Featured Author

Prolific and talented? An author and illustrator? Author of best-sellers for small children and for young adults? What a curve buster. It is hard to resent such preternatural ability in Rosemary wells; especially when she eschews both syrup in her young children’s books and self-absorbed indulgence in the protagonists of her young adult books.

I came to Rosemary Wells’ large body of work unexpectedly. Before starting Through the Magic Door, and while our children were quite young, I focused on the quality of the writing and the effectiveness of the illustrations of books when purchasing books for them. I tended to avoid those authors with big marketing dollars behind them and in fact often did not focus on who wrote the book at all. This approach has some merits and some drawbacks. It also opens you up to some surprises. In this case, it was quite a while before I finally cottoned on to the fact that three quite different groups of books which our children enjoyed (a couple of young adult titles, the McDuff series, and some children’s board books) were actually all by the same author. I was surprised at the time of the discovery, but even in hindsight, it still seems pretty surprising.

Rosemary Wells was born January 29, 1943 in New York and has pretty much followed a career in the book business since the beginning; though starting from one direction and arriving in another. She studied art at the Museum School in Boston, but was dissatisfied with what and how she was being taught and left school before finishing her studies. She married and started a career as a book designer for Allyn and Bacon. When her husband’s studies took him to New York she joined Macmillan publishing company in their children’s book division.

It was while with Macmillan that Rosemary Wells produced her first book, A Song to Sing, O!, an illustrated version of one of the songs from the Gilbert and Sullivan opera entitled The Yeoman of the Guard. As she recalls the story, she heard the song, sketched out the lyrics, bound up the pages and presented the book to the editor in chief who read the book, sang the song, then invited other editors in to have a good old sing-along of various Gilbert and Sullivan songs at the end of which she welcomed Wells as a new Macmillan author rather than just an art editor.

You have got to hand it to Gilbert and Sullivan – they sure wrote catchy tunes that seem to stick in people’s heads and then are shared with the world at the strangest of times. Years ago Sally’s uncle passed away and the family was all gathered in Columbia, South Carolina for the memorial church service. From there we were to drive caravan-style to a small town in western South Carolina where her uncle was born and raised, so that he might be buried in the same cemetery as his parents. It was all very somber, serious and traditional as one would expect. From the church service, the hearse , the three or four chauffeured limos carrying the immediate family and the caravan of cars with family and friends were escorted to the highway out of town by the police department.

Now all of this was in keeping with a very traditional Southern funeral for a fine gentleman who had grown up in a small South Carolina town, gone to college locally, went off to World War II, returned and taught history at the University of Virginia for his entire career, never married and then retired to Columbia to be near his brother. What it ignores is that Uncle Jim was a bit of a character with a quirky core beneath the traditional exterior.

So, it was not entirely unfitting when we discovered that the chauffeur of our car was an amateur thespian and, in fact, had been an English teacher of Sally’s in high school. That connection and familiarity was all the edge he needed to blossom. He had a little bit of that same quirky streak as did Uncle Jim and his answer to the gravity of the occasion was to entertain us with a variety of Gilbert and Sullivan songs, starting with a Modern Major General, all the way from the church to the cemetery - not a short distance. While there were a couple of arched brows and pursed lips at this entirely inappropriate performance, I couldn’t help but thinking that Uncle Jim would have been pleased.

Anyway, back to Ms. Wells and Gilbert and Sullivan as the catalyst to her career change. Following the success of her first book, she then illustrated another Gilbert and Sullivan song, “The Duke of Plaza Toro” from The Gondoliers. In fact, she published six books the following year; four of which she illustrated and two of which she wrote and illustrated. In the years following, she has, with only a couple of exceptions, published at least one book every year and usually anywhere from two to half a dozen a year. Rather unusually for someone who started as an illustrator and then began writing, she has been highly flexible through her writing career as to what role she plays in a book. There are some books by others whom she has chosen to illustrate. There are some of her own books which she has written that she has elected to have illustrated by others. And then, of course, there are her own stories she has chosen to illustrate.

Ms. Wells has stated that, while illustrations are important, the foundation of a book is the story and the words. “I am both an artist and a writer, but I am firmly convinced that the story comes first . . . The child may be charmed, intrigued or even inspired by good illustration, but it is the sound of the words and the story that first holds the child’s attention.”

And, boy, can she make the words ring. Cadence, vernacular, individual verbal tics, she uses all the devices to make her stories sing. What I particularly like about Wells’ writing is the knack she has for structuring the story; giving a lot of crisp specific descriptions and tying it up with a reasonably neat ending while at the same time leaving holes for the reader (or listener) to fill in. Many authors’ stories are so bare or so overlabored that not much is left to the imagination. Wells’ gives you hills and streams, and all the major features, but leaves you the opportunity to fill-in the details.

