like the author used Brown's letters and diaries and just paraphrased things, accepting everything Brown said at face value. Gray doesn't seem to have done much in the line of research to validate things. And I would have loved more discussion about the iconic books, Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny.
April 10, 2017
My narrative runs like this: I feel in love with reading and art with the Little Golden Books and discovered the great classics with Classics Illustrated Comic Books.
Little Golden Books were inexpensive, readily available, and mass produced; that meant even on a meagre budget Mom could splurge and buy them for me. I loved the stories and the illustrations and spent many an hour pouring over them.
Margaret Wise Brown wrote books enjoyed by generations of children and parents. Reading In The Great Green Room by Amy Gary I learned about the iconic author of some of my favorite Golden Books and who also wrote our son's beloved baby books Goodnight, Moon and The Runaway Bunny.
Author Amy Gary hit a gold mine when she contacted Margaret's sister and discovered a hidden hoard of unpublished manuscripts left behind after the author's death.
I learned about the influences on Margaret's work based on her daily life. As girls, Margaret and her sister would say goodnight to everything in their bedroom, memorialized in Goodnight, Moon. Their father's library was painted grass green, and she later painted her room green.
Margaret's illustrators incorporated Margaret's world into her books. Clem Hurd based the fireplace in Goodnight, Moon on the one at Margaret's rented NYC writing retreat Cobble Court. Leonard Weisgard's illustrations for Little Island is based on the view from Margaret's Maine retreat, the Only House.
Margaret had a creative mind brimming with outside the box ideas. She revolutionized children's literature and book publishing. Margaret was insistent on putting writing first in her life. She fell in love many times with the men who were unsuitable matches. Margaret's love life was unhappy, and her great loves failed her in the end, including Michael Strange, the beautiful society woman who was a suffragete, poet, and actress. Just when she had met a man whose zest for life matched her own, Margaret unexpectedly died.
I enjoyed learning about the inspiration behind Margaret's books. For instance, Mr. Dog is the story of her own Kerry Blue Terrier, Crispin's Crispian.
The dog's name was inspired by Shakespeare's Henry V:
"And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,From this day to the ending of the world,But we in it shall be remember'd;We few, we happy few, we band of brothers..."
The Golden Egg Book was a larger book giving illustrator Leonard Weisgard lovely space to fill. Margaret brought him a collection of wildflowers to use in the art. He was allergic and the next day his eyes were swollen shut!
I also love Margaret's story Little Pussycat, with pictures by Weisgard. The kitten is so small the garden denizens tower like a forest filled with magical creatures.
My son's favorite Golden Books included Margaret's Things I Like, illustrated by Garth Williams. He was enchanted by the dog on the hill.
Margaret's stories included books that appeal to boys as well as girls. The Train to Timbuctoo, with illustrations by Art Seiden, is a joy to read aloud.
Margaret's books about men at work include The Little Fat Policeman was written by Margaret and Edith Thacher Hurd, wife of illustrator Clement Hurd who did the art for Runaway Bunny and Goodnight, Moon. Alice and Martin Provensen provided the art for the Policeman. Margaret and Edith also wrote Five Little Firemen and Seven Little Postmen with art by Tibor Gergerly. Their book Two Little Miners was illustrated by Richard Scary--his first book.
Each chapter beings with one of Margaret's verses or songs. There is a lovely section of photographs, notes, index, and sources included. My one complaint about this biography is that I would have loved an index of Margaret's books by year and publisher.
I have written about the Little Golden Books before, celebrating their 75th anniversary, and about the book Everything I Need To Know I Learned From A Little Golden Books by Diane Muldrow.
Little Golden Books were inexpensive, readily available, and mass produced; that meant even on a meagre budget Mom could splurge and buy them for me. I loved the stories and the illustrations and spent many an hour pouring over them.
Margaret Wise Brown wrote books enjoyed by generations of children and parents. Reading In The Great Green Room by Amy Gary I learned about the iconic author of some of my favorite Golden Books and who also wrote our son's beloved baby books Goodnight, Moon and The Runaway Bunny.
Author Amy Gary hit a gold mine when she contacted Margaret's sister and discovered a hidden hoard of unpublished manuscripts left behind after the author's death.
I learned about the influences on Margaret's work based on her daily life. As girls, Margaret and her sister would say goodnight to everything in their bedroom, memorialized in Goodnight, Moon. Their father's library was painted grass green, and she later painted her room green.
Margaret's illustrators incorporated Margaret's world into her books. Clem Hurd based the fireplace in Goodnight, Moon on the one at Margaret's rented NYC writing retreat Cobble Court. Leonard Weisgard's illustrations for Little Island is based on the view from Margaret's Maine retreat, the Only House.
Margaret had a creative mind brimming with outside the box ideas. She revolutionized children's literature and book publishing. Margaret was insistent on putting writing first in her life. She fell in love many times with the men who were unsuitable matches. Margaret's love life was unhappy, and her great loves failed her in the end, including Michael Strange, the beautiful society woman who was a suffragete, poet, and actress. Just when she had met a man whose zest for life matched her own, Margaret unexpectedly died.
