If you are unfamiliar with the story – it is about a little bunny who dreams of running away and having his own independent adventures. Kay Thompson (1909-1998) was best known for Eloise.Īnd in keeping, Margaret Wise Brown gave us the classic story of the Runaway Bunny. She was also a successful singer, musician, composer and actress.

Kay Thompson delighted all with her Eloise series, who was partly based on her goddaughter Liza Minelli. Roald Dahl (1916-1990) is credited with being one of the 50 greatest British writers sine 1945. Roald Dahl who made us all believe in Willy Wonka, was also a pilot and intelligence officer in the British Air Force, married an American actress, and suffered through the deaths of two of his five children as well as his wife’s debilitating illness. He also donated all the rights to Peter Pan to the Great Ormand Street Hospital. J.M Barrie, the enigmatic writer that brought us Peter Pan, wound up adopting the five little boys who inspired the story of Peter Pan after both their parents died. Take these examples of just a few favorite children’s books… Upon discharge, a blood clot that had formed in her leg moved to her heart and ended her life.Behind every great childen’s story book is an equally fascinating adult narrative. Brown died at the age of 42 after undergoing routine surgery for appendicitis. In a letter to her college alumni magazine she wrote, “How many children have you? I have 50 books.” Brown never married or had children and she wasn’t remotely bothered by this. Later, when she went to translate the poem into a book, she imagined the green walls and red and yellow furnishings of a downstairs neighbor’s apartment. She imagined a girl moving from the country to the city and comforting herself by thinking about her old room. The original poem “Goodnight Room” that later became Goodnight Moon was penned while Brown was nursing a breakup. She had passionate love affairs with both men and at least one woman during her life. When she received her first check for writing, she bought an entire cart full of flowers. I won’t let anybody get away with anything just because he’s little.”

In 1946, the year before Goodnight Moon was first published, she famously told a reporter for Life magazine, “I don’t especially like children. She ended up writing the entire story - from start to finish - on her ski receipt. The idea for The Runaway Bunny came to Brown while she was skiing. Nonetheless, her work mesmerizes little ones and deeply touches parents, and these facts about Brown’s life will make you adore her books even more. It’s an impressive oeuvre, especially for someone who didn’t even particularly like children. How much do you know about The Runaway Bunny and its prolific author, Margaret Wise Brown?īest known for Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown actually wrote more than 100 published and unpublished books.

The runaway bunny book