If you are choosing among Wells’ books, don’t be misled by her illustrations. She has assessed her writing talents to be greater than her artistic talents and I would agree, but there is more to her illustrations than initially meets the eye: a fact I discovered too late.

I fell into this trap when assessing her picture books when our children were young. Her illustrations don’t particularly stand out on their own. They aren’t the cartoonish simplicities that adorn many books, but they aren’t particularly eye-catching either. Consequently I never dipped into them. It is a shame; our children would have enjoyed them.

Had I looked more closely I would have discovered three things: the whole of the pictures together are more than the sum of the individual parts; Rosemary Wells has a talent for integrating the illustrations more closely to the narrative flow than is common; and Wells has a mischievous eye for details. For example, in Felix Feels Better (one of a series of stories about a guinea pig named Felix), there are a couple of examples in a single illustration. Felix is shown reluctantly entering the doctor’s office, his reluctance manifested by his sheltering under his mother’s overcoat. On the wall is Dr. Duck’s diploma from his alma mater, Universitatus Aquaticus.

Anyway, lots to sample from regardless of the ages of your children. I think you will find pleasure and entertainment in virtually any choice you make.

Picture Books

Adding It Up by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Michael Koelsch

Be My Valentine by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by John A. Nez

BIngo written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Bubble-Gum Radar by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Jody Wheeler

Bunny Cakes written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Bunny Mail written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Bunny Money written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Bunny Party written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Carry Me! written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Doris's Dinosaur by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by John A. Nez

Emily's First 100 Days of School written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Felix and the Worrier written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Felix Feels Better written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Goodnight Max written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Hazel's Amazing Mother written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Here Comes Mother Goose edited by Iona Archibald Opie, illustrated by Rosemary Wells

HIde and Seek written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Humpty Dumpty and Other Rhymes written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

I Love You A Bushel & A Peck by Frank Loesser, illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Letters and Sounds by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Michael Koelsch

Make New Friends by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Jody Wheeler

Mama, Don't Go! by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Jody Wheeler

Max & Ruby's Christmas Tree written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max & Ruby's Winter Adventure written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max and Ruby in Pandora's Box written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max and Ruby's Busy Week written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max and Ruby's Midas written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max and Ruby's Show and Tell written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max and Ruby's Snowy Day written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max Cleans Up written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max Counts His Chickens written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max Drives Away written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max's ABC written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max's Bedtime written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max's Birthday written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max's Breakfast written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max's Chocolate Chicken written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max's Dragon Shirt written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max's Easter Surprise written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max's First Word written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max's Halloween written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max's New Suit written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max's Ride written and llustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max's Toys written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max's Valentine written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max's Work of Art written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

McDuff by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

McDuff and the Baby by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

McDuff Comes Home by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

McDuff Goes To School by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

McDuff Moves In by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

McDuff Saves The Day by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

McDuff's Birthday by Rosemary Wells

McDuff's Christmas by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

McDuff's Favorite Things by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

McDuff's Hide and Seek by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

McDuff's Wild Romp by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

Morris's Disappearing Bag written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Mother Goose's Little Treasures edited by Iona Archibald Opie, illustrated by Rosemary Wells

My Kindergarten written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

My Very First Mother Goose edited by Iona Archibald Opie, illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Noisy Nora written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Old MacDonald written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Only You written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Practice Makes Perfect by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Jody Wheeler

Read Me A Story written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Read To Your Bunny by Rosemary Wells

Read To Your Bunny Very First Library written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Ready To Read by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Michael Koelsch

Ruby's Beauty Shop written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Ruby's Falling Leaves written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Ruby's Rainy Day written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Ruby's Tea For Two written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Shy Charles written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Streets of Gold by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Dan Andreasen

Tallchief by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Gary Kelley

The Bear Went Over the Mountain written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gardner, illustrated by by Rosemary Wells

The Fisherman and His Wife by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Eleanor Hubbard

The Germ Busters by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Jody Wheeler

The Gulps by Rosemary Wells and Marc Brown

The Halloween Parade by Rosemary Wells

The Itsy Bitsy Spider written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

The Miraculous Tale of the Two Maries by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Petra Mathers

The School Play by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Jody Wheeler

The Small World of Binky Braverman by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Richard Egielski

The World Around Us written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Timothy Goes To School written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star by Rosemary Wells

When I Grow Up written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Yoko written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Yoko's Paper Cranes written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Yoko's World of Kindess by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by John Nez and Jody Wheeler

Independent Reader

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams and Rosemary Wells

Lassie by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan Jeffers

Mary On Horseback written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Max and Ruby Play School written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Play With Max and Ruby written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Red Moon At Sharpsburg by Rosemary Wells

Stuart Little by E. B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams and Rosemary Wells

