Books with author Marcia Leonard

From Jessie Willcox Smith and N. C. Wyeth to Maurice Sendak and Chris Van Allsburg, Children's Book Week posters tell the story of children's books in America. Here, in one glorious volume, are all sixty-nine posters, truly a celebration of great American children's book illustrators.Over the last seventy-five years, Children's Book Week has grown from a modest grass-roots effort to the present-day nationwide annual celebration of literacy and the pleasures of reading. The posters, which are commissioned and distributed each year by the Children's Book Council, encourage reading by children and, in turn, reflect a nation struggling with the responsibility of educating its young. The history, social climate, and wider concerns of the country can be traced through the posters, from the idyllic scene of innocent childhood in Jessie Willcox Smith's poster for 1919 to the heroic stridency of the Petershams' image for 1940; from the first appearance of an African-American child in Adrienne Adams's poster for 1963 to the image of children protesting in Emily Arnold McCully's 1969 poster.The posters also reflect the development and growth of the publishing industry. In 1919, books for children were a marginal part of publishing; the increased awareness of the importance of books, supported and encouraged by the Children's Book Council, has led, in part, to today's vital and independent children's book industry.Some poster artists represented here are primarily children's book illustrators who, after appearing as poster artists, went on to win the Caldecott Medal - such as Maud and Miska Petersham, Marcia Brown, Alice and Martin Provensen, and Maurice Sendak. Others achieved fame in different ways: Joseph Binder was an internationally renowned poster artist who also created the official poster for the 1939 New York World's Fair; Bruno Munari is, among other things, an industrial designer whose household objects are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art; and Paul Rand is one of the country's foremost practitioners and teachers of graphic design.An introduction by noted historian, biographer, and critic Leonard S. Marcus provides a fascinating and involving look at the history of children's books. He chronicles America's idea of childhood as reflected by the range of books available to children and in the artists and images selected for the posters. And using the posters as guiding lights, he weaves the history of the nation and the industry into a cohesive whole. His fascinating captions for each of the sixty-nine posters provide detailed and little-known facts about the artists.

A lively and entertaining history of the riders who have come in last place during the grueling 3,000-mile Tour de France Froome, Wiggins, Mercks―we know the winners of the Tour de France, but Lanterne Rouge tells the forgotten, often inspirational and occasionally absurd stories of the last-placed rider. We learn of stage winners and former yellow jerseys who tasted life at the other end of the bunch; the breakaway leader who stopped for a bottle of wine and then took a wrong turn; the doper whose drug cocktail accidentally slowed him down and the rider who was recognized as the most combative despite finishing at the back. Max Leonard flips the Tour de France on its head and examines what these stories tell us about ourselves, the 99% who don't win the trophy, and forces us to re-examine the meaning of success, failure and the very nature of sport.

"Leonard S. Marcus... has masterfully written about a fascinating woman who in her short life changed literature for the very young. I was throroughly enchanted."--Eric CarleNearly fifty years after her sudden death at the age of forty-two, Margaret Wise Brown remains a legend and an enigma. Author of Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, and dozens of other children's classics, Brown all but invented the picture book as we know it today. Combining poetic instinct with a profound empathy for small children, she understood a child's need for security, love, and a sense of being at home in the world. Yet, these were comforts that had eluded her. Her sparkling presence and her unparalleled success as a legendary children's book author masked an insecurity that left her restless and vulnerable.In this authoritative and moving biography, Leonard S. Marcus, who had access to never-before-published letters and family papers, portrays Brown's complex character and her tragic, seesaw life. Colorful, thoughtful, and insightful, Margaret Wise Brown is both a portrayal of a woman whose stories still speak to millions and a portrait of New York in the 1930s and 1940s, when the literary world blossomed and made history.

"Leonard S. Marcus... has masterfully written about a fascinating woman who in her short life changed literature for the very young. I was throroughly enchanted."--Eric CarleNearly fifty years after her sudden death at the age of forty-two, Margaret Wise Brown remains a legend and an enigma. Author of Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, and dozens of other children's classics, Brown all but invented the picture book as we know it today. Combining poetic instinct with a profound empathy for small children, she understood a child's need for security, love, and a sense of being at home in the world. Yet, these were comforts that had eluded her. Her sparkling presence and her unparalleled success as a legendary children's book author masked an insecurity that left her restless and vulnerable.In this authoritative and moving biography, Leonard S. Marcus, who had access to never-before-published letters and family papers, portrays Brown's complex character and her tragic, seesaw life. Colorful, thoughtful, and insightful, Margaret Wise Brown is both a portrayal of a woman whose stories still speak to millions and a portrait of New York in the 1930s and 1940s, when the literary world blossomed and made history.

Andie Pandie was a sweet little brown teddy bear who lived in a toy store in Colorado. He had lived in the toy store as long as he could remember, which a very long time in teddy bear time was. Usually Andie Pandie was just as happy as a little brown teddy bear could be. He got to meet lots and lots of people when they came in the toy store. But after a while, Andie Pandie began to get a little sad because all the other toys went home with someone who loved them but Andie Pandie had to stay in the toy store.