Margaret Wise Brown is the author of the beloved well-known book Good Night Moon.

While searching in the library for Caldecott winners, I happened upon this lovely illustrated book.

It tells the recollections of Margaret wise Brown, the city where she was born at the turn of the century as we travel through her life where animals and peaceful locations dominate.

This is a lovely book containing soft, muted illustrations of a simple time to roam the beaches, watch the sea gulls, to visit a large brick church with lovely stained glass windows and the joy of candlelight.

(nonfiction, autobiography, youngadult, and easy) After recently completing an author study on Margaret Wise Brown, this book seemed like a necessary addendum to my study. The text and pictures perfectly capture Margaret Wise Brown's personality as a writer. She writes about her memories in a way that a child would remember them. She muses not so much about her old church as a building ,for example, but in rememberance of how the sunlight reflects off the stained glass window. After reading this book, in addition to my recently completed report and the other biographies I was required to read about her, I feel like I know her writing perspective even better. The descriptive text and accompanying illustrations are so serene one wishes they could participate in all of Margaret Wise Brown's memories. A good classroom activity for first or second grade to accompany this book would be to ask students to write a mini-bio on themselves or draw a picture of a favorite childhood memory. Have them describe the picture not by a tangible sense (place, date, etc.) but by a memory. The student could use the memory as a title for the picture. ( )

Genre: Autobiography
This is a good example of autobiography because the story is told by Margaret Wise Brown about her life. She tells about her years growing up, such as the pets she had and the places she lived. She also tells her wishes and her personal thoughts, making this a memoir of her life.
Setting Review: This is an example of an integral setting. The setting does change as Margaret grows up and experiences different places. Yet, these settings in New York and Long Island shaped her girlhood and influenced her writing, making them necessary to keep the story coherent.
Media: Pastel and charcoal

Age Appropriateness: Primary
Genre: This book is a great example of an autobiography about Margaret Wise Brown, who wrote many Children's books including, "Goodnight Moon." The story was taken from an entry written by Margaret in "Junior Book of Authors." Margaret's childhood story is retold by Joan W. Blas, who does a great job of keeping a lot of the orgunal text and to create a book made for young readers she makes small changes but keeps to the facts. ( )