Through the Hidden Door by Rosemary Wells

When No One Was Looking by Rosemary Wells

Wingwalker by Rosemary Wells

Bibliography

John and Rarey written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1969
Michael and the Mitten Test written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1969
The First Child written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1970
Martha's Birthday written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1970
Miranda's Pilgrims written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1970
Unfortunately Harriet written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1972
Benjamin and Tulip written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1973
Noisy Nora written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1973
Abdul written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1975
Morris's Disappearing Bag: A Christmas Story written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1975
Don't Spill It Again, James written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1977
Stanley and Rhoda written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1978
Max's First Word written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1979
Max's New Suit written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1979
Max's Ride written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1979
Max's Toys: A Counting Book written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1979
Good Night, Fred written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1981
Timothy Goes to School written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1981
A Lion for Lewis written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1982
Peabody written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1983
Hazel's Amazing Mother written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1985
Max's Bath written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1985
Max's Bedtime written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1985
Max's Breakfast written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1985
Max's Birthday written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1985
Max's Christmas written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1986
Shy Charles written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1988
Max's Chocolate Chicken written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1989
The Little Lame Prince written by Dinah Mulock Craik and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1990
Fritz and the Mess Fairy written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1991
Max's Dragon Shirt written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1991
First Tomato: A Voyage to the Bunny Planet written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1992
The Island Light: A Voyage to the Bunny Planet written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1992
Moss Pillows: A Voyage to the Bunny Planet written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1992
Max and Ruby's First Greek Myth: Pandora's Box written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1993
Edward Unready for School written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1995
Edward in Deep Water written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1995
Edward's Overwhelming Overnight written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1995
Max and Ruby's Midas: Another Greek Myth written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1995
Bunny Money written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1997
Bunny Cakes written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1997
Read to Your Bunny written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1998
Old MacDonald written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1998
The Bear Went over the Mountain written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1998
The Itsy-Bitsy Spider written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1998
Yoko written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1998
B-I-N-G-O written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 1999
Emily's First 100 Days of School written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2000
Timothy Goes to School written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2000
Timothy's Lost and Found Day written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2000
Max Cleans Up written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2000
Goodnight Max written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2000
Timothy's Class Trip: Based on Timothy Goes to School and Other Stories written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2001
Be My Valentine written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2001
Doris's Dinosaur written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2001
Felix Feels Better written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2001
The Halloween Parade written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2001
Letters and Sounds written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2001
Mama, Don't Go written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2001
The School Play written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2001
Yoko's Paper Cranes written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2001
Max in the Tub written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2001
The Germ Busters written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2002
Ruby's Beauty Shop written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2002
Play with Max and Ruby written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2002
Emily's World of Wonders written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2003
Felix and the Worrier written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2003
Max and Ruby's Show-and-Tell written by Rosemary Wells and illustrated by Rosemary Wells 2006

Born Maria Charlotte Michelle Wiesner, January 21, 1925 in Vienna, Austria

It is not always apparent, and therefore it is kind of thrilling, when you are privileged to see classics in the making. And that’s what we have with Eva Ibbotson, a writer of fine dramas; late in life still producing masterpieces that will surely be enjoyed by future generation.

But there is no reason to wait, go ahead and enjoy her books now because they are a refreshing antidote to so many of the ills that stalk the land of writing: faux experimental writing-styles, deep concentration on the flaws and failures of society, an entirely unjustified concentration on the bitterness of one’s own circumstances, and an overall, unrelenting focus on the negative and destructive. When I see the stories coming out and being reviewed in the press each day, I feel as if we have had a generation of writers, or perhaps their publishers, that have been infected with some bizarre and virulent strain of Goth writing.

Ibbotson is no stranger to hardship and tragic circumstances. “I have seen a lot of unhappy endings. I lost my parents, my home, my country. I have seen a lot of anguish. I could have written about that sort of thing. But I want children to feel that life is OK, and I taught myself to write well because I know what deep pleasure books can bring.” In her writing she has chosen to craft beautiful works that are entertaining, clearly structured, touching and filled with adventure, humor, and enchantment. In the halls of Young Adult and Independent Reader writing, it is like moving from some cold, dampy, musty basement to the sun room.

As she has said, “The best sort of present you can give a child is something they can walk into and enjoy, something that makes them laugh – and cry – and introduces them to exciting places.” She also believes that “Children deserve the old-fashioned principles about goodness and badness that are present in romantic adventure, not in a preachy way, but through a structure they can identify with.”

Maria Charlotte Michelle Wiesner was born January 21, 1925 in Vienna, Austria, the only child in a troubled marriage. Her mother was a playwright and her father a scientist. Soon after she was born, her parents separated and she spent her childhood ping-ponging around Europe between the two of them. With Hitler’s rise to power, first her father in 1933 in advance of Der Anschluss, and then later her remarried mother, emigrated to Britain.

She refers to these early days in this delightful article from the July 9, 2006 The Observer.