I enjoyed learning about the inspiration behind Margaret's books. For instance, Mr. Dog is the story of her own Kerry Blue Terrier, Crispin's Crispian.
The dog's name was inspired by Shakespeare's Henry V:
"And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,From this day to the ending of the world,But we in it shall be remember'd;We few, we happy few, we band of brothers..."
The Golden Egg Book was a larger book giving illustrator Leonard Weisgard lovely space to fill. Margaret brought him a collection of wildflowers to use in the art. He was allergic and the next day his eyes were swollen shut!
I also love Margaret's story Little Pussycat, with pictures by Weisgard. The kitten is so small the garden denizens tower like a forest filled with magical creatures.
My son's favorite Golden Books included Margaret's Things I Like, illustrated by Garth Williams. He was enchanted by the dog on the hill.
Margaret's stories included books that appeal to boys as well as girls. The Train to Timbuctoo, with illustrations by Art Seiden, is a joy to read aloud.
Margaret's books about men at work include The Little Fat Policeman was written by Margaret and Edith Thacher Hurd, wife of illustrator Clement Hurd who did the art for Runaway Bunny and Goodnight, Moon. Alice and Martin Provensen provided the art for the Policeman. Margaret and Edith also wrote Five Little Firemen and Seven Little Postmen with art by Tibor Gergerly. Their book Two Little Miners was illustrated by Richard Scary--his first book.
Each chapter beings with one of Margaret's verses or songs. There is a lovely section of photographs, notes, index, and sources included. My one complaint about this biography is that I would have loved an index of Margaret's books by year and publisher.
I have written about the Little Golden Books before, celebrating their 75th anniversary, and about the book Everything I Need To Know I Learned From A Little Golden Books by Diane Muldrow.
August 27, 2023
Who is Margaret Wise Brown? I'll bet, even if you can't place her, at some point in time you've held one of her books in your hands and perused them, or read them to yourself or others.
She wrote hundreds of books. You've run into them at the drug store, grocery store, gas stations, usually displayed at the height of your average 5-year old. She sold her books to more than one publisher, but sold the most to Golden Books. Her most known works are Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny.
Margaret led a fairly privileged life, and because of that was able to explore her interests in ways that were not available to many. She was a wild child, a beauty and grew into the kind of girl men and women were interested in getting to know better - her social groups were sophisticated and wealthy, literary and not afraid of outliers - as long as they could hold their own, and Margaret certainly did that.
Amy Gary's biography approaches Margaret from a rather interesting perspective due to an amazing discovery. In her research explorations to find something new and unknown about Margaret she found Margaret's sister, who happened to have all of Margaret's "stuff" in her attic, through which none had ever been looked. Amy Gary embraced that task and found a treasure trove of unpublished writing, launching her into many years of review and study.
Margaret herself had an abrupt ending, right on the edge of all her dreams coming true - that added a sadness to the read that was not totally unexpected. The foreward to this book is contributed by He who was set to sweep her away - they were engaged, he and Margaret. James Stillman Rockefeller (yes, of those Rockefellers - and also the Carnegies) had prepared a sloop called Mandalay for an excursion around the world with her. Before she could get on board the Mandalay, she had an appendicitis attack, and a blood clot came loose in recovery and killed her. Her fiance was devastated, but still adoring after decades, describing her as an ". . .island in a limitless sea, radiating light farther than any lighthouse." She was childlike in her writing, and throughout her career maintained that bond and connection with those for whom she was writing.
A read that was both interesting and appealing. It is evident and clear that Amy Gary had developed a fondness for her subject that passes in some part to the receptive reader. After all, how could one not love the gentle voice that has been putting us to bed for seven+ decades?
She wrote hundreds of books. You've run into them at the drug store, grocery store, gas stations, usually displayed at the height of your average 5-year old. She sold her books to more than one publisher, but sold the most to Golden Books. Her most known works are Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny.
Margaret led a fairly privileged life, and because of that was able to explore her interests in ways that were not available to many. She was a wild child, a beauty and grew into the kind of girl men and women were interested in getting to know better - her social groups were sophisticated and wealthy, literary and not afraid of outliers - as long as they could hold their own, and Margaret certainly did that.
Amy Gary's biography approaches Margaret from a rather interesting perspective due to an amazing discovery. In her research explorations to find something new and unknown about Margaret she found Margaret's sister, who happened to have all of Margaret's "stuff" in her attic, through which none had ever been looked. Amy Gary embraced that task and found a treasure trove of unpublished writing, launching her into many years of review and study.
Margaret herself had an abrupt ending, right on the edge of all her dreams coming true - that added a sadness to the read that was not totally unexpected. The foreward to this book is contributed by He who was set to sweep her away - they were engaged, he and Margaret. James Stillman Rockefeller (yes, of those Rockefellers - and also the Carnegies) had prepared a sloop called Mandalay for an excursion around the world with her. Before she could get on board the Mandalay, she had an appendicitis attack, and a blood clot came loose in recovery and killed her. Her fiance was devastated, but still adoring after decades, describing her as an ". . .island in a limitless sea, radiating light farther than any lighthouse." She was childlike in her writing, and throughout her career maintained that bond and connection with those for whom she was writing.
