Munro Leaf

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wilbur Monroe "Munro" Leaf (born December 4, 1905 in Hamilton near Baltimore , Maryland , † December 21, 1976 in Garrett Park , Maryland) was an American author and illustrator of children's books.

Life

Leaf studied at UMCP and got his bachelor's degree there in 1927 . He received his Masters degree in English Literature from Harvard University in 1931 . After that he worked as an English teacher and started writing children's books. In 1936 he published his best-known work, Ferdinand, der Stier ( The Story of Ferdinand ), about a young bull who prefers to sniff the flowers in the pasture instead of fighting a bull. Leaf wrote the book, which Mahatma Gandhi called his favorite book, in less than an hour on a Sunday afternoon in 1935. The illustrations for it were created by Robert Lawson , with whom he later also wrote in Wee Gillis (1938), The Story of Simpson and Sampson and Aesop's Fables (both 1941) collaborated.

In 1943 he published his educational brochure This is Ann (illustrated by Dr. Seuss ), in which the American soldiers of the Second World War are called upon to protect themselves against a malaria- transmitting anopheles mosquito named Ann.

In the later years of his life he lived with his wife Margaret in his house ("Ferdinand House") in Garrett Park and published further children's books until his death.

Works

Children's books

Unless otherwise stated, the illustrations are by Munro Leaf himself.

  • under the pseudonym Mun: Lo, the Poor Indian . New York: Leaf, Mahony, Seidel & Stokes, ca.1934.
  • Grammar Can Be Fun . 1934. Later published as How to Speak Politely, and Why .
  • Robert Francis Weatherbee . New York: Stokes, 1935.
  • The Story of Ferdinand . New York: Viking Press, 1936. Illustrated by Robert Lawson (1892–1957).
    • German edition: Ferdinand . From the American by Fritz Güttinger. With drawings by Robert Lawson. Diogenes, Zurich 1970, ISBN 3-257-00742-6 .
  • Manners Can Be Fun . New York: Lippincott, ca.1936.
  • Noodle . 1937. Illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans
  • Wee Gillis . New York: Viking Press, 1937. Illustrated by Robert Lawson
  • Safety can be fun . 1938.
  • Listen, Little Girl, Before You Come to New York . New York: Stokes, 1938. Illustrated by Dick Rose
  • Fair play . New York: Stokes, 1939.
  • The Watchbirds: A Picture Book of Behavior . New York: Stokes, 1939.
  • John Henry Davis . New York: Stokes, 1940.
  • More Watchbirds: A Picture Book of Behavior . New York: Stokes, 1940.
  • Fly Away, Watchbird! A Picture Book of Behavior . New York: Stokes, 1941.
  • The Story of Simpson and Sampson . 1941. Illustrated by Robert Lawson
  • Aesop's Fables: A New Version . 1941. Illustrated by Robert Lawson
  • Health Can Be Fun . New York & Philadelphia: Stokes, 1943.
  • Gordon the Goat . 1944.
  • 3 and 30 Watchbirds, a Picture Book of Behavior . Philadelphia, New York: Lippincott, 1944.
  • Let's do better . Philadelphia, New York: Lippincott, 1945.
  • How to Behave and Why . 1946.
  • under the pseudonym John Calvert : Gwendolyn the Goose . New York: Random House, 1946. Illustrated by Garrett Price
  • Flock of Watchbirds . Philadelphia, New York: Lippincott, 1946. (Includes three volumes, The Watchbirds , More Watchbirds, and Fly Away, Watchbird! )
  • Boo, Who Used to be Scared of the Dark . New York: Random House, ca.1948. Illustrated by Frances Tipton Hunter (1896–1957)
  • Sam and the Superdroop . New York: Viking Press, 1948.
  • Arithmetic Can Be Fun . Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1949.
  • History Can Be Fun . Philadelphia: Lippincott, ca.1950.
  • Geography Can Be Fun . Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1951.
  • Reading Can Be Fun . Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1953.
  • Lucky You . Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1955.
  • Three Promises to You . Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1957.
  • Science can be fun . Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1958.
  • The wishing pool . Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960.
  • Being an American can be fun . Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1964.
  • Turnabout . Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1967.
  • Who Cares? I do . Philadelphia: Lippincott, ca.1971.
  • Metric Can Be Fun! . Philadelphia: Lippincott, ca.1976.

Others

  • Your Library and Some People You Don't Want In It . 1939.
  • A War-Time Handbook for Young Americans . New York: Stokes, 1942.
  • Psychotherapy for Everyone ( You and Psychiatry , 1948), together with William Claire Menninger

swell

  1. ↑ Sharon McQueen: "The Story of The Story of Ferdinand : The Creation of a Cultural Icon Through Performance Versions and Variations". Talk at Connections: The 9th Great Lakes Information Studies Conference , University of Toronto, May 2004. Abstract published in: Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science . 28 (3). 2004

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Leaf, Munro
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Leaf, Wilbur Monroe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American children's author and illustrator
DATE OF BIRTH 4th December 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamilton , Maryland , United States
DATE OF DEATH December 21, 1976
Place of death Garrett Park , Maryland , United States