I was eight years old when I came to Britain as a refugee - and was not particularly grateful. Mostly this was because after years and years of being a sheep coming to the manger, or a grazing cow, I had at last landed the part of the Virgin Mary in the nativity play at my convent school in Vienna.

And then ... Hitler.

We came to London in 1934, a bedraggled party consisting of my fey, poetic mother, my irascible grandmother and confused aunt, and rented rooms in a dilapidated house in Belsize Park which, in those days, was a seedy, run-down part of the city. The house was full of suddenly impoverished refugees facing exile.

Ibbotson was soon entered into a progressive boarding school, Dartington Hall, out in the countryside in Devon, and quickly adapted to and then completely absorbed the English language. She took her degree in physiology from London University, a degree choice strongly influenced by her scientist father’s admonitions/encouragement. Ibbotson, then pursued research at Cambridge University. She found her experiments to be distressing and her scientific results “peculiar”. Fortunately she also found a fellow student, Alan Ibbotson. His advice to her was that she might be less harmful to science were she to marry him. She accepted his proposal.

The Ibbotson’s moved to Newcastle-upon-Tyne in northern England where Alan Ibbotson pursued his academic career as a naturalist/ecologist. Their marriage was blessed with four children and lasted 49 years until his death in 1998 from heart attack.

While raising her family, Ibbotson took to writing articles and short stories for magazines such as The Lady. Her first book, The Great Ghost Rescue was published in 1975. From then until her husband’s death in 1989, Ibbotson generally produced alternately a children’s book and then one of her romance novels. Since the passing of her husband, however, she has focused more on her children’s books.

Critics identify Ibbotson as having two separate bodies of work, romance novels for adults and children’s books. Perhaps. But these are not bodice ripper romance novels, they are books that have a structure of romance to them, but inherent romance rather than overt romance. This is romance that is of the enchantment, fairy tale, fascination sort rather than the courtship and infatuation breed. Children who have enjoyed her more overtly children’s books are likely to find themselves easily falling for her “romance” books as well given that her gentle humor and sympathetic characters infuse both.

Ibbotson can be plain spoken and direct but her humor is relatively gentle though usually with a little bite to it as when she describes her father’s work on what became a classic monograph on the maternal behavior of rats, "which he found, I think, more satisfactory than the maternal behavior of my mother."

We first came to Ibbotson through her Journey to the River Sea, an adventure set close to the turn of the last century when a young girl, orphaned in England, is sent to be with distant relatives in Brazil. It is a gripping tale full of adventure, plot and wonderful descriptions of the environment of the Amazon. From there we branched into her other children’s books. Her early children’s books were often characterized by magic, witches, and other fantasy elements. Favorites have included The Secret of Platform 13, Which Witch?, and Island of the Aunts. I think that is a pretty reasonable approach to her work.

However, if you have some Harry Potter fans, you might find that they take to her earlier work first, rich as it is in magic, humor, and adventure.

Independent Reader

An Eva Ibbotson Collection by Eva Ibbotson (includes Which Witch?, The Secret of Platform 13, and Island of the Aunts)

Dial-A-Ghost by Eva Ibbotson

Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotson

Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

Not Just a Witch by Eva Ibbotson

The Beasts of Clawstone Castle by Eva Ibbotson

The Great Ghost Rescue by Eva Ibbotson

The Haunting of Granite Falls by Eva Ibbotson

The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson

The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson

Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson

Young Adult

A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson

A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson

A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson

The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson

Complete Bibliography

The Great Ghost Rescue 1975
Which Witch? 1979
A Countess Below Stairs 1981
Magic Flutes 1982
The Worm & the Toffee Nosed Princess 1983
A Company of Swans 1985
The Haunting of Hiram C. Hopgood 1987
Madensky Square 1988
Not Just a Witch 1989
A Glove Shop in Vienna and other Stories 1992
The Morning Gift 1993
The Secret of Platform 13 1994
Dial-a-Ghost 1996
A Song for Summer 1997
Monster Mission 1999
Island of the Aunts 2000
Journey to the River Sea 2001
The Haunting of Granite Falls 2004
The Star of Kazan 2004
The Beasts of Clawstone Castle 2005

Born June 26, 1915 in Norfolk, Virginia

Throughout her career, both as a writer and as an editor, Charlotte Zolotow has been a proponent of children’s literature that accurately portrays children’s experience of the world around them. She observes: “Children have the same emotions as adults, though they experience them more intensely, since they haven’t yet learned the protective camouflage with which we adults disguise our feelings.” Like Margaret Wise Brown, one of Zolotow’s goals in her writing is to capture the experience of childhood from a child’s point of view. She states: “I remember actually thinking, when I was a child, that I would remember things that had happened, things that seemed important to me, but seemed to go unnoticed by the adults around.” Zolotow’s childhood desire to be an illustrator and a writer was, perhaps, shaped by her experiences and magnified by her retiring personality.