A read that was both interesting and appealing. It is evident and clear that Amy Gary had developed a fondness for her subject that passes in some part to the receptive reader. After all, how could one not love the gentle voice that has been putting us to bed for seven+ decades?
March 23, 2017
There seems to be a great deal of speculation in the telling of the story. We are told how people feel, what they do, how things look, etc. We get elaborate deathbed scenes with no witnesses. It sounds good, but is it truthful? It seems the author had access to diaries and letters, but I still didn't like the "historical fiction" style of writing. I think I would have preferred to have quotations with appropriate citations.
The writing is pedestrian, and it gets repetitious. There is not much discussion about Brown's books. A few are mentioned, with the briefest descriptions. You don't get any sense of how her work developed over the years.
Maybe because I was listening instead of reading, I was confused by "Posey" (apparently spelled in the index as "Posie") Hurd. I knew Clement Hurd was married to Edith Thacher Hurd (the name she used on all her many books). The first reference to Edith "Posey" Thacher is on p.72, but all the subsequent talk is about Posey Hurd - this made me wonder if this was Hurd's first wife - and when was Edith going to come into the picture?
Note to writers: "crescendo" does not mean climax or highest point. One cannot reach a crescendo. I also have a problem with this: "Through Dot's life, Margaret witnessed motherhood firsthand." Unless she was actually a mother herself, this witnessing would be secondhand at best.
The writing is pedestrian, and it gets repetitious. There is not much discussion about Brown's books. A few are mentioned, with the briefest descriptions. You don't get any sense of how her work developed over the years.
Maybe because I was listening instead of reading, I was confused by "Posey" (apparently spelled in the index as "Posie") Hurd. I knew Clement Hurd was married to Edith Thacher Hurd (the name she used on all her many books). The first reference to Edith "Posey" Thacher is on p.72, but all the subsequent talk is about Posey Hurd - this made me wonder if this was Hurd's first wife - and when was Edith going to come into the picture?
Note to writers: "crescendo" does not mean climax or highest point. One cannot reach a crescendo. I also have a problem with this: "Through Dot's life, Margaret witnessed motherhood firsthand." Unless she was actually a mother herself, this witnessing would be secondhand at best.
February 16, 2017
Author of every child's keepsake book, "Goodnight Moon," Margaret Wise Brown, is revealed and revered, in this new biography of her life, "In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown," by Amy Gary. I know I still have my children's copy of this beloved green board book, carefully saying goodnight to the moon, tucked away with other treasures from their childhood.
Margaret was talented, adventurous, and lived life to the fullest, as best she could. The hundreds of manuscripts found in her sister, Roberta's attic, pack away in a big old trunk, are testament to her immense creativity. I so enjoyed this book about one of America's brightness authors, we lost at only 42, by an ill advised recuperation after an appendectomy in a French hospital. It took twenty years for the NY Public Library to accept Margaret's children's book. It went on to sell 48 million copies. I highly recommend this book.
Margaret was talented, adventurous, and lived life to the fullest, as best she could. The hundreds of manuscripts found in her sister, Roberta's attic, pack away in a big old trunk, are testament to her immense creativity. I so enjoyed this book about one of America's brightness authors, we lost at only 42, by an ill advised recuperation after an appendectomy in a French hospital. It took twenty years for the NY Public Library to accept Margaret's children's book. It went on to sell 48 million copies. I highly recommend this book.
June 10, 2017
Oh I forgot to write anything about this. I think maybe because I don't want to super harsh on it, but . . . I dunno what else to say. It turns out ol' Marg was a rich jerk and it was really a frikn bummer to find that out and I kind of don't really want to know that. Also this book was obviously a massive effort of love and devotion but Jesus is it a bad read. She's constantly quoting from Wise Brown's journals without attributing, which I guess she feels like plumps up the text excitingly or something but which just has the effect of reading an endless catalogue description or like listening to a four-year old tell you about her day (and then and then and then).
In the plus column, MWB has an extremely cool face and style, so the pictures section is fun.
Meh. Don't read this unless: you love rich jerks, you are a rich jerk and therefore unable to perceive rich jerkiness so maybe you will just think this is a wonderful whimsical tale, you want to hate Margaret Wise Brown, or you only have one book left to read in some sort of magical scenario where if you don't read it everything you love will be destroyed or something.
In the plus column, MWB has an extremely cool face and style, so the pictures section is fun.
Meh. Don't read this unless: you love rich jerks, you are a rich jerk and therefore unable to perceive rich jerkiness so maybe you will just think this is a wonderful whimsical tale, you want to hate Margaret Wise Brown, or you only have one book left to read in some sort of magical scenario where if you don't read it everything you love will be destroyed or something.
January 12, 2017
I am immersed in children's literature on a daily basis. Knowledge of children's authors and illustrators is an important part of my job. I thought I knew a lot about Margaret Wise Brown. After reading In the Great Green Room I see I hadn't even cracked the surface. This may have been one of the most enjoyable and enlightening biographies I have ever read on a children's book creator. And I've read them all. You really get to know MWB as a person. In the Great Green Room is a fun, interesting read chock full of wonderful photos of MWB I have never seen before. Even if you don't have an interest in children's literature-it is one spectacular non-fiction book.
