Featured Author

A man of many parts was that Padraic Colum and yet few now know of him. Poet, playwright, very successful children’s author, he made a big splash but the ripples of his success have close to disappeared. His story telling powers are undiminished and his materials (myths and legends) remain as important as ever. Colum is the type of author whom we are seeking to bring to the attention of a discerning audience.

Padraic Colum was born Patrick Collumb, the first of eight children, in Collumbkille, County Longford in the center of Ireland on December 8, 1881. His father managed the local workhouse – a combination of homeless shelter, YMCA, hostel and work center.

Colum describes his early life in The Junior Book of Authors:

I was born nearly in the middle of Ireland. The town I was born in has nothing to be said for it. However, my father happened to be the master of a workhouse; consequently I was born where waifs, strays, tramps congregated.

In those far-back days the workhouse was an oddly significant institution in Ireland. It was mainly for people who were too poor to support themselves – these were the paupers, mostly old men and women or younger people more or less incapacitated or defective. Having the run of the institution from the kitchens to the dormitories, as a child I saw a lot of these paupers and was often entertained by the gossip and the histories of old men and women who were survivals from an Ireland that had disappeared.

But I wasn’t nearly as much interested in the resident-paupers as I was in the “casuals” – people who entered for a night and went away in the morning, coming into the workhouse for a night’s shelter and supper and breakfast. This particular workhouse was on the highway between the east and the west, between Leinster and Connacht, and the “casuals” whom I watched coming and going through the big gate were men and women who were genuine wayfarers, nomads, the “masterless men” whom English writers noted as being common in Ireland generations before – tramps and their women and children.

There were also itinerant artisans, men who followed decaying trades, and ballad singers with tramp fiddlers and pipers. As I watched them taking the road of a morning, going I knew not into what mysterious region, the romance of the road was brought home to me and I think it has never quite left my mind. It is on account of these early impressions, I think, that so many of my poems and stories are about wandering people.

While I was still a child I left the town I was born in and went to live in the next county. There, in my grandmother’s house, I heard stories before I read them and songs and scraps poetry before I had to learn any at school. I was fortunate, I believe, in getting this sort of oral knowledge, which left me with an interest in legends and traditions.

Colum only received eight years of formal education. In 1898, at seventeen, he began work as a clerk at the Irish Railway Clearing House in Dublin. In Dublin he fell into, and became a founding member of the Celtic Revival/Irish Renaissance. He kept company with and became friends of W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, J.M. Synge and other leading lights. While still working as a clerk, he penned a number of plays which were well received.

In 1901, when barely twenty, he helped found the Irish National Theatre (later called the Abbey Theatre) as well as later, in 1911, The Irish Review. He wrote close to a dozen plays in the first decade of the century, several of which were produced at the Abbey Theatre. He also published a couple of collections of his poetry. It was in this period that Colum converted his birth name of Patrick Collumb to its Gaelic equivalent, Padraic Colum.

In 1912 he married a fellow writer, Mary Macguire. Colum at this point had also become involved in the Irish Volunteers and took part in gun-running for the independence movement. In 1914, short on cash, the Colums moved to the USA, initially for just a few months. In his autobiographical piece in The Junior Book of Authors Colum recounts how he came to start writing children’s stories.

Then in 1914 I came to America for the first time. It was while in America, in the first year I was here, that I began to write stories for children. My beginning in this field was something of an accident. In order to keep what knowledge I had of Irish I used to translate every day some passages from that language. The only text I had at one time was a long folk story. This I translated. Then one of the editors of the New York Tribune who had charge of a children’s page asked me if I had anything that could go on that page. I handed in my translation and it was published as a serial.

The famous illustrator, Willy Pogány, who had just come to America, saw the stories and suggested that I should do a children’s book which he would illustrate. I put the translations together, added greatly to them, and wove them into a long narrative, which was The King of Ireland’s Son. Afterwards the Macmillan Company commissioned me to make the Iliad and the Odyssey into a children’s book. And so I started writing books for children.

Other than a three-year sojourn in France in the early thirties, the Colums remained in the US and became American citizens in 1945. While continuing to write plays and poetry as well as a couple of novels, from the 1920’s onwards, Colum lived comfortably off his success as a children’s author. Among his literary peers it seems as if there was a view that he never fulfilled his promise as a playwright. Perhaps it is another example of the subversive American practice of coaxing people to provide what is wanted rather than what they wish to produce.

While there might have been a loss in rarified literature, I suspect it was more than made up for by the provision of wonderful retellings of folk tales and legends, for this was Colum’s medium. By a significant margin, his most popular books were the retelling of the Greek myths and legends in The Children’s Homer and The Golden Fleece. Next in line would be his Nordic and Irish myths and legends; The Children of Odin, A Treasury of Irish Folklore, Nordic Gods and Heroes, and The King of Ireland’s Son.

