Hawthorne, Nathaniel (1804-1864) Nathaniel Hawthorne American author, 1804-1864. Appreciated today chiefly for The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables, short stories, and two retellings of Greek myths for children. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, a descendant of an old New England family. His father, a sea captain, died when Hawthorne was four years old.  ...

Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de (1900-1944) Antoine de Saint Exupéry French author, 1900-1944. Published in 1943, An­toine de Saint-Exupéry’s sole children’s book, Le Petit Prince, has been translated in more than 300 languages, including an English translation, The Little Prince.   Born in Lyons, France, the author attended the College de Fribourg in Switzerland and was employed as a me­chanic and factory...

Grahame, Kenneth 1859-1932 Kenneth Grahame British novelist, 1859-1932. A. A. Milne, author of the Winnie the Pooh stories, once called Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows a “household book.” And so it has become, with over a hundred editions and countless numbers in print, treasured by their owners and passed on to the upcoming generation as a chil­dren’s classic.  ...

Asbjørnsen, Peter Christen 1812-1885 Moe, Jørgen Engebretsen 1813-1882 Peter Christen Asbjørnsen & Jørgen Moe Peter Christian Asbjørnsen: Norwegian folklorist, 1812-1885; Jørgen Moe: Norwegian folklorist, 1813-1882. When Peter Christen Asbjørnsen was fifteen, he was sent away to school, where he met a fellow named Jørgen Moe. They were opposite in temperament—Moe was brood­ing and sensitive, and Asbjørnsen was lighthearted and relaxed....

Leaf, Munro 1905-1977 Munro Leaf American author and illustrator, 1905-1976. During his forty-year career in children’s literature, Munro Leaf wrote and illustrated nearly forty books. He is best known as the creator of The Story of Ferdinand (1936), a modern juvenile classic that has charmed chil­dren worldwide for more than half a century.   Unforget­tably paired with Robert Lawson’s black-and-white...

Lawson, Robert 1892-1957 Robert Lawson American author and illustrator, 1892-1957. One of the most prolific and notable figures in Ameri­can children’s literature during the first half of the twen­tieth century, Robert Lawson achieved distinction both as an illustrator and as an author, winning the Caldecott Medal in 1941 for They Were Strong and Good, a picture­book tribute to his forebears,...