January 1, 2017
Margaret Wise Brown left this earth far too soon, but in the little time she was here, she created a mind-blowing amount of children's books that captured, "with a sense of awe and wonder," the magic of childhood. Gary's pitch-perfect account of Brown's life is filled with her subject's whimsy and zest for life, and it reveals the many hurdles Brown faced in trying to go against the grain in her work life and love life. Chapter by chapter, Gary builds a loving portrait of a woman whose childlike view of the world lent her an extraordinary gift in writing for children and who battled turmoil within and without despite her playful, witty exterior. This book is proof of Margaret Wise Brown's "radiant living that was lived among us."
February 7, 2017
WOW! What a fascinating tale about the life of beloved children's writer, Margaret Wise Brown, who wrote Good Night Moon among others. Brown often hobnobbed in elite circles including the Carnegies and the Rockefellers. She was a bisexual woman and fell in love with the ex-wife of John Barrymore, a poet named Michael Strange. After her lover's traumatic death, Brown became involved with James Stillman Rockefeller Jr., 15 years her junior. This story is so moving, empowering, and reflective of her time and it should be transformed to the big screen. Unfortunately the writing was very subpar. I enjoyed the photos though.
April 23, 2022
Gary's writing style did not agree with me. This biography felt way too fictionalized for my tastes. Lots of shivers running down spines and plenty of interior monologues. It all felt too, too.
April 11, 2022
I really liked this biography of the prolific and influential writer for children Margaret Wise Brown.
Amy Gary is not primarily a biographer. In her earlier jobs, she was head of publishing for Lucasfilms and Pixar. But curiosity led her to a treasure trove of unpublished papers that the sister of Margaret Wise Brown had stored away in the attic after Brown's death at 42 from an embolism.
Margaret Wise Brown not only wrote the seminal "Goodnight, Moon," which after a slow start sold more that 48 million copies worldwide, but many other titles you might recognize without knowing they were by her. At this time of year, I always pull out "Home for a Bunny," for example.
Brown wrote for a variety of publishers, including Harper, Disney, and Golden Books. But it wasn't that she was a warm and fuzzy child-loving, motherly type. It was more that she never stopped being a child. She thought like a child. She fit in well with the cutting-edge child-development philosophy of the Bank Street School, one of her first employers in New York, but even before she knew about that, she sensed that books featuring repetition and descriptions of very familiar objects would please young children. And she tested everything on her audience.
Gary's access to Brown's papers makes this a rich biography of a wild and original, nature-loving girl who became a wild and original, nature-loving adult. Despite a life of privilege in both New York and the south (she was a frequent visitor to her cousins' Manhattan-sized island, Cumberland, which is now a national park), nothing could dampen her ability to see everything around her in terms of a story for kids.
I think you will be interested in how Brown met some great illustrators and writers and nurtured their talents -- and in how she came up with innovations like furry books and records in book pockets. She was valued for her work, which was satisfying, but her love life with both men and women she knew were bad for her kept her from being happy for long.
I really appreciated Gary's long epilogue, in which she tied up every possible loose end. And the forward by Brown's fiance, James Stillman Rockefeller Jr., was a lovely way to capture Brown's vibrant way of talking about, thinking about, whatever she saw.
Amy Gary is not primarily a biographer. In her earlier jobs, she was head of publishing for Lucasfilms and Pixar. But curiosity led her to a treasure trove of unpublished papers that the sister of Margaret Wise Brown had stored away in the attic after Brown's death at 42 from an embolism.
Margaret Wise Brown not only wrote the seminal "Goodnight, Moon," which after a slow start sold more that 48 million copies worldwide, but many other titles you might recognize without knowing they were by her. At this time of year, I always pull out "Home for a Bunny," for example.
Brown wrote for a variety of publishers, including Harper, Disney, and Golden Books. But it wasn't that she was a warm and fuzzy child-loving, motherly type. It was more that she never stopped being a child. She thought like a child. She fit in well with the cutting-edge child-development philosophy of the Bank Street School, one of her first employers in New York, but even before she knew about that, she sensed that books featuring repetition and descriptions of very familiar objects would please young children. And she tested everything on her audience.
Gary's access to Brown's papers makes this a rich biography of a wild and original, nature-loving girl who became a wild and original, nature-loving adult. Despite a life of privilege in both New York and the south (she was a frequent visitor to her cousins' Manhattan-sized island, Cumberland, which is now a national park), nothing could dampen her ability to see everything around her in terms of a story for kids.
I think you will be interested in how Brown met some great illustrators and writers and nurtured their talents -- and in how she came up with innovations like furry books and records in book pockets. She was valued for her work, which was satisfying, but her love life with both men and women she knew were bad for her kept her from being happy for long.
I really appreciated Gary's long epilogue, in which she tied up every possible loose end. And the forward by Brown's fiance, James Stillman Rockefeller Jr., was a lovely way to capture Brown's vibrant way of talking about, thinking about, whatever she saw.
December 27, 2022
Having read Leonard Marcus's Awakened by the Moon many years ago, I knew some of the facts of Margaret Wise Brown's life. This title is based on unpublished personal papers that author Gary was fortunate enough to have access to from Margaret's sister. I gave it four stars because I find the subject matter so interesting.