I am especially partial to the Greek myths and legends. My youngest is a keen aficionado of epics, myths and legends and over the years I have probably read him a half dozen versions of Iliad and Odysseus. To test whether Colum had aged too much for the modern generation, last night I read the opening of The Children’s Homer to him. It begins:

This is the story of Odysseus, the most renowned of all the heroes the Greek poets have told us of--of Odysseus, his wars and his wanderings. And this story of Odysseus begins with his son, the youth who was called Telemachus.

The kiss of the Blarney Stone holds good and it looks like I am on the hook for the rest of the book.

Padraic Colum died January 12, 1972.

Independent Reader

Great Myths of the World by Padraic Colum Suggested

The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy by Padraic Colum and illustrated by Willy Pogany 1918 Children's Stories Suggested

The Children's Homer by Padraic Colum and illustrated by Willy Pogany 1918 Children's Stories Highly Recommended

The Children of Odin: A Book of Northern Myths by Padraic Colum and illustrated by Willy Pogany 1920 Children's Stories Highly Recommended

The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum and illustrated by Willy Pogany 1921 Children's Stories Recommended

The Island of the Mighty, Being the Hero Stories of Celtic Britain Retold from the Mabinogion by Padraic Colum and illustrated by Wilfred Jones 1924 Children's Stories Suggested

