Mackenzie, Sarah. Because Barbara: Barbara Cooney Paints Her World. Waxwing Books. 978-1-956393-04-0. 40 p. $18.99. Grades K-3.  

Author, illustrator, mother, world-traveler, gardener, library-lover. These are just a few adjectives describing two-time Caldecott Medal-winner Barbara Cooney. This beautiful picture book biography, with illustrations mimicking Cooney’s delicate and detailed style, offers a glimpse into the world of this beloved and prolific book creator. Cooney grew up in New York City, but she spent her summers in Maine, taking in the beauty of the natural world by the sea. Her mother was an artist who encouraged Barbara to paint, and after college, Barbara pursued a career as a children’s illustrator. Citing the expense of color illustrations, her editors explained she would have to prove herself before they published her books in color, so her early work featured black and white line drawings. However, after Cooney was inspired by a vibrant flock of chickens, her editors agreed to publish her first color illustrations in Chanticleer and the Fox, which won the Caldecott Medal in 1959. Cooney went on to create other picture book classics such as Ox-Cart Man (the 1980 Caldecott winner), Miss Rumphius, Island Boy, and Hattie and the Wild Waves. Late in life, she also raised $850,000 to rebuild the library in her small Maine town, believing books deserved proper homes, and libraries should be a kind of paradise. Over her lifetime, Barbara Cooney illustrated 110 books, working right up to her death in 1999. This biography celebrates a children’s storyteller and illustration pioneer whose books continue to inspire readers today. 

THOUGHTS: This biography pairs well with many of Barbara Cooney’s classic titles, and readers who are familiar with her books will enjoy making connections between real events in her own life and the stories she tells in her books. There is enough information in the Author’s Note to make this book a solid choice for elementary biography projects. 

Biography