What this book does is provide personal details of Brown's entire life, presumably based on her diaries, scrapbooks, etc. She was very complex. Not happy in love until just before she died relatively young and suffering from an inferiority complex because she could not seem to write for adults (when she actually was wonderfully responsible for changing the focus of children's lit in the 30's and 40's), she lived life to the fullest in many ways. Yet she seems so needy and childlike in the portrayal in this title. The book fully details many of the influences of nature on her subjects and writings.
The Marcus book, however, did a much better job of showing where Brown fit into the children's lit world and explaining how different it was before the Bank Street influence. Both books highlight how appalling it was that Good Night Moon was not added to the shelves of New York Public Library until 20 years after it was written. As I said, it has been years since I read the Marcus book, but I remember it as a little drier and more academic--not in a negative way--just more complex in its presentation. Gray's writing style is very different, not very eloquent and not deeply analytical. Some of her publishing contract details were very interesting, but there were occasional gaps in facts. Gray went into a long discussion about the illustration advantage of an oversize book with an egg and bunny in it without ever giving the title of the book (The Golden Egg Book) which I owned as a child. Things like that--or a list of her published works under her different pseudonyms-- might be interesting to others.
Still, if you love Good Night Moon and wonder how it came to be or are curious about the woman who wrote it, the details in this title will provide much personal information and serve as a starting point for more research.
What this book does is provide personal details of Brown's entire life, presumably based on her diaries, scrapbooks, etc. She was very complex. Not happy in love until just before she died relatively young and suffering from an inferiority complex because she could not seem to write for adults (when she actually was wonderfully responsible for changing the focus of children's lit in the 30's and 40's), she lived life to the fullest in many ways. Yet she seems so needy and childlike in the portrayal in this title. The book fully details many of the influences of nature on her subjects and writings.
The Marcus book, however, did a much better job of showing where Brown fit into the children's lit world and explaining how different it was before the Bank Street influence. Both books highlight how appalling it was that Good Night Moon was not added to the shelves of New York Public Library until 20 years after it was written. As I said, it has been years since I read the Marcus book, but I remember it as a little drier and more academic--not in a negative way--just more complex in its presentation. Gray's writing style is very different, not very eloquent and not deeply analytical. Some of her publishing contract details were very interesting, but there were occasional gaps in facts. Gray went into a long discussion about the illustration advantage of an oversize book with an egg and bunny in it without ever giving the title of the book (The Golden Egg Book) which I owned as a child. Things like that--or a list of her published works under her different pseudonyms-- might be interesting to others.
Still, if you love Good Night Moon and wonder how it came to be or are curious about the woman who wrote it, the details in this title will provide much personal information and serve as a starting point for more research.
January 9, 2017
In the Great Green Room was the best non-fiction title that I have read in a very long time. I was intrigued by the book due to the fact that Goodnight Moon induces a sense of nostalgia within me. My mother would read this book to me night after night as a child. Although prior to reading In the Great Green Room I knew nothing of the author of Goodnight Moon, now I will never be able to forget the name Margaret Wise Brown. Margaret’s personality danced vivaciously across the pages and the conveyance of her sense of adventure was palpable. The smooth flowing narrative allowed for an entertaining read that was not forced. Amy Gary was able to portray Margaret’s highs and lows in a way that is relatable to all readers. The extensiveness of Gary’s research provides for a fascinating and thorough description of a bold, valiant life, hard to contain in 300 pages. This life story is a great reminder that we all want to do great things and may doubt ourselves at times – but maybe, just maybe, we have already achieved the success that we are searching for.
March 26, 2020
Either Margaret was utterly unappealing to me or the author's depiction of Margaret Brown was distasteful. I wasn't put off by Margaret's gamboling bisexual relationship with Michael(Barrymore). It was simply unappealing as were all of the author's renditions Margaret's romances. If I am to believe the author's telling of Margaret and her romances, I feel embarrassed for Margaret. She became a sot who was besotted with this glorious idea of love and in most cases, exception Pebbles, obligatory suffering and imbecilic overbearing gestures of dripping worship. I know that I am guilty of having thrown myself at the object of affection only to be cruelly teased and dismissed. But Margaret was tireless in her fidelity and adolescent dotage to the end of the gruesome, witch of a woman, Michael. As much as I adored the book and illustrations of Goodnight Moon I was totally disgusted with a biography that looked so sumptuous.
February 9, 2017
A fairly interesting life, written about with little flair. The sections describing the rise of children's literature during this period were much more intriguing than the subject's awful romantic decisions, and reading about her endless appeals to her father for money after she'd emptied her bank account got old pretty quickly.
February 22, 2017
I love Brown's books; The Sailor Dog was probably my favorite childhood picture book, and The Little Fur Family not far behind. Although I found the content of this book quite interesting, I didn't care for the novelistic writing style. Much of it appeared to be directly lifted from her diaries with no quotes, which was a bit disconcerting, as if the author was constantly by her side.
June 25, 2023
“In the Great Green Room, the Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown” by Amy Gary is an excellent biography of one of America’s great authors in children’s literature. Inspired to read this after reading a review here on Goodreads, and after reading so many of her books to my children, and now grandchildren, i agree with Ms. Gary’s use of the word “ bold” in the title.