Bibliography

The Children of Lir [and] Brian Boru by Padraic Colum 1902 Plays
A Fiddler's House (produced in Dublin by Padraic Colum 1903 Plays
Broken Soil by Padraic Colum 1903 Play
The Foleys [and] Eoghan's Wife by Padraic Colum 1903 Plays
The Kingdom of the Young by Padraic Colum 1903 Plays
The Saxon Shillin' by Padraic Colum 1903 Plays
The Land by Padraic Colum 1905 Play
Heather Ale: A Book of Verse by Padraic Colum 1907 Poems
Studies (miscellany) by Padraic Colum 1907 Other
The Fiddlers' House by Padraic Colum 1907 Play
Wild Earth: A Book of Verse by Padraic Colum 1907 Poems
The Miracle of the Corn: A Miracle Play by Padraic Colum 1908 Plays
The Destruction of the Hostel, produced in Dublin by Padraic Colum 1910 Plays
Thomas Muskerry by Padraic Colum 1910 Play
My Irish Year by Padraic Colum 1912 (autobiography)
The Desert by Padraic Colum 1912 Plays
A Boy in Eirinn by Padraic Colum 1913 Children's Stories
Broad-Sheet Ballads, Being a Collection of Irish Popular Songs by Padraic Colum 1913 Other
The Betrayal by Padraic Colum 1913 Plays
Poems of the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood by Padraic Colum 1916 Poems
The Irish Rebellion of 1916 and Its Martyrs: Erin's Tragic Easter by Padraic Colum 1916 Other
The King of Ireland's Son by Padraic Colum 1916 Children's Stories
Three Plays: The Fiddler's House, The Land, Thomas Muskerry by Padraic Colum 1916 Plays
Wild Earth and Other Poems by Padraic Colum 1916 Poems
"The Grasshopper" by Padraic Colum 1917 Plays
Jonathan Swift Gulliver's Travels by Padraic Colum 1917 Children's Stories
Mogu the Wanderer by Padraic Colum 1917 Play
The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy by Padraic Colum and illustrated by Willy Pogany 1918 Children's Stories
The Boy Who Knew What the Birds Said by Padraic Colum 1918 Children's Stories
The Children's Homer by Padraic Colum and illustrated by Willy Pogany 1918 Children's Stories
The Girl Who Sat by the Ashes by Padraic Colum 1919 Children's Stories
The Boy Apprenticed to an Enchanter by Padraic Colum 1920 Children's Stories
The Children of Odin: A Book of Northern Myths by Padraic Colum and illustrated by Willy Pogany 1920 Children's Stories The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum and illustrated by Willy Pogany 1921 Children's Stories
An Anthology of Irish Verse by Padraic Colum 1922 Poems
Dramatic Legends and Other Poems by Padraic Colum 1922 Poems
The Children Who Followed the Piper by Padraic Colum 1922 Children's Stories
A Thousand and One Nights: Tales of Wonder and Magnificence by Padraic Colum 1923 Children's Stories
Castle Conquer by Padraic Colum 1923 Novel
The Six Who Were Left in a Shoe by Padraic Colum 1923 Children's Stories
Tales and Legends of Hawaii Volume 1: At the Gateways of the Day Volume 2: The Bright Islands by Padraic Colum 1924 Children's Stories
The Island of the Mighty, Being the Hero Stories of Celtic Britain Retold from the Mabinogion by Padraic Colum and illustrated by Wilfred Jones 1924 Children's Stories
The Peep-Show Man by Padraic Colum 1924 Children's Stories
The Forge in the Forest by Padraic Colum 1925 Children's Stories
The Voyages, Being Legends and Romances of Atlantic Discovery by Padraic Colum 1925 Children's Stories
The Road 'round Ireland by Padraic Colum 1926 Other
The Way of the Cross: Devotions on the Progress of Our Lord Jesus Christ from the Judgement Hall to Calvary by Padraic Colum 1926 Poems
Creatures by Padraic Colum 1927 Poems
The Fountain of Youth: Stories to Be Told by Padraic Colum 1927 Children's Stories
Book of Modern Catholic Prose by Padraic Colum 1928 Other
James Stephens by Padraic Colum 1928 Other
Balloon by Padraic Colum 1929 Plays
The Strindbergian Balloon by Padraic Colum 1929 Play
Cross Roads in Ireland by Padraic Colum 1930 Other
Old Pastures by Padraic Colum 1930 Poems
Orpheus: Myths of the World by Padraic Colum 1930 Other
Three Men: A Tale by Padraic Colum 1930 Children's Stories
Ella Young: An Appreciation by Padraic Colum 1931 Other
A Half-Day's Ride; or, Estates in Corsica by Padraic Colum 1932 Essays
Poems by Padraic Colum 1932 Poems
The Big Tree of Bunlahy: Stories of My Own Countryside by Padraic Colum 1933 Children's Stories
The White Sparrow by Padraic Colum 1933 Children's Stories
The Legend of Saint Columba by Padraic Colum 1935 Other
The Story of Lowery Maen by Padraic Colum 1937 Epic Poem
Flower Pieces: New Poems by Padraic Colum 1938 Poems
The Jackdaw by Padraic Colum 1939 Poems
Where the Winds Never Blew and the Cocks Never Crew by Padraic Colum 1940 Children's Stories
The Frenzied Prince, Being Heroic Stories of Ancient Ireland by Padraic Colum 1943 Children's Stories
The Show-Booth by Padraic Colum 1948 Plays
Ten Poems by Padraic Colum 1952 Poems
The Arabian Nights: Tales of Wonder and Magnificence by Padraic Colum 1953 Children's Stories
The Collected Poems of Padraic Colum by Padraic Colum 1953 Poems
A Treasury of Irish Folklore: The Stories, Traditions, Legends, Humor, Wisdom, Ballads, and Songs of the Irish People by Padraic Colum 1954 Other
The Vegetable Kingdom by Padraic Colum 1954 Poems
The Flying Swans by Padraic Colum 1957 Novel
Garland Sunday by Padraic Colum 1958 Poems
Irish Elegies by Padraic Colum 1958 Poems
Our Friend James Joyce by Padraic Colum 1958 Memoir
Ourselves Alone! The Story of Arthur Griffith and the Origin of the Irish Free State by Padraic Colum 1959 Other
The Poet's Circuits: Collected Poems of Ireland by Padraic Colum 1960 Poems
Between Friends: Letters of James Branch Cabell and Others by Padraic Colum 1962 Other
Moytura: A Play for Dancers by Padraic Colum 1963 Plays
The Poems of Samuel Ferguson by Padraic Colum 1963 Poems
Roofs of Gold: Poems to Read Aloud by Padraic Colum 1964 Poems
The Challengers: Monasterboice, Glendalough, Cloughoughter by Padraic Colum 1966 Plays
The Stone of Victory and Other Tales by Padraic Colum 1966 Children's Stories
"The Road 'round Ireland" by Padraic Colum 1967 Plays
Images of Departure by Padraic Colum 1969 Poems
Selected Short Stories of Padraic Colum by Padraic Colum 1985 Other
Selected Plays of Padraic Colum by Padraic Colum 1989 Plays
Selected Poems of Padraic Colum by Padraic Colum 1989 Poems
Kate Mary Ellen and the Fairies by Padraic Colum 1997 Children's Stories

Born December 13, 1916 in New Haven, Connecticut and died January 14, 2000, in Glumso Denmark.

Leonard Weisgard was a kaleidoscopic individual: every time you turn his life just a little, there is a completely new picture. An author and illustrator, his first book was published in 1937 and he wrote or illustrated some 200-300 books, many in collaboration with some of the most notable talents of the forties and fifties, particularly Margaret Wise Brown, Alvin R. Tresselt, Charlotte Zolotow, Alice Dalgliesh, Sesyle Joslin and Eve Titus. If you grew up anytime in the forties through the sixties, you will probably be familiar with his distinctive work, in part because of his collaboration with these great authors; in part because he was one of the early illustrators with Little Golden Books (launched in 1942) and in part because of his awards which included the 1947 Caldecott medal for The Little Island.

