WRB—Children’s Literature Supplement, Apr. 2025

“patience and magnifying glasses”

Christ has risen! He has risen indeed! A very happy Easter Monday to all, and we hope you had a delightful holiday celebration. Now that Lent is over, Sarah is thrilled to be eating gluten again, and she has grand plans for all sorts of delicious meals she wants to cook. Actually, all she really wants to eat is Mediterranean food, thanks to a recent trip she took, and she even bought a falafel maker in anticipation of the great event.

The full force of spring is nearly upon us, and you’ll probably be spending more time outside in parks and gardens, enjoying the sunshine and fresh breezes. But when you’re all tuckered out, the sun is sinking low, and the evening birds are chirping softly, sit by and open window, grab a book, call your children, and read.

Uri Shulevitz, R.I.P.

Author/illustrator Uri Shulevitz passed away in February, leaving behind a treasure-trove of books and pictures. Sarah is partial to his funny tale, What Is a Wise Bird Like You Doing in a Silly Tale Like This? (2000), but he’s also known for masterpieces such as The Treasure (1978) and How I Learned Geography (2008). The Wall Street Journal honored the Caldecott winner with an obituary, and pointed out just how important Shulevitz’s role the picture book world was:

“Uri’s greatest contribution to picture-book-making was his realization that illustrations do not simply accompany the text but illuminate its meaning,” the author and illustrator Eugene Yelchin said. “He found that text and pictures were in a kind of dialogue which turned the child from a passive reader or a listener to a child who was actively putting the two together to understand the meaning of the narrative. That’s what makes a picture book a work of art.”

More mermaids

Sarah is on a fairy tale kick, working her way through Grimm’s Fairy Tales while occasionally jumping into stories of Hans Christian Andersen and Oscar Wilde. She even, on the recommendation of a WRB colleague, picked up Ford Madox Ford’s The Queen Who Flew [As discussed in WRB—Mar. 8, 2025.] and found it charming. Another WRB colleague suggested she read “The Tale of Lí Ban, the Mermaid Saint of Ireland,” as recounted over on Medium by E. Ardincaple, and now she’s sharing it with all of you. Enjoy!

Probably too many cats

Though this post is from October of 2024, Sarah was so intrigued by it she wanted to include it here. From the same Substack who brought you the in-depth look at Goodnight, Moon comes a deep dive into Wanda Gág’s Millions of Cats (1928). This was a Schutte favorite for many years, and Sarah also grew up reading a wonderful version of Snow White (1938) illustrated by Gág.

Mac and Jon look at everything from layout to lettering (did you know Gág’s brother hand-lettered the whole book??) in this insightful Substack post.

Hidden treasures

Bethlehem Books is a fabulous resource for those looking for lesser-known but no less delightful children’s books. Sarah bought quite a few volumes from them a few years ago, and every time she visits the site, she finds new titles which call her name. The first batch included They Loved to Laugh by Katherine Worth (1942)hand The Forgotten Daughter by Caroline Dale Snedeker (1933). Sarah is mildly obsessed with the quiet love story the blossoms in They Loved to Laugh (which is set in 1830s America), and will often reread parts of the book on a whim. The Forgotten Daughter is another treasure, this time set in Italy, and follows the fortunes of a young slave girl. Snedeker also wrote Downright Dencey (1927), which Sarah is eagerly reading right now. She’ll report back next month, but so far, it’s been enjoyable.

What the kids are reading