Born in 1910 to an affluent and esteemed family Margaret spent most of her girlhood exploring nature in the North fork of Long Island and Cumberland, Georgia. Easily distracted and often bored Margaret was a poor student but an avid reader. After boarding schools in Switzerland and Massachusetts, Margaret began college at Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia. Despite her love of nature and words, Margaret was somewhat aimless after graduating and relied on a generous allowance from her father in order to support her life in NYC.
This was a transitional period in the writing of children’s literature and Margaret was greatly influenced by her association with the Bank Street School in NYC. She was instrumental in finding artists ( Clement Hurd, Garth Williams, Barbara Cooney, Leonard Weisgard to name a few) to illustrate her books and found professional acclaim and success in her thirties.
Personally she was mercurial and impulsive and had many lovers but never married. Sadly she died in Paris at age 42 ( 1952) after experiencing a fatal blood clot post appendix surgery.
The character of Margaret Wise Brown was unexpected to this reader. Would recommend to any one who enjoys children’s literature.
Born in 1910 to an affluent and esteemed family Margaret spent most of her girlhood exploring nature in the North fork of Long Island and Cumberland, Georgia. Easily distracted and often bored Margaret was a poor student but an avid reader. After boarding schools in Switzerland and Massachusetts, Margaret began college at Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia. Despite her love of nature and words, Margaret was somewhat aimless after graduating and relied on a generous allowance from her father in order to support her life in NYC.
This was a transitional period in the writing of children’s literature and Margaret was greatly influenced by her association with the Bank Street School in NYC. She was instrumental in finding artists ( Clement Hurd, Garth Williams, Barbara Cooney, Leonard Weisgard to name a few) to illustrate her books and found professional acclaim and success in her thirties.
Personally she was mercurial and impulsive and had many lovers but never married. Sadly she died in Paris at age 42 ( 1952) after experiencing a fatal blood clot post appendix surgery.
The character of Margaret Wise Brown was unexpected to this reader. Would recommend to any one who enjoys children’s literature.
November 27, 2018
As booklover to many of Brown's books, especially THE RUNAWAY BUNNY, SLEEPY ABC, and THE NOISY AND QUIET BOOKS, I was certainly interested in this biography of Margaret Wise Brown. I listened to the audio book which was very good yet the biggest part lacking, in my opinion, was the personality of Ms. Brown. There was no voice given to the Amy Gary's subject! With all the beautiful verse by Brown that began the chapters, it was glaring how her own words were missing in the chapters themselves. Gary painted a good picture of what Brown's early life was like yet I was disappointed there was not the slightest inclusion of letter passages, etc. It would have supported the material very well and given Brown a more sense of self to share if it had been included.
I was surprised how Brown didn't seem to ever have enough money and had to borrow even to the last days of her life. How exciting to be a children's writer at that time and I was giddy at hearing Garth Williams mentioned as those illustrations are some of my favorites from childhood. I was dually surprised that the author didn't relay any passion on the part of Brown for her writing. It appeared that it was just a job and she was always on to the next project and eager for another paycheck.
I knew that Brown had died at an early age but how very sad in the way it all happened. I felt her life, though comfortable at the beginning, was always lonely and when she finally found happiness, she dies. I did like how the author gave the last word to Brown - it was a nice tribute even if bittersweet.
I was surprised how Brown didn't seem to ever have enough money and had to borrow even to the last days of her life. How exciting to be a children's writer at that time and I was giddy at hearing Garth Williams mentioned as those illustrations are some of my favorites from childhood. I was dually surprised that the author didn't relay any passion on the part of Brown for her writing. It appeared that it was just a job and she was always on to the next project and eager for another paycheck.
I knew that Brown had died at an early age but how very sad in the way it all happened. I felt her life, though comfortable at the beginning, was always lonely and when she finally found happiness, she dies. I did like how the author gave the last word to Brown - it was a nice tribute even if bittersweet.
June 23, 2022
Very interesting content, but it reads like a summary/retelling of her journal/papers. Great read if you want to know more about her though
March 21, 2018
In November, I read a novel called Goodnight June by Sarah Jio. It was a fictionalized account of what inspired Brown to write Goodnight Moon. After reading Goodnight June, I did a little research on Margaret Wise Brown and learned that her latest biography was the one I'm writing about today, In the Great Green Room:The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown by Amy Gary.
I was on the fence about Goodnight June and likewise, I'm on the fence with In the Great Green Room. I probably would have given a 3-star rating, but I was interested in the subject and am glad I read the book. Not that the short life of Brown isn't interesting. It most certainly is as she did live both a brilliant and bold life.
Brown was born into a family of privilege to parents who didn't really like each other. Those two things probably set her on a path for a lifestyle outside the norms of the day.
(What I didn't understand - and have come across this in other books mostly covering the same time period - when we're told Margaret had limited means, she's still buying multiple houses, renting places to live and/or write, doing all sorts of traveling, employing a valet, among other things. To me that just doesn't jive with being of limited means.)