His friend, Ken Chowder described him:

There was no one like Leonard, even Leonard himself. Leonard was gracious and generous and beautifully well-spoken and -dressed; he was also reclusive and agoraphobic and capable of saying virtually anything, or nothing at all. He reveled in attention, and hated it. He loved conversation and adored people, then lived far out in the country (in two countries, in fact) where he saw very few of them. He was politically active for years, and hated politics. He worked like a dog for some 30 years, illustrating many hundreds of books and writing many more; then he simply stopped far before what one could call retirement, and spent about 25 or 30 more years not working much more than a stitch.

Born December 13, 1916 in Connecticut to Samuel H. Weisgard (British) and Fanny Cohen Weisgard, most of his early life was actually spent in Britain. The Weisgards returned to the US in 1924. His memories of these years are anchored by three vignettes; an early exposure to an illustrated Mother Goose rhymes, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrated by Tenniel, and a pantomime performance of Jack in the Beanstalk.

Weisgard is in some ways a classic example of the childlike freshness of perception mentioned in last week’s Pigeon Post essay. He seems to have been preternaturally sensitive and alert to colors, smells, and sounds. He mentions this a couple of times in his acceptance speech for the 1947 Caldecott Medal:

We were all of us incredible creatures when we were little. We could see and hear and feel and smell and with easy concentration create things that never were and things that were yet to come.

We can all remember when we originally saw and felt things not yet inhibited by manners or sentiment. Then we were lower to the ground and nearer to detail; then we could create a piece of silver out of some tinfoil down a drain, spot a robin on a water tower and see it become a chimney pot wearing a red hat; make a brown cow out of an old glove; build a city in the folds of a bedsheet; or even transform a doting aunt into a witch!

And again

I remember the sharpness of small pain, of infinite curiosity which would inevitably end in small joy or great disaster, of hiding things in my nose or cutting the Brussel's lace dining room curtains because the pattern was so disturbing and the starch so stiff. I was obsessed with the darkness of drawers, and wanted to create my own expressions with the hands of the clock, paint permanent shadows behind furniture and people.

I also remember something like this infinite curiosity ending in disaster. It was late of an evening, in the sultry tropics. We were living in Nigeria. I was five years old. We had a guard for the house who had, in a way, adopted me. I was fascinated by his bow and arrows, his ancient musket, his machete: everything about him was fascinating. He, this day, had given me an egg from one of his chickens. That evening I sat on the grass mat in the den, examining this wonderful thing, turning and turning it about in my small hands. My father was home that evening, sitting in his easy chair, watching me examine my treasure.

But he was not quick enough to anticipate my next step of childish examination which was to crack open the egg to let out the chick which must be in there. I can still recall the roar of alarm in the background. I don’t know which was more distressing to me: the lack of appearance of a chick, the mess of egg on the matt, or the look on my father’s face.

Leonard Weisgard studied for two years at the Pratt Institute. He then spent some time studying dance with Martha Graham and then undertook a career in illustration, starting out with work for some of the major publications of the day, Good Housekeeping, New Yorker, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar. At various points over the next few years he continued an on-again off-again involvement in theatre doing set design.

Weisgard published his first story, Suki, the Siamese Pussy, in 1937. Two years later began the very productive collaboration with Margaret Wise Brown resulting initially with the 1939 publication of The Noisy Book, the first in a series of Noisy books. Over the years, Brown and Weisgard produced more than two dozen books together including perennial favorites, The Noisy Book; Red Light, Green Light; The Little Island; The Golden Egg Book; and The Important Book.

Margaret Wise Brown was as prolific at writing books as Weisgard was in illustrating them. Supposedly the genesis of The Noisy Book occurred during a lunch time conversation in which Weisgard related his childhood memory of the sounds of London’s streets. Brown delivered a draft of the text the next day and he completed the illustrations for it by the end of the week.

Our kids loved The Noisy Book and The Quiet Noisy Book which, sadly, are currently out of print. Keep your eyes open for them though. I can’t believe they would stay out of print for long.

Weisgard worked in many different media. In fact it might be better to say he worked in most media: pencil, crayon, pen and ink, watercolor, acrylics, oils, etc. He is noted for his distinctive blend of realism with an angular style somewhat akin to the cubists and for his frequent scale shifts where a creature is in proportion to its surroundings in one picture but then very large or very small in the next setting.

Weisgard married Phyllis Monnot, a designer and film-maker, in 1951. They collaborated on a number of projects including designing the costumes and sets for a production of The Nutcracker Suite and The Dryad for the San Francisco ballet. They were also keen collectors of American folk art.

In 1969, at the prompting of a couple of Scandinavian friends, Weisgard and his family (he had three children), moved to Denmark for a year. A year turned into the rest of their lives. As referenced by Chowder above, Weisgard had been hugely productive for many, many years. After moving to Denmark he produced a few more children’s books but he was basically done at that point. Weisgard passed away January 14, 2000.