Charlotte Zolotow was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1915. Her parents were Louis and Ella Shapiro. Louis Shapiro was a lawyer who also ran several businesses. He was a very talented man, but not a good businessman. As a result, the family moved fairly frequently in the search of economic stability and opportunity. Her mother, Ella Shapiro, was active in the campaign for women’s suffrage in addition to being a committed volunteer for Hadassah, the Jewish women’s service organization. Frequent moves meant frequent changes of schools for Charlotte Zolotow who was by nature a shy, quiet child. When she had a series of physical problems and had to get eyeglasses, braces on her teeth, and a brace for her back, she began writing stories. While in the third grade, she won a silver pencil, her first of many prizes for writing. When talking about her childhood, Charlotte Zolotow states “I loved the idea of not only expressing myself in words, but because I was very shy in conversation, reaching other people through my writing.”

Another life long love of Charlotte Zolotow’s is gardening. As a child she says she read “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett again and again. When she became a parent, she read it aloud to her two children. Her own opportunity to create a beautiful garden came when she moved to her present home in New York State. The house was situated on an unattractive lot which she transformed into a beautiful garden. “The garden is one of my greatest satisfactions,” she states. “When we moved here, it was nothing but a dead, sandy, neglected lot. Now there is a green lawn, a curving flower bed which includes not only standards like roses and iris, but such plants as flowering thistles raised from seeds from Emily Dickinson’s garden…” Zolotow also has many plants inside her home. At book signings, she often uses green ink.

Charlotte Zolotow’s writing career began after she left the University of Wisconsin in Madison which she attended from 1933 - 1936, After marrying Maurice Zolotow, she moved to New York City where she worked for Harper children’s books as an editorial assistant. It was her boss, Ursula Nordstrom, who encouraged her to write her first children’s book. Zolotow had written a memo to Ursula Nordstrom suggesting that they find an author to write a book about Washington Park. Ms. Nordstrom encouraged Zolotow to write it herself and the book was published in 1944 under the title, The Park. Zolotow then went on to write over seventy books for children. In her career at Harper and Brothers (now Harper Collins), she also nurtured a number of authors and illustrators who became noted in their own rights for their contributions to children’s literature.

Zolotow has been such an influential force in children’s literature over such a long period of time that, in 1998, the University of Wisconsin in cooperation with the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) established the Charlotte Zolotow Award. This award is presented annually to the new picture book chosen by a selected group of teachers, librarians, and educators for its distinguished text. (The well-known Caldecott awards are given for illustrations.)

Picture Books

A Father Like That by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Joanne Scribner

Do You Know What I'll Do? by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Javaka Steptoe

I Know a Lady by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by James Stevenson

I Like to be Little by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Erik Blegvad

If It Weren't for You by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by G. Brian Karas

If You Listen by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Stefano Vitale

Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Maurice Sendak

My Grandson Lew by Charlotte Zolotow

Over and over by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Garth Williams

Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham

The Beautiful Christmas Tree by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Yan Nascimbene

The Bunny Who Found Easter by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Helen Craig

The Hating Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ben Shecter

The Moon Was the Best by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Tana Hoban

The Old Dog by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by James Ransome

The Quarreling Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Arnold Lobel

The Seashore Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Wendell Minor

This Quiet Lady by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Anita Lobel

When the Wind Stops by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Stefano Vitale

William's Doll by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by William Pene Du Bois

