Books published by publisher Twayne Pub

There was once a family of seven brothers and sisters. Sadly, their father, an artist frustrated in his ambitions, died when the oldest child, a girl, was only fifteen. His dying wish was that she take up his dream of becoming a successful artist: "What Papa couldn't do," he told her, "Wanda would have to finish."It is hard to say how much her father's request urged Wanda Gag on to become the accomplished graphic artist, illustrator, and author that she did, but it does appropriately cast her life in the mold of the fairy tales she variously created, translated, and illustrated during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. In this meticulously researched assessment of Gag's life in relation to her work for children, Karen Nelson Hoyle traces her transformation from eldest daughter in a poor family from New Ulm, Minnesota, to admired and influential artist and author in the nascent industry of modern children's book publishing in New York City.Wanda Gag championed fairy tales. While their popularity ebbed and flowed during the thirty-year span of her working life, Gag devoted much of her career as a children's book author to the imaginative retelling and illustrating of fairy tales. She translated from the German and illustrated three collections of Grimm fairy tales as well as the single volume Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. And her original stories (such as The Funny Thing, about a gentle mountain man trying to appease a strange animal who eats children's dolls, and Snippy and Snappy, about two wayward mice) share with fairy tales the qualities of being fantastic and unbelievable on the one hand and wise and instructive about the nature of human experience on the other.But of all ten books Gag published for children, the most loved and best known remains her first, Millions of Cats, published in 1928. With more than 1 million copies now in print, Millions of Cats employs several innovative techniques - some now staples of picture books - for which Gag became recognized: imaginative use of the two-page spread; hand-lettered text that reflects the spirit of the illustrations; a purposeful employment of line drawing with black ink on white paper, thereby reviving a form found in nineteenth-century newspaper and magazine illustrations.The story of a lonely old couple who seek out a cat for companionship and for a time end up with "Hundreds of cats, Thousands of cats, Millions and billions and trillions of cats" at their doorstep, Millions of Cats typifies Gag's method of telling a story: sparely, with careful consideration of how to advance plot and develop character while linking the text with the illustrations. The book also portrays her favorite subjects: hilly landscapes, country people, animals, flowers, homey cottages, the furnishings of domestic life.Relying on her extensive knowledge of Gag's life and work - gleaned from access to Gag's personal and professional papers and correspondence with people who knew her - Hoyle has not only drawn a precise and detailed portrait of a gifted artist and author but also delineated a seminal period in the history of children's book publishing.

Hugh Lofting (1886-1947) is best known for his classic series of children's books depicting Doctor Dolittle - the kindhearted, eccentric veterinarian whose ability to converse with animals and whose astounding travels with a cadre of critters have delighted readers for more than 70 years. Beginning with The Story of Doctor Dolittle in 1920, Lofting went on to write eleven other Dolittle books, among them the Newbery Medal-winning The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle. While critics have praised the Dolittle books for their humor, wit, and imagination, and while the Dolittle character has captivated audiences in screen and stage adaptations, Lofting's larger message - one concerning issues of peace and justice - has often been overlooked.That Lofting's work deserves reconsideration is the thesis of this new study by Gary D. Schmidt. Drawing on not only extensive research but also numerous personal communications with Lofting's family members, Schmidt provides fresh insights into his subject's life and work. In clear, engaging prose Schmidt argues that Lofting viewed his writing as a political and moral task: to encourage peace by providing children with examples of kindness, gentleness, compassion, and tolerance.In an illuminating first chapter readers learn intriguing biographical information - for instance, that The Story of Doctor Dolittle, perhaps Lofting's greatest work, had its beginnings in a series of story-letters that Lofting, writing from the trenches of World War I, sent home to his children. Subsequent chapters examine each of the Dolittle books, as well as Lofting's lesser-known works, among them the essay "Children and Internationalism" and the long poem Victory for the Slain.An important addition to existing studies in children's literature, Hugh Lofting will appeal to scholars, students, and general readers alike. Included are a preface, chronology, notes, bibliography, and index, as well as illustrations.