Picture Books

The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard Highly Recommended

The Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown (under thepseudonym Golden MacDonald) and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard Highly Recommended

Independent Reader

The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard Recommended

Bibliography

Suki, the Siamese Pussy by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1937
Through the Harbor, from Everywhere by Irmengarde Eberle and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1938
Cinderella by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1939
Pup Called Cinderella by Esther W. Reno and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1939
The Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1939
Comical Tragedy or Tragical Comedy of Punch and Judy (adapted by Brown) by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1940
Little Joe by Dorothy Clark and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1940
The Country Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1940
Under the Greenwood Tree (selected songs from Shekespeare's plays) by Julia Louise Reynolds and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1940
Grab Bag: Stories for Each and Every One by Lavinia R. Davis and Marjorie Fischer and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1941
Louis of New Orleans by Frances Cavanah and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1941
Pedro of Santa Fe by Frances Cavanah and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1941
The Poodle and the Sheep by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1941
The Seashore Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1941
Americans Every One by Lavinia R. Davis and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1942
Night and Day by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1942
Picture Book of Musical Instruments by Marion Lacey and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1942
The Indoor Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1942
The New Haggadah by Mordecai M. Kaplan and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1942
The Water-Carrier's Secrets by Maria Cristina Chambers and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1942
Big Dog, Little Dog by Golden MacDonald (Margaret Wise Brown) and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1943
Little Chicken by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1943
The Noisy Bird Book (includes some reproductions from Audubon) by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1943
Bucky Bear, Who Would Not Take His Nap by Elaine Wayne and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1944
Dorinda by Elizabeth Howard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1944
Pick the Vegetables by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1944
Red Light, Green Light by Golden MacDonald (Margaret Wise Brown) and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1944
Timid Timothy, the Kitten Who Learned to Be Brave by Gweneira Maureen Williams and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1944
Whose Little Bird Am I? by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1944
Little Lost Lamb by Golden MacDonald (Margaret Wise Brown) and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1945
Susie is a Kitten by Nettie King and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1945
Would You Like to Be a Monkey? by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1945
City Country ABC by Morrell Gipson and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1946
Heidi by Johanna Spyri and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1946
Mrs. Mallard's Ducklings by Clelia Delafield and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1946
Rain Drop Splash by Alvin R. Tresselt and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1946
Round the Afternoon by Charlotte E. Jackson and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1946
The City Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1946
The Little Island by Golden MacDonald (Margaret Wise Brown) and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1946
Down Huckleberry Hill by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1947
The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1947
High Trail by Vivian Breck and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1948
Just for Fun by Alice I. Hazeltine and Elva S. Smith and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1948
Pelican Here, Pelican There by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1948
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1949
The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1949
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1949
Dark Wood of the Golden Birds by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1950
The Funny Bunny Factory by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1950
The Little Lost Squirrel by Alvin R. Tresselt and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1950
The Quiet Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1950
Who Dreams of Cheese? by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1950
Let's Play by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1951
Pantaloon by Kathryn Jackson and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1951
Pussy Willow by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1951
Stories of Love by Alice I. Hazeltine and Elva S. Smith and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1951
The Family Mother Goose by and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1951
The Summer Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1951
Indian, Indian by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1952
Little Eskimo by Kathryn Jackson and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1952
Noon Balloon by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1952
The Clean Pig by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1952
Wheels by Kathryn Jackson and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1952
A Book About God by Florence M. Fitch and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1953
Let's Play Train by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1953
Little Frightened Tiger by Golden MacDonald (Margaret Wise Brown) and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1953
My First Picture Book by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1953
Silly Willy Nilly by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1953
The Golden Bunny, and Seventeen Other Stories and Poems by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1953
Three, and Domingo by Margueritte Harmon Bro and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1953
Grimms' Fairy Tales by Jakob Ludwig Karl and W.K. Grimm and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1954
Gulliver's Travels (edited for young readers) by Jonathan Swift and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1954
Just Like Me by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1954
The Big Treasure Book of Nursery Tales by Evelyn Andreas and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1954
The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1954
Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1955
Pilgrim Thanksgiving by Wilma P. Hays and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1955
Secret River by Marjorie K. Rawlings and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1955
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1955
The Big Book of Train Stories by and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1955
The Child Jesus by Florence M. Fitch and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1955
The New Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1955
Baby's Playthings by and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1956
Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1956
Mr. Peaceable Paints by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1956
Mrs. Goose's Green Trailer by Miriam S. Potter and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1956
Something for Now, Something for Later by Miriam Schlein and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1956
The Most Beautiful Tree in the World by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1956
The Story of Valentine by Wilma P. Hays and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1956
Treasures to See: A Museum Picture-Book by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1956
Whistle for the Train by Golden MacDonald (Margaret Wise Brown) and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1956
Abner's Cabin by Alf Evers and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1957
Favorite Poems Old and New by Helen Ferris and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1957
My Book of Prayer: Sabbath and Weekdays by Hyman Chanover and Evelyn Zusman and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1957
Rabbit Story by Alvin R. Tresselt and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1957