Bibliography

The Park Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by H.A. Rey 1944
But Not Billy by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Lys Cassal 1947
The City Boy and the Country Horse by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by William Moyers 1952
Indian, Indian by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1952
The Magic Word by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Eleanor Dart 1952
The Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham 1952
The Quiet Mother and the Noisy Little Boy by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Kurt Werth 1953
One Step, Two . . . by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin 1955
Not a Little Monkey by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin 1957
Over and Over by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Garth Williams 1957
Do You Know What I'll Do? by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Garth Williams 1958
The Night When Mother Was Away by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Reisie Lonette 1958
Sleepy Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Vladimir Bobri 1958
The Bunny Who Found Easter by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Betty Peterson 1959
Big Brother. by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Mary Chalmers 1960
In My Garden by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin 1960
The Little Black Puppy by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Lilian Obligado 1960
The Man with the Purple Eyey by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Joe Lasker 1961
The Three Funny Friends by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Mary Chalmers 1961
Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Maurice Sendak 1962
When the Wind Stops by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Joe Lasker 1962
Aren't You Glad? by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Elaine Kurtz 1963
The Quarreling Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Arnold Lobel 1963
The Sky Was Blue by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Garth Williams 1963
A Tiger Called Thomas by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Kurt Werth 1963
The White Marble by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Lillian Obligado 1963
I Have a Horse of My Own by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Yoko Mitsuhashi 1964
The Poodle Who Barked at the Wind by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin 1964
A Rose, a Bridge, and a Wild Black Horse by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz 1964
Flocks of Birds by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Joan Berg 1965
Someday by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Arnold Lobel 1965
When I Have a Little Girl by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Hilary Knight 1965
Big Sister and Little Sister by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Martha Alexander 1966
If It Weren't for You by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ben Shecter 1966
I Want to Be Little by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Tony De Luna 1966
All That Sunlight by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Walter Stein 1967
Summer Is . . . by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Janet Archer 1967
When I Have a Son by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Hilary Knight 1967
My Friend John by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ben Shecter 1968
The Hating Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ben Shecter 1969
Some Things Go Together by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Sylvie Selig 1969
A Week in Yani's World: Greece by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Donal Getsug 1969
River Winding by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Regina Sherkerjian 1970
Where I Begin by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Rocco Negri 1970
A Week in Lateef's World: India by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ray Shaw 1970
A Father Like That by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ben Shecter 1971
Wake Up and Goodnight by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1971
You and Me by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Robert Quackenbush 1971
The Beautiful Christmas Tree by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ruth Robbins 1972
Hold My Hand. by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Thomas di Grazia 1972
The Old Dog by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by George Mocniak 1972
William's Doll by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by William Pene du Bois 1972
Janey by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ronald Himler 1973
An Overpraised Season: Ten Stories of Youth by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by 1973
My Grandson Lew by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by William Pene du Bois 1974
The Summer Night by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ben Shecter 1974
The Unfriendly Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by William Pene du Bois 1975
It's Not Fair by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by William Pene du Bois 1976
May I Visit? by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Erik Blegvad 1976
If You Listen by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Marc Simont 1980
Say It! by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by James Stevenson 1980
The New Friend by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Arvis L. Stewart 1981
The Song by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Nancy Tafuri 1982
I Know a Lady by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by James Stevenson 1984
Timothy Too! by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Ruth Robbins 1986
Early Sorrow: Ten Stories of Youth by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by 1986
Everything Glistens and Everything Sings: New and Selected Poems by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Margot Tomes 1987
Something Is Going to Happen by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Catherine Stock 1988
This Quiet Lady by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Anita Lobel 1992
The Seashore Book by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Wendell Minor 1992
The Moon Was the Best by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Tana Hoban 1993
Peter and the Pigeons by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Martine Gourbault 1993
Snippets: A Gathering of Poems, Pictures, and Possibilities by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Melissa Sweet 1993
Who Is Ben? by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Kathryn Jacobi 1997
Seasons by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Eric Blegvad 2002

There are some stories that somehow seem to escape the shackles of language, place, time and fashion. They entertain and edify children down the generations without ever seeming old, stilted or “peculiar” even when there are details that anchor them in a different time and place.

Think about the Railway Children, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Wizard of Oz, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, King Solomon’s Mines and Tom Sawyer. What is the authorial sleight of hand that allows these books to remain relevant and entertaining over such spans of time and reach children with knowledge and sophistication unimaginable to the author of the story at the time it was written?

It is in this pantheon of books out of time that Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women resides. Written one hundred and forty years ago and set in the northeast US at the time of the Civil War, it has an identifiable time and setting but is a timeless read.

I cannot recognize what it is that set these books apart nor do I know of any research which has attempted to identify those characteristics that permit a book to unfetter itself from the period in which it is written. If you go back to the time of publication and identify the other books which were in circulation, there are often others which were even more popular but have faded completely from the scene. Reading these other books, you can often, like a building or a song, place it to the quarter century if not the decade based on the language, structure and tone of the book. But by being so anchored in their time of writing, they seem doomed to die with those times, whereas others float free on down the tide of generations, always fresh and entertaining.

Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania to Amos Bronson Alcott and his wife Abigail May Alcott on November 29, 1832. She lived her life predominantly in Massachusetts, alternating between Boston and Concord. Louisa was the second of four daughters: Anna, Louisa, Elizabeth, and May.

Alcott led an initially difficult, but fascinating life. Her father, Amos Bronson Alcott, was an idealistic, progressive transcendentalist philosopher, very active in many movements and launching many initiatives but in the end, apparently very impractical, leaving the family usually in straightened financial circumstances.

Alcott was home-schooled consistent with her father’s theories but supplemented by the very rich intellectual environment with which he enveloped the family. Not only were there rarified discussions within the family on social and scientific issues but the young Alcott was taken under the wing of family friends and neighbors including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Margaret Fuller. She apparently spent much time in Emerson’s library reading deeply and broadly.

Out of this hot-house transcendentalist environment, she took away a deep commitment to helping her family, helping others, and an abiding respect for hard work. After a reasonably disastrous family exercise in utopian community living (in the community christened Fruitlands) when she was twelve and which resulted in borderline starvation, Alcott committed herself to doing whatever was required to provide for her family.

