Author Feature: Barbara Cooney

Let’s talk about a legend in children’s literature circles, the late Barbara Cooney. During her lifetime, Mrs. Cooney worked on over one hundred and ten children’s books. She was a gifted storyteller and artist. You will no doubt recognize some titles below, but I’ve tried to include some lesser-known ones as well.

“I believe that children in this country need a more robust literary diet than they are getting… It does not hurt them to read about good and evil, love and hate, life and death. Nor do I think they should read only about things that they understand…. a man’s reach should exceed his grasp. So should a child’s. For myself, I will never talk down to—or draw down to—children.”
(from her Caldecott Medal reception in 1959, for the book Chanticleer and the Fox)

Keep an eye out for a coming biography of Barbara Cooney, Because Barbara, published by Waxwing Press. This book is written by Read-Aloud Revival’s Sarah Mackenzie and illustrated by Eileen Ryan Ewen. It is due to be released in June.

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree, written by Barbara Houston (illustrated by Barbara Cooney)

This book has a treasured spot in our Christmas collection. Ruthie and her mom bravely undertake a celebration of Christmas without Ruthie’s dad, who is away fighting in World War I. The story is set in the Appalachian mountain community of Pine Grove, North Carolina.

Miss Rumphius

Cooney wrote and illustrated this book. Miss Rumphius is sometimes called “The Lupine Lady,” because she made it her business to “do one thing to make the world more beautiful.” If you add one of these books to your collection, this is the one to choose. Cooney won the National Book Award for the title in 1983.

Eleanor

From the beginning the baby was a disappointment to her mother. She was born red and wrinkled, an ugly little thing. And she was not a boy.” So begins this biography of one of America’s treasured first ladies, Eleanor Roosevelt. The book covers just the beginning of Eleanor’s life into adulthood.

Ox-Cart Man

Here we’ve arrived at the other classic on this list. This is a Caldecott medal winner. I covered it on this list of autumn classics, but since it covers the full year, it’s good for any time!

How the Hibernators Came to Bethlehem– written by Norma Farber (illustrated by Barbara Cooney)

Here’s another Christmas selection. The story tells of how animals in hibernation are awakened out of their sleep by a singing star. They make their way to Bethlehem, where they find the Christ-child.

Roxaboxen – written by Alice McLerran (illustrated by Barbara Cooney)

This story of a magical land in children’s imaginations is based on a real place where the author’s mother used to play. It’s a celebration of make-believe play; the children establish a fictional town called Roxaboxen and carry out long days of play there. Wonderful.

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Kelly Keller

Kelly Keller is the managing editor of Story Warren. She has her BS in Elementary Education from Messiah University and has taught various ages, but her favorite was worldview and literature with high school students. The “gap” in her resume is actually a window of eighteen years of homeschooling, which she recommends as an effective, though demanding, way of expanding one’s home library.

When she’s not behind her laptop, Kelly enjoys live music, baseball, reading great books, and traveling with her husband, David. Kelly hails from beautiful snowy New England, but after nearly two decades in North Carolina, she feels right at home.

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