The Son of God: Readings from the Gospel According to St. Mark, with Background Information by Edric A. Weld and William Sydnor and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1957
Where Did Tuffy Hide? by Isabel and Frederick Eberstadt and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1957
Who Ever Heard of Kangaroo Eggs? by Samuel S. Vaughan and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1957
First Days of the World by Gerald Ames and Rose Wyler and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1958
Sylvester Jones and the Voice in the Forest by Patricia Miles Martin and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1958
The First People in the World by Gerald Ames and Rose Wyler and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1958
Willa: The Story of Willa Cather's Growing Up by Ruth Franchere and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1958
Adam and the Golden Cock by Alice Dalgliesh and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1959
My Book of Prayer: Holidays and Holy Days by Hyman Chanover and Evelyn Zusman and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1959
Nibble, Nibble: Poems for Children by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1959
The Macmillan Science-Life Series by John D. Barnard and others and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1959
The Snowflake and the Starfish by Robert Nathan and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1959
The Valentine Cat by Clyde R. Bulla and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1959
Brave Baby Elephant by Sesyle Joslin and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1960
Cozy Hour Storybook by Nora Kramer and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1960
Do You Want to Hear a Secret? by Sylvia Berger Redman and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1960
Nails to Nickles: Story of American Coins Old and New by Elizabeth A. Campbell and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1960
Who is at the Door? by Isabel and Frederick Eberstadt and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1960
Baby Elephant's Trunk by Sesyle Joslin and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1961
Favorite Fairy Tales Told in Norway, Retold from Norse Folklore by Virginia Haviland and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1961
Hailstones and Halibut Bones: Adventure in Color by Mary Le Duc O'Neill and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1961
Half-as-Big and the Tiger by Bernice Frankel and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1961
McCall's Read Me a Story Book by Margaret Bevans and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1961
See Along the Shore by Millicent E. Selsam and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1961
The First Doll in the World by Lee Pape and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1961
The Raccoon and Mrs. McGinnis by Patricia M. Martin and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1961
Toby Tyler; or, Ten Weeks with a Circus by James Otis and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1961
What Is for My Birthday? by Isabel and Frederick Eberstadt and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1961
When I Go to the Moon by Claudia Lewis and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1961
Where Does the Butterfly Go When It Rains? by May Garelick and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1961
Baby Elephant and the Secret Wishes by Sesyle Joslin and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1962
Good Hunting Little Indian by Peggy Parish and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1962
Like Nothing At All by Aileen Fisher and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1962
Penguin's Way by Johanna Johnston and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1962
Senor Baby Elephant, the Pirate by Sesyle Joslin and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1962
The Mouse and the Lion by Eve Titus and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1962
Watch That Watch by Hila Colman and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1962
When a Boy Wakes Up in the Morning by Faith McNulty and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1962
Baby Elephant Goes to China by Sesyle Joslin and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1963
Fins and Tails by Elizabeth A. Campbell and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1963
Giving Away Suzanne by Lois Duncan and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1963
Peter's Brownstone House by Hila Colman and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1963
Sir Kevin of Devon by Adelaide Holl and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1963
The Athenians in the Classical Period by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1963
The Beloved Friend by Marguerite Vance and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1963
When a Boy Goes to Bed at Night by Faith McNulty and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1963
Baby Elephant's Baby Book by Sesyle Joslin and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1964
Scarab for Luck by E. La Monte Meadowcroft and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1964
The Beach Before Breakfast by Maxine W. Kumin and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1964
The Boat That Mooed by Christopher Fry and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1965
The French Are Coming by Wilma P. Hays and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1965
Whale's Way by Johanna Johnston and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1965
Hawaiian Myths of Earth, Sea, and Sky by Vivian Laubach Thompson and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1966
The First Farmers in the New Stone Age by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1966
White Bird by Clyde R. Bulla and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1966
A Wreath of Christmas Legends by Phyllis McGinley and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1967
Cynthia and the Unicorn by Jean Todd Freeman and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1967
Jesus Christ, Son of God by Mary L. Ellis and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1967
The Little Woodcock by Berniece Freschet and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1967
The Lost Prince by Frances Burnett and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1967
The Plymouth Thanksgiving by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1967
Midnight Alarm: The Story of Paul Revere's Ride by Mary K. Phelan and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1968
On the Sand Dune by Doris Orgel and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1968
Salt Boy by Mary Perrine and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1968
Su An by Doris Johnson and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1968
The Beginnings of Cities: Re-creation in Pictures and Text of Mesopotamian Life from Farming to Early City Building by Leonard Weisgard and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1968
Growing Time by S.S. Warburg and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1969
How Things Began (includes The First People in the World, and First Days of the World) by Gerald Ames and Rose Wyler and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1969
Journey to Jericho by Scott O'Dell and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1969
Look at the Moon by May Garelick and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1969
Shepherdess of France: Remembrances of Jeanne d'Arc by Judith Masefield and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1969
What Makes a Bird a Bird? by May Garelick and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1969
Nannabah's Friend by Mary Perrine and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1970
Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1970
And It Came to Pass by Jean Slaughter and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1971
Doctor Proctor and Mrs. Merriwether by Irma S. Black and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1971
The Elephants's Child by Rudyard Kipling and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1971
The Magic Ringlet by Konstantin Paustovsky and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1971
Wake Up and Goodnight by Charlotte Zolotow and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1971
How the Leopard Got His Spots by Rudyard Kipling and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1972
Try and Catch Me by Nancy Jewell and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1972
Calf, Goodnight by Nancy Jewell and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1973
Try on a Shoe by Mancure and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1973
How the Rhinocerous Got His Skin by Rudyard Kipling and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1974
The Golden Christmas Tree by Jan Wahl and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1988
The Golden Birthday Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard 1989

