Leonard Marcus

Marcus believes that every generation makes books that contain the hopes and dreams it wants to pass onto the next generation.

After World War I, there was a push to find American illustrators who could produce picture books for American children that rivaled their English counterparts.

In the 1930s, progressive educators from Bank Street encouraged a new kind of picture book for children that focused on a child’s real life and surroundings.

Golden Books democratized publishing for young children in America.

Post-WWI and WWII and the civil rights activism of the 1960s were turning points for the emergence of books for and about children of color.

The Snowy Day, published in the 1960s, was a landmark book because up until then so little had been published with a child of color at the center of the story.

In the 1960s, there was fierce debate about whether or not children’s book publishers were producing enough books that represented America’s multiracial makeup.

The Catcher in the Rye, a book about a teenager who was in real distress writing in his own voice, became a kind of starting point for a new genre in books for young people.

Books that children enjoy reading—however high or low they may be on the ladder of literary excellence—can be viewed as gateways to literacy.

Genres have been merging lately, in part because children are exposed at an earlier age to an awareness of culture in general.

Graphic novels open the possibility of accessing books to children who don’t see themselves as readers in the traditional sense.

Marcus opines that television has likely impacted the attention span that young children have for a story.

Great nonfiction has a sense of wholeness—a connecting thread that helps children to understand their world better.

Marcus has always been drawn to non-fiction, but that didn’t stifle his interest in fantasy writers.

In the past 30 years, children’s book illustration has become recognized and appreciated as a culturally relevant form of art.

Biography

Leonard Marcus is one of the most respected writers and historians of children’s literature. His critically acclaimed books have looked at Caldecott winners, the history and impact of Golden Books, fantasy writers, and the lives of other children’s authors including the influential Margaret Wise Brown.

Marcus reviews children’s books for Parenting magazine since and has been a contributing editor to the magazine since 1988. He is a frequent contributor to he New York Times Book Review, Washington Post Book World, The Horn Book, and Publishers Weekly, among other publications. He has also curated exhibitions on children’s books and book illustration at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, where he is a founding trustee.

Marcus holds degrees in history from Yale and poetry from the University of Iowa Graduate Writers’ Workshop. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Bank Street College of Education in 2007. Marcus and his wife, the picture-book artist Amy Schwartz, live with their son Jacob in Brooklyn, New York.

Books by this author

Golden Legacy: How Golden Books Won Children’s Hearts, Changed Publishing Forever, and Became An American Icon Along the Way

Leonard Marcus

Age Level:

Adult

Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon

Leonard Marcus

Age Level:

Adult

This thoroughly researched and compelling history looks at the editors, authors, librarians, and booksellers who helped answer the provocative and centuries-old question: What should children read? Discover how landmark children’s books like The New England Primer, The Cat in the Hat, and The Chocolate Wars helped define children, families, and the culture of their times.

Minders of Make-Believe: Idealists, Entrepreneurs, and the Shaping of American Children’s Literature

Leonard Marcus

Age Level:

Adult

Pass it Down: Five Picture Book Families Make Their Mark

Leonard Marcus

Age Level:

Adult

Genre:

Biography, Nonfiction

Renowned children’s literature authority Leonard S. Marcus speaks with their creators and others — twenty-one of the world’s most celebrated authors and illustrators — and asks about their childhood, their inspiration, their determination, their mentors, their creative choices, and more. Amplifying these richly entertaining and thought-provoking conversations are eighty-eight full-color plates revealing each illustrator’s artistic process from sketch to near-final artwork in fascinating, behind-the-scenes detail.

Show Me a Story! Why Picture Books Matter: Conversations with 21 of the World’s Most Celebrated Illustrators

Leonard Marcus

Age Level:

Adult

Genre:

Nonfiction

Leonard Marcus, a nationally acclaimed writer on children’s literature, has created a richly annotated edition of this perennial favorite. Marcus’s expansive annotations include interviews with the author and illustrator, illuminating excerpts from Juster’s notes and drafts, cultural and literary commentary, and Marcus’s own insights on the book.

The Annotated Phantom Tollbooth

Leonard Marcus, Norton Juster

Illustrator:

Jules Feiffer

Age Level:

Teen

Genre:

Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Marcus presents in-depth interviews with 13 renowned fantasy writers, including Susan Cooper, Nancy Farmer, Brian Jacques, Tamora Pierce, and Philip Pullman. Marcus unearths some common threads (many were inspired early on by J.R.R. Tolkien, for example) and elicits advice to aspiring writers. From Ursula Le Guin: “Read. Write. Read. Write. Go on reading. Go on writing,”