She was exposed to writing from an early age, all four daughters being required to maintain a journal of thoughts and observations which would then be reviewed with her parents, all as part of her practical and spiritual education. There were a number of entries through these middle teenage years reflecting her commitment to see her family through the hard times such as this one when she was fifteen “I will do something by and by. Don’t care what, teach, sew, act, write, anything to help the family; and I’ll be rich and famous and happy before I die, see if I won’t.” This was a fairly prescient forecast as she did indeed do all these things (as well as acting as a tutor for Emerson’s daughter and working as a household servant) as she tried to bring in money and did indeed eventually become wealthy and happy.

In her mid-teens, and like Jo in Little Women, Alcott began writing stories and was earning money by selling poems and sentimental/passion stories, often under the pen name of A.M. Barnard, to various magazines and other publications by her late teens. She published her first book, Flower Fables, a collection of fairy stories originally written for Emerson’s daughter, Emma, in 1854 when she was twenty-two.

All during these years of financial strain, uncertainty and near impoverishment, Alcott, as with the rest of her family, remained true to their progressive ideals, supporting various movements including women’s suffrage, abolition, coeducation, vegetarianism, temperance, education reform.

In 1856, after a number of years of poor health, Alcott’s beloved younger sister, Elizabeth, died of scarlet fever. This was followed soon after by the marriage of her older sister Anna, bringing to a close the many years of family life together. It was these first twenty-four years of her life and her family experience that formed the basis for the books which were to bring her literary fame and fortune.

With the coming of the Civil War, Alcott, wanting to help, went to Washington, D.C. to serve as a nurse. She only served for six weeks before contracting typhoid and being invalided back home. The treatment, including doses of mercury, was almost worse than the disease and she suffered various recurrent symptoms throughout the remainder of her life. While serving, she had written many letters home describing the terrible conditions and circumstances to which she was exposed and the suffering of her patients.

She used this material to writer her second book, Hospital Sketches, which was published in 1863. The public was desperate for all information about the war and this combined with her distinctive, straightforward writing style in which she was able to relate terrible stories in a way that was moving without being overly sentimental, brought her to the attention of a much wider critical audience than she had had with her earlier writings and book.

Encouraged by the positive reception of Hospital Sketches, Alcott produced seven books over the next five years. These books provided some measure of financial and literary success and she was able to achieve her goal of beginning to pull her family out of their precarious financial circumstances.

Her publisher Thomas Niles, encouraged her to write a girls’ story. Alcott was reluctant at first and skeptical of her ability to produce anything that might find an audience but accepted the suggestion and began work on a story, basing it on her own life. Her hesitancy is reflected in her journal recorded at this time, “So I plod away, though I don’t enjoy this sort of thing. Never liked girls or knew many, other than my sisters; but our queer plays and experiences might be interesting, though I doubt it.”

So out of this very distinctive up-bringing, peculiar life experiences, and the need to put food on the table was created one of America’s iconic stories. There was no literary guile, no effort to write a classic, no deliberate artifice in structuring the story – simply another book to earn some money.

Alcott wrote the story in six weeks and Little Women, substantially drawing from her own life, was published in 1868. It was an instant and huge success. So successful in fact that she immediately sat down and wrote a sequel Little Women, or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, Part Second in two months. Ever since, these two volumes have almost always been published as a single book, Little Women.

With the triumph of Little Women, Alcott had arrived at a station of literary and financial success, for which she had striven but had seemed completely improbable. Some of the things that set Little Women apart from the run of the mill children’s books of the time were that it was a warm and sympathetic story, it told a story without preaching, it was very concrete in its descriptions of people and settings and the protagonists were clearly attractive character’s but all flawed in their own particular way; they were characters with whom children could empathize.

This period saw the emergence of a number of children’s protagonists each of whom were essentially good kids, but all of whom had flaws. In addition to Jo and her sisters in Little Women, there was also The Story of a Bad Boy by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge, and of course the north stars in this particular constellation, The Adventures of Tom Sawyerby Mark Twain.

There are considered to be eight Little Women stories though they are more of a hive of stories than a series per se. Little Women, Little Men, and Jo’s Boys and How They Turned Out all cover the March family and children. An Old Fashioned Girl; Eight Cousins, The Aunt-Hill; Rose in Bloom; Under the Lilacs, and Jack and Jill are considered part of the series as well even though they do not focus on the March family.

As she wrote further stories, Alcott’s writing style became more structured and there is perhaps more intention to communicate a particular message.

As with any great story whose success is assured by popularity, there have of course been legions of literary army ants eager to attack and draw out all sorts of points ranging from literary critiques to assaults on the stories for various social short-comings. I think these can be safely tucked away in some sort of basement collection of critical writings that don’t amount to a hill of beans.