Born December 24, 1891, died October 12, 1970

Coming to the USA in 1941 not only as an émigré but as a refugee, the early life of Feodor Rojankovsky reads as if he were some character that had just wandered off the set of the movie Casablanca looking for Rick’s bar.

He was born in Mitava, Russia, December 24, 1891, the son of a high school administrator. His father’s position meant that the family moved extensively around the Russian empire. He had four siblings, and between them they were born in five separate cities which later became parts of five different countries (Rumania, Ukraine, Russia, Estonia and Latvia) –“So we had five different nationalities in one family.”

All the children were encouraged in their pursuit of education and the development of their artistic skills. Having been born in Latvia, Rojankovsky had a particular fascination with the Baltic sea and the forests of that region. Rojankovsky made the decision to become a painter and in pursuit of that goal, entered the Moscow Fine Arts Academy in 1912. Two years later with the beginning of the First World War, he left school to become an infantry officer in the Russian Army, in which capacity he was wounded. During his service and his recuperation he produced sketches and paintings of the war; these became his first published work.

The advent of the Russian Revolution found Rojankovsky in Ukraine. It was here that he produced his first illustrations of children’s books for the Ukrainian Republic. In 1919 he was drafted into the White Army, subsequently being captured and held as a prisoner of war in Poland.

With the cessation of hostilities, he was released but as a former officer in the Imperial Army and then the White Army, he was unable to return to Revolutionary Russia. He remained in Poland for a number of years before moving to Paris in the mid 1920’s. In Poland he worked as a stage director in the theater as well as art director for a number of different magazine and publishing firms.

It was in Paris that he first connected in a professional way with the American publishing business when he met Esther Averill. She and a partner published his Daniel Boone: Historic Adventures of an American Hunter Among the Indians. It is easy for us to think of our current period as unprecendentedly globalized but there was a period between 1920 and 1935 when there was a similar interconnectedness when a Russian illustrator living in France could illustrate a book about an American folk hero, for an American publisher.

Rojankovsky again became a refugee with the German invasion of France in 1940, at which point he emigrated to the USA. This disruption in his life is hardly reflected in his output: he produced seven illustrated books in 1942. Over his professional career he produced more than seventy-five illustrated children’s books, a half dozen of which he also wrote. While we think of him primarily as a children’s illustrator, it is worth recollecting his status as a war artist. While little noted, it should also be mentioned that he established something of a reputation as an erotica artist in Paris.

With his move to America, he became somewhat typecast as an illustrator of animals for children’s books. It is not clear whether this pigeonholing bothered him all that much. As he explained in his Caldecott acceptance speech, “I became an illustrator of children’s books. I did it because I was an artist and loved nature and loved children.”

Rojankovsky was noted in particular for his strong use of color. This trait is particularly evident in one of his books that is still in print: Over in the Meadow by John Langstaff (of Revel’s fame). This book also illustrates his wonderful talent for depicting animals and nature.

Rojankovsky died in 1970. Having been born in Russia, lived in Poland, France and finally the US and having started as a war artist, then an artist with a line in erotica he finally made his biggest impact as a children’s book illustrator. Anybody growing up in the fifties and sixties in the US is likely to recognize his work from Frog Went a Courtin’, The Tall Book of Mother Goose, Gaston and Josephine, The Holy Bible, or any number of Golden Book titles.

Only three of his books remain in print at this time but they are wonderful exemplars of his work.

