GOODNIGHT MOON, HELLO GREENWICH VILLAGE:
Margaret Wise Brown (1910 - 1952) is among the most beloved of children's authors. She's credited with inventing the modern picture book. Her books seem timeless. Among those in the Ossining Library's collection are Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, The Big Red Barn, The Noisy Book (and others in the Noisy Book series- The Country Noisy Book, The Summer Noisy Book, etc.), The Golden Egg Book, Two Little Trains and My World.
Last month, three of the Ossining's beloved children's librarians — Sally Dow, Judy Sagat and Marci Dressler — joined other Westchester librarians on a literary walking tour entitled "Margaret Wise Brown's Greenwich Village." Here is Marci Dressler's report:
Leonard Marcus, the renowned author and children’s book historian, who wrote a biography, Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon, pointed out important literary hotspots as he led us through the streets of the Village. We stood in front of what is now the Forbes Magazine Building on 5th Avenue, once the home of Macmillan Publishers where Louise Bechtel initiated the publication of high quality children's books in the early 1900's.
Mr. Marcus also pointed out a more significant site: the location of the Schrafft's Restaurant where Margaret Wise Brown used to meet her editor, Ursula Nordstrom (see Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom, edited by Mr. Marcus). We were told that Ms. Brown's dog always carried her latest manuscript for her — in his mouth!
We also visited Washington Square Park, which has been represented in several children'ss books, including Charlotte Zolotow's very first children’s book, The Park Book, illustrated by H.A. Rey (writer and illustrator of the Curious George books).
Mr. Marcus then showed us a house right near the park, on Washington Mews, which was the home of another early and influential children’s book editor, May Massee, who discovered Robert McCloskey (Make Way for Ducklings, etc.), Robert Lawson (The Story of Ferdinand, etc.), Marjorie Flack (Angus and the Ducks, etc.) and many other award-winning authors and illustrators.
Before ending the tour, we were led to the initial site of Bank Street College, where Margaret Wise Brown studied early childhood development in the 1930's, and to Ms. Brown’s former writing studio, called "Cobble Court", which was originally situated on 71st St., and then relocated to Greenwich Village in the 1960’s (the house was going to be demolished because a hospital was being built). On the whole, the tour was entertaining and extremely informative — we learned about the history of children's book publishing in NYC and the extraordinary people involved in its formative years.