Barbara Cooney (1917–2000)
Author of Miss Rumphius
About the Author
Barbara Cooney and her twin brother were born on 6 August 1917 in Brooklyn, New York, in the Bossert Hotel. She grew up on Long Island, but spent her summers as a child in Maine. Cooney attended a boarding school as a child. Cooney graduated from Smith College in 1938 and studied lithography and show more etching at Art Students League in New York. Just one year after graduation, she had her first commission, the illustrations for Ake and His World by Bertil Malmberg. Recalling an earlier trip to Germany before the war and the horrors that she had seen there, she felt compelled to join the Women's Army Corps during the summer of 1942. She enrolled in officer training and achieved the rank of second lieutenant, but was honorably discharged the following spring because of marriage pregnancy. The couple bought a farm in Pepperell, Massachusetts where they ran a children's camp during the summer months. By this time, Cooney was illustrating several books a year and wrote one now and then. It was for her adaptation of Chaucer's The Nun Priest's Tale that she won the prestigious Caldecott Medal, the highest honor given for illustrated children's books in the United States, in 1959. Twenty-one years later, Cooney again won the Caldecott Medal for Ox-Cart Man written by Donald Hall. In 1993, Ms. Cooney deposited more than 400 pieces of original art from 21 of her books in the Northeastern Children's Literature Collection, a part of the University Libraries' Archives and Special Collections. Works from this collection and from the artist's private collection are shown in this exhibit. Miss Rumphius won the National Book Award in 1983 and inspired the creation of the Maine Library Association's Lupine Award. Cooney died on 14 March, 2000 at the age of 83. Her last book was Basket Moon published in September of 1999. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Barbara Cooney
The courtship, merry marriage, and feast of Cock Robin and Jenny Wren, to which is added The doleful death of Cock… (1965) 28 copies
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers --and More Inspiring Tales [2005 animated short] (2005) — Original book — 5 copies
Kantekleer En Die Jakkals 1 copy
Snow White and Rose Red 1 copy
King of Wreck island 1 copy
Associated Works
From Sea to Shining Sea A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs (1993) — Illustrator — 695 copies
Tortillitas para Mamá and Other Nursery Rhymes (Bilingual Edition in Spanish and English) (1981) — Illustrator — 303 copies
Louhi, Witch of North Farm: A Story From Finland's Epic Poem 'The Kalevala' (1986) — Illustrator — 97 copies
Friends with God; stories and prayers of the Marshall family (1900) — Illustrator, some editions — 79 copies
The Glorious Flight, Ox-Cart Man, A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. (2006) — Illustrator — 2 copies
Cricket Magazine, Vol. 8, No. 1, September 1980 — Illustrator — 1 copy
Grandfather Whiskers, M.D., a Graymouse story — Illustrator, some editions — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1917-08-06
- Date of death
- 2000-03-10
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Place of death
- Damariscotta, Maine, USA
- Places of residence
- Long Island, New York, USA
Maine, USA - Education
- Smith College (History)
- Occupations
- children's book author
children's book illustrator - Relationships
- Murchie, Guy (husband)
- Short biography
- Barbara Cooney was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her father was a stockbroker and her mother was an artist who encouraged Barbara's talent for art. She attended private schools and graduated from Smith College before briefly attending art school in New York. A year later, she got her first commission: the illustrations for Ake and His World (1940) by Bertil Malmberg. During World War II, Barbara served in the Women’s Army Corps and married Guy Murchie in 1944. They had two children. The couple later divorced and Barbara remarried in 1949 to Charles T. Porter, a physician, with whom she had two children. In the course of her long career, Barbara Cooney illustrated more than 100 books. After receiving her second Caldecott award, she began to write books as well. In her final years, she lived in a house in Maine overlooking the sea.
Members
Reviews
Barbara Cooney's story of Alice Rumphius, who longed to travel the world, live in a house by the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful, has a timeless quality that resonates with each new generation. The countless lupines that bloom along the coast of Maine are the legacy of the real Miss Rumphius, the Lupine Lady, who scattered lupine seeds everywhere she went. Miss Rumphius received the American Book Award in the year of publication.
This is a book for every child, but especially ones who live in the desert. The plot isn't complex: a group of children make an imaginary town. Playtime like this is sorely needed for our children, but nowadays, children don't always know what to do in the unstructured playtimes. And of course, the Barbara Cooney art is fantastic.
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Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 33
- Also by
- 68
- Members
- 12,186
- Popularity
- #1,927
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 313
- ISBNs
- 155
- Languages
- 4
- Favorited
- 7
I grew up reading and loving Tomie dePaola's wonderful picture book, The Clown of God, which adapts this story and gives it an Italian setting, and never knew about its French origins until I discovered Barbara Cooney's The Little Juggler. How glad I am to have done so, both because The Clown of God is one of my favorites, and I appreciate having a retelling of the original story it is based upon, and because this is simply a beautiful book, in its own right. The story is beautiful—poignant and engrossing—and the artwork simply gorgeous! I appreciated the background given about the story in the brief author's note, the fact that it was first written down in the 13th century, in an Old French manuscript now held by the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal in Paris—there is an image of the manuscript on the back cover of the book—and that it has been retold many times since. I think I will have to reread The Clown of God now, and perhaps also track down Violet Moore Higgins' 1917 The Little Juggler and Other French Tales Retold. As for this one, it is highly recommended to anyone seeking wonderful medieval tales of faith and miracles, as well as to fellow fans of the artist.… (more)