Picture Books

Frog Went a Courtin’ by John Langstaff and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky Highly Recommended

Over in the Meadow by John Langstaff and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky Highly Recommended

The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky Suggested

Bibliography

Daniel Boone: Historic Adventures of an American Hunter among the Indians by Esther Holden Averill and Lila Stanley and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1931
Powder: The Story of a Colt, a Duchess and the Circus by Esther Holden Averill and R. Hass and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1933
Les petits et les grands by Rose Celli and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1933
Flash: The Story of a Horse, a Coach-Dog and the Gypsies by Esther Holden Averill and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1934
Panache l'ecureuil by Lida and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1934
Froux, le lievre by Lida and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1935
Plouf, canard sauvage by Lida and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1935
The Voyages of Jacques Cartier by Esther Holden Averill and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1937
Bruin, the Brown Bear by Lida and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1937
Scuff, the Seal by Lida and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1937
Children's Year by Y. Lacote and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1937
Tales of Poindi by Jean Mariotti and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1938
Old Man Is Always Right by Hans Christian Andersen and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1940
Spiky, the Hedgehog by Lida and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1940
Adventures of Dudley and Gilderoy by Algernon Blackwood and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1941
The Tall Book of Mother Goose by and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1942
How the Camel Got His Hump by Rudyard Kipling and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1942
How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin by Rudyard Kipling and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1942
How the Leopard Got His Spots by Rudyard Kipling and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1942
The Elephant's Child by Rudyard Kipling and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1942
Cuckoo by Lida and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1942
The Kingfisher by Lida and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1942
Golden Book of Birds by Hazel Lockwood and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1944
Tall Book of Nursery Tales by and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1944
Animal Stories by Georges Duplaix and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1944
Pictures from Mother Goose by and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1945
The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1945
Golden Bible: From the King James Version of the Old Testament by Jane Werner Watson and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1946
The Butterfly That Stamped by Rudyard Kipling and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1947
The Cat That Walked by Himself by Rudyard Kipling and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1947
Cortez: The Conqueror by Covelle Newcomb and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1947
Gaston and Josephine by Georges Duplaix and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1948
Big Farmer Big by Kathryn Jackson and Byron Jackson and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1948
A Name for Kitty by Phyllis McGinley and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1948
Our Puppy by Jane Werner Watson (writing under pseudonym Elsa Ruth Naster) and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1948
The Three Bears by and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1948
Favorite Fairy Tales by and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1949
The Big Elephant by Kathryn Jackson and Byron Jackson and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1949
The Great Big Animal Book by Feodor Rojankovsky and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1950
The Great Big Wild Animal Book by Feodor Rojankovsky and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1951
Treasure Trove of the Sun by Makhail Mikhailovish Prishvin and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1952
All Alone by Claire Huchet Bishop and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1953
Giant Golden Book of Cat Stories by Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1953
Giant Golden Book of Dog Stories by Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1953
My Friend Yakub by Nicholas Kalashnikoff and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1953
Trouble at Beaver Dam by Florence Esther Tchaika and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1953
Horse Stories by Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth and Kate Barnes and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1954
I Play at the Beach by Dorothy Clarke Koch and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1955
Frog Went A-Courtin' by John Langstaff and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1955
Balboa: Swordsman and Conquistador by Felix Reisenberg and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1956
Over in the Meadow by John Langstaff and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1957
The Outside Cat by Catherine Woolley (writing under pseudonym Jane Thayer) and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1957
More Mother Goose Rhymes by and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1958
Wild Animal Babies by Kathleen Daly and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1958
The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1958
Catholic Child's Bible by Jane Werner Watson and Charles Hartman and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1958
Little River by Ann Rand and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1959
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1960
Holy Bible by Jane Werner Watson and Charles Hartman and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1960
Ten Little Animals by Carl Memling and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1961
The Whirly Bird by Dimitry Varley and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1961
Animals in the Zoo by Feodor Rojankovsky and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1962
So Small by Ann Rand and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1962
The Dog and Cat Book by and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1963
A Cricket in a Thicket by Aileen Lucia Fisher and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1963
The Cow Went over the Mountain by Jeanette Krinsley and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1963
I Can Count by Carl Memling and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1963
The Tall Book of Let's Pretend by and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1964
Christmas Bear by Marie Collin Delavaud (writing under pseudonym Marie Colmont) and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1966
Animals on the Farm by Feodor Rojankovsky and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1967
A Crowd of Cows by John Graham and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1968
The Falcon Under the Hat: Russian Merry Tales and Fairy Tales by Guy Daniels and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1969
To Make Duck Happy by Carol E. Lester and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1969
F. Rojankovsky's ABC: An Alphabet of Many Things by Feodor Rojankovsky and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1970
Rojankovsky's Wonderful Picture Book: An Anthology by edited by Nina Rojankovsky and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1972
A Year in the Forest by Bill Hall and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1975
Three Best-Loved Tales: The Three Bears; The Cow Went Over the Mountain; Hop Little Kangaroo! by and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky 1992