Brown was a very prolific children's writer. She wrote for several publishing companies, including Golden which probably had the widest distribution network at the time or maybe even ever for children's literature. I was particularly interested in the huge role Brown had in the development of children's literature as we know it today. Towards the end of her life, she had tie-ins to movies and music. (Plus who knew that Rube Goldberg was a great writer of music? Not me. To me he was a simple machines science guy.) She designed novelty books. Are you familiar with Pat the Bunny?
Gary, with a history in publishing, years after Brown's death reach out to Brown's sister, Roberta, since she wanted to republish 4 of Brown's earlier books. In a matter of fact way, not expecting much of a response, Gary asked Roberta if she knew if Margaret had left behind any unpublished works. Roberta brought down a trunk for Gary to look thru and that started 25 years of Gary researching the live and works of Margaret Wise Brown. In the Great Green Room is the culmination of those 25 years' work.
The book goes into great detail about Brown's involvement in the development of texts for children. Not only her literature and the literature of others that grew out of work. But her early work with Bank Street which evolved into creation of textbooks for children based on what children like and how they would best understand material. I loved reading about Margaret's work with her illustrators as I've always found the connection between authors and illustrators really interesting. I was also interested in her interactions with the publishers regarding payment, contracts, royalties, commitments, although a little less detail and a little less repetition of some of the details would have been fine with me.
The book also goes into great detail about Brown's love life. Overall, it was fascinating. She made quite a few poor choices along the way. But some of the minutiae of her romantic affairs got tiresome.
The biography was a quick read, but I think I would have enjoyed it more had there been fewer details where they weren't needed and an inclusion of direct results of Gary's research (quotes from diaries, letters and interviews) rather than just being straight narrative.
Margaret wanted to be remembered as a "writer of songs and nonsense," which until I read that about her, I would have had no clue. She always felt like she was somehow "less" because she wrote for children. I can understand that since children's literature wasn't really a thing back in the 30s and 40s when she was writing away. Eventually she came to appreciate her talents and skills and she seemed happiest at the time of her death. How often does that happen?
Upon finishing the book, I did want to rush back to my computer and pound out a few picture books of my own. (I have one completed draft of a middle grade picture book about the Spanish American War that I worked on with my daughter.) Instead, for now, I'll stick to blogging.
You can read more of my reviews at https://whatchareadingnow.blogspot.com/
I was on the fence about Goodnight June and likewise, I'm on the fence with In the Great Green Room. I probably would have given a 3-star rating, but I was interested in the subject and am glad I read the book. Not that the short life of Brown isn't interesting. It most certainly is as she did live both a brilliant and bold life.
Brown was born into a family of privilege to parents who didn't really like each other. Those two things probably set her on a path for a lifestyle outside the norms of the day.
(What I didn't understand - and have come across this in other books mostly covering the same time period - when we're told Margaret had limited means, she's still buying multiple houses, renting places to live and/or write, doing all sorts of traveling, employing a valet, among other things. To me that just doesn't jive with being of limited means.)
Brown was a very prolific children's writer. She wrote for several publishing companies, including Golden which probably had the widest distribution network at the time or maybe even ever for children's literature. I was particularly interested in the huge role Brown had in the development of children's literature as we know it today. Towards the end of her life, she had tie-ins to movies and music. (Plus who knew that Rube Goldberg was a great writer of music? Not me. To me he was a simple machines science guy.) She designed novelty books. Are you familiar with Pat the Bunny?
Gary, with a history in publishing, years after Brown's death reach out to Brown's sister, Roberta, since she wanted to republish 4 of Brown's earlier books. In a matter of fact way, not expecting much of a response, Gary asked Roberta if she knew if Margaret had left behind any unpublished works. Roberta brought down a trunk for Gary to look thru and that started 25 years of Gary researching the live and works of Margaret Wise Brown. In the Great Green Room is the culmination of those 25 years' work.
The book goes into great detail about Brown's involvement in the development of texts for children. Not only her literature and the literature of others that grew out of work. But her early work with Bank Street which evolved into creation of textbooks for children based on what children like and how they would best understand material. I loved reading about Margaret's work with her illustrators as I've always found the connection between authors and illustrators really interesting. I was also interested in her interactions with the publishers regarding payment, contracts, royalties, commitments, although a little less detail and a little less repetition of some of the details would have been fine with me.
The book also goes into great detail about Brown's love life. Overall, it was fascinating. She made quite a few poor choices along the way. But some of the minutiae of her romantic affairs got tiresome.
The biography was a quick read, but I think I would have enjoyed it more had there been fewer details where they weren't needed and an inclusion of direct results of Gary's research (quotes from diaries, letters and interviews) rather than just being straight narrative.
Margaret wanted to be remembered as a "writer of songs and nonsense," which until I read that about her, I would have had no clue. She always felt like she was somehow "less" because she wrote for children. I can understand that since children's literature wasn't really a thing back in the 30s and 40s when she was writing away. Eventually she came to appreciate her talents and skills and she seemed happiest at the time of her death. How often does that happen?
Upon finishing the book, I did want to rush back to my computer and pound out a few picture books of my own. (I have one completed draft of a middle grade picture book about the Spanish American War that I worked on with my daughter.) Instead, for now, I'll stick to blogging.
