It’s the birthday of Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962), author of six children’s books about a schoolgirl named Madeline, which have sold over 13 million copies. Each of the books begins, “In an old house in Paris / that was covered with vines / lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.” Madeline is the smallest but [...]
It’s the birthday of three American authors who have each sold bazillions of books: Tom Clancy (1947 – 2013), whose military/espionage thrillers have sold over 100 million copies; Scott Turow (b. 1949), whose courtroom thrillers have sold over 30 million copies; and Beverly Cleary (b. 1916), whose children’s books about Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby, and [...]
It’s the birthday of children’s book author Graeme Base (b. 1958), creator of some of the most gorgeously illustrated children’s books on the planet. Born in Amersham, England, but raised in Australia from the age of eight, Base is best known for Animalia (1986), an alliterative alphabet book in which every page is absolutely stuffed [...]