Tag: Mid 1900s

Garth Williams, Illustrator

Marketing flyer promoting the 1946 publication of Little Fur Family, written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Garth Williams.
Garth Williams was a little-known but talented young illustrator when he was commissioned by Ursula Nordstrom, head of Harper’s Department of Books for Boys and Girls, to illustrate the classic Stuart Little by E. B. White. More

Social Change: Civil Rights

A page from the Fall 1937 Harper & Brothers catalog touting This Is My Story by Eleanor Roosevelt.
Beginning with This Is My Story (1937), Harper & Brothers published many works by Eleanor Roosevelt that promoted civil rights and the need for government action, including This I Remember (1949), On My Own (1958), and Tomorrow Is Now (1963). More

The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Poignant, game-changing picture book for readers of all ages that has been a favorite for generations. More

Beezus and Ramona

Beezus and Ramona
Newbery Medal winner; humorous and beloved tale of the ups and downs of sisterhood. More

The Carrot Seed

The Carrot Seed
An early classic in children’s literature about perseverance; never out of print. More

The Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat
This iconic Dr. Seuss book is one of the bestselling children’s books of all time. More

Caps for Sale

Caps for Sale
Longtime classic about a peddler and a band of mischievous monkeys. More

V.

V
Winner of the William Faulkner Foundation Award for best debut novel in 1963. More

The Hobbit

A letter from J. R. R. Tolkien to his editor regarding the first chapter of his “sequel” to The Hobbit, titled “A Long-expected Party”—which would become the first chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring.
In October 1936, Stanley Unwin, chairman of British publishers George Allen & Unwin (later acquired by HarperCollins), received a children’s book submission. More

The Hospital in Buwambo

The Hospital in Buwambo
First Mills & Boon romance novel published by Harlequin; established the iconic relationship between the two companies. More

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird
Much-loved Pulitzer Prize–winning classic, voted by librarians across America as the best novel of the twentieth century. More

Little Bear

Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik. Pictures bt Maurice Sendak. an I CAN READ book. (Cover)
The very first I Can Read! book has sold more than one million copies. More

Old Yeller

Old Yeller
Instantly acclaimed, it has become one of the most beloved children’s classics ever written. More

Doctor Zhivago

Doctor Zhivago
Collins was the first to publish this epic romantic drama by the Nobel Prize winner in English. More

The Look of Stuart Little

Stuart Little by E. B. White (1945).
In early 1945, Ursula Nordstrom, head of Harper’s Department of Books for Boys and Girls was awaiting completion of E. B. White’s manuscript for a children’s story about a talking mouse, titled Stuart Little. More

Native Son

Native Son
Wright’s unsparing reflection on what it means to be black in America. More