You can turn your children loose on these books and be confident that they will enjoy them. I would add, whether representative or not, that they ought to be left where young boys can get their hands them as well. I remember one long summer finding myself one day without anything to read and raiding my sister’s room for anything that might be good and first latching on to Little Women. I enjoyed it so much I then kidnapped her Little Men as well as Jo’s Boys. Had I not been bereft of reading material I probably would never have thought of trying them. I am glad that I did.

Alcott never married. Her father died March 4, 1888 and Louisa May Alcott followed him two days later on March 6, 1888.

Bibliography

Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott 1855

Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott 1863

On Picket Duty, and Other Tales by Louisa May Alcott 1864

The Rose Family. A Fairy Tale by Louisa May Alcott 1864

Moods by Louisa May Alcott 1865

Nelly's Hospital by Louisa May Alcott 1865

A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott written in 1866 and published in 1995

The Mysterious Key, and What It Opened by Louisa May Alcott 1867

Aunt Kipp by Louisa May Alcott 1868

Kitty's Class Day by Louisa May Alcott 1868

Little Women or, Meg. Jo, Beth and Amy, 2 volumes by Louisa May Alcott and illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith 1868

Louisa M. Alcott's Proverb Stories by Louisa May Alcott 1868

Louisa May Alcott's Proverb Stories by Louisa May Alcott 1868

Morning-Glories, and Other Stories by Louisa May Alcott 1868

Psyche's Art by Louisa May Alcott 1868

Hospital Sketches and Camp and Fireside Stories by Louisa May Alcott 1869

An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott 1870

V.V.: or, Plots and Counterplots by Louisa May Alcott 1870

Will's Wonder Book by Louisa May Alcott 1870

Little Men: Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott 1871

Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag Volume 1: My Boys, Etc. by Louisa May Alcott 1872

Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag Volume 2: Shawl-Straps, Etc. by Louisa May Alcott 1872

Something to Do by Louisa May Alcott 1873

Work: A Story of Experience by Louisa May Alcott 1873

Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag Volume 3: Cupid and Chow Chow, Etc. by Louisa May Alcott 1874

Eight Cousins; or The Aunt-Hill by Louisa May Alcott 1875

Rose in Bloom. A Sequel to "Eight Cousins" by Louisa May Alcott 1876

Silver Pitchers: And Independence, A Centennial Love Story by Louisa May Alcott 1876

A Modern Mephistopheles, anonymous by Louisa May Alcott 1877

Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag Volume 4: My Girls, Etc. by Louisa May Alcott 1878

Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott 1878

Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag Volume 5: Jimmy's Cruise in the Pinafore, Etc.by Louisa May Alcott 1879

Meadow Blossoms by Louisa May Alcott 1879

Sparkles for Bright Eyes by Louisa May Alcott 1879

Water Cresses by Louisa May Alcott 1879

Jack and Jill: A Village Story by Louisa May Alcott 1880

Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag Volume 6: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving, Etc. by Louisa May Alcott 1882

Spinning-Wheel Stories by Louisa May Alcott 1884

Jo's Boys, and How They Turned Out. A Sequel to "Little Men" by Louisa May Alcott 1886

Lulu's Library. Vol. I. A Christmas Dream by Louisa May Alcott 1886

A Garland for Girls by Louisa May Alcott 1887

Lulu's Library. Vol. II. The Frost King by Louisa May Alcott 1887

A Modern Mephistopheles and A Whisper in the Dark by Louisa May Alcott 1889

Louisa May Alcott: Her Life, Letters and Journals edited by Ednah D. Cheney 1889

Lulu's Library. Vol. III. Recollections by Louisa May Alcott 1889

Comic Tragedies Written by "Jo" and "Meg" and Acted by the Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 1893

A Round Dozen: Stories edited by Anne Thaxter Eaton 1963

Glimpses of Louisa: A Centennial Sampling of the Best Short Stories by Louisa May Alcott edited by Cornelia Meigs 1968

Behind a Mask; The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott by Louisa May Alcott and edited by Madeleine B. Stern 1975

Louisa's Wonder Book: An Unknown Alcott Juvenile by Louisa May Alcott 1975

Plots and Counterplots; More Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott by Louisa May Alcott 1976

Diana and Persis edited by Sarah Elbert 1978

Transcendental Wild Oats by Louisa May Alcott 1981

The Selected Letters of Louisa May Alcott edited by Joel Myerson 1987

The Works of Louisa May Alcott by Louisa May Alcott 1987

A Double Life: Newly Discovered Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott edited by Madeleine B. Stern 1988

Alternative Alcott edited by Elaine Showalter 1988

The Journals of Louisa May Alcott edited by Joel Myerson 1989

Louisa May Alcott's Fairy Tales and Fantasy Stories edited by Daniel Shealy 1992

Louisa May Alcott Unmasked: Collected Thrillers edited by Madeleine B. Stern 1995

The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott 1996

A Modern Cinderella Or The Little Old Shoe And Other Stories by Louisa May Alcott 2002