You can read more of my reviews at https://whatchareadingnow.blogspot.com/
August 25, 2017
In writing this biography of Margaret Wise Brown, Amy Cary had access to diaries and unpublished books which provide insight into the subject’s thoughts and feelings. Oddly she never refers to the "Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon", the biography by Leonard S. Marcus published in 1992. It is difficult to compare the bibliographies of the two books because Gary provides a bibliography for each chapter instead of footnotes or endnotes.
The manuscript was read by a number of people, and probably a copy editor, but there are some odd uses of words. On page 8 Gary writes “. . . the sky was again ablaze with gold, green, and blue of the borealis . . .” I assume she means the aurora since borealis is an adjective. On page 42 Margret returns from a drive with “an entire carful of honeysuckles.” Does this mean a variety of honeysuckle species? Honeysuckle is like deer or milk; the “s” is odd. On page 49 she writes of Brown’s “academic issues” – a rather arch way to referring to academic problems of deficiencies. What in the world are “geranium trees?” (page 150) It was a surprise to find Rube Goldberg listed as a composer on page 190. Later, on page 226, the reader does learn that he wrote a song; this information should have come first, and perhaps the other composer of the song, Ruth Cleary Patterson, should also be mentioned.
On page 211 Gary tells us that the icebox in a refrigerator exploded. What is she talking about here? An icebox uses ice to keep food cold. Ice does not explode. Does she really mean the freezer in the refrigerator?
Much of this book sounds like Gary is paraphrasing Margaret’s diaries. Why didn’t she just use direct quotes? There is not a lot of interpretation.
On page 213 librarians, who did not immediately warm to Brown’s books, are rather unfairly maligned.
There is a puzzling paragraph at the top of page 223:
"Then, pointing at Pebble, who was attired only in very short shorts, Margaret said he was going to get all the attention from the ladies that night in the hair shirt he had on. He laughed, but no one changed, hoping to make Pebble’s family and the other dinner guests feel stuffy in their nice clothes."
What is Gary trying to say here?
On page 227 Gary mentions that Brown ordered “prescriptions from the apothecary.” In the twentieth century United States the usual term is pharmacy.
Margaret Wise Brown had a genius for creating picture books for small children – that was the successful part of her life. However, it is hard to know how to interpret Gary’s subtitle: “The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown” Other than her writing Brown’s adult life was kind of a mess. Her romantic choices were not really worthy of her and some were already married.
A much better biography is the earlier one by Leonard Marcus.
The manuscript was read by a number of people, and probably a copy editor, but there are some odd uses of words. On page 8 Gary writes “. . . the sky was again ablaze with gold, green, and blue of the borealis . . .” I assume she means the aurora since borealis is an adjective. On page 42 Margret returns from a drive with “an entire carful of honeysuckles.” Does this mean a variety of honeysuckle species? Honeysuckle is like deer or milk; the “s” is odd. On page 49 she writes of Brown’s “academic issues” – a rather arch way to referring to academic problems of deficiencies. What in the world are “geranium trees?” (page 150) It was a surprise to find Rube Goldberg listed as a composer on page 190. Later, on page 226, the reader does learn that he wrote a song; this information should have come first, and perhaps the other composer of the song, Ruth Cleary Patterson, should also be mentioned.
On page 211 Gary tells us that the icebox in a refrigerator exploded. What is she talking about here? An icebox uses ice to keep food cold. Ice does not explode. Does she really mean the freezer in the refrigerator?
Much of this book sounds like Gary is paraphrasing Margaret’s diaries. Why didn’t she just use direct quotes? There is not a lot of interpretation.
On page 213 librarians, who did not immediately warm to Brown’s books, are rather unfairly maligned.
There is a puzzling paragraph at the top of page 223:
"Then, pointing at Pebble, who was attired only in very short shorts, Margaret said he was going to get all the attention from the ladies that night in the hair shirt he had on. He laughed, but no one changed, hoping to make Pebble’s family and the other dinner guests feel stuffy in their nice clothes."
What is Gary trying to say here?
On page 227 Gary mentions that Brown ordered “prescriptions from the apothecary.” In the twentieth century United States the usual term is pharmacy.
Margaret Wise Brown had a genius for creating picture books for small children – that was the successful part of her life. However, it is hard to know how to interpret Gary’s subtitle: “The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown” Other than her writing Brown’s adult life was kind of a mess. Her romantic choices were not really worthy of her and some were already married.
A much better biography is the earlier one by Leonard Marcus.
August 5, 2018
For me, it's not Goodnight Moon, but The Color Kittens. We wore out our Little Golden Book growing up. My takeaway from Amy Gary's luminous biography is that writing for children is hard. Margaret Wise Brown was lucky enough to have come from means, so she always had a financial safety net. Doesn't it just break your heart when you find out that great art has come from something soulless and mechanical? No, it should come from just the right dose of eccentricity, and Margaret had that in spades. Even if you don't think this book would appeal to you, I think you'll find that it will, just like Margaret. This book will also satisfy the 2018 Watauga County Public Library Reading A Book With The Color Green In The Title OR On The Cover. I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways. It is an advance reading copy.
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