Children’s books illustrator Margaret Bloy Graham has died. She was 94 years old.
Graham became well-known for collaborating with Gene Zion, a writer and her husband, on the Harry the Dirty Dog picture book series. She went on to work on projects with other writers and author her own books. Altogether, she earned two Caldecott Honors for All Falling Down and The Storm Book.
Here’s more from School Library Journal: “Though Harry remains Graham’s most well-known collaboration, it was far from her only one. Her illustrations for legendary children’s book author Charlotte Zolotow’s The Storm Book (Harper, 1951), a gentle look at a child’s first thunderstorm, won her a Caldecott Honor. A versatile artist, she also provided the illustrations for renowned poet Jack Prelutsky’s humor collection Pack Rat’s Day (Macmillan, 1974), while in the 1980s, she collaborated with longtime friend and Little Bear author Else Holmelund Minarik on What If? (1987) and It’s Spring (1989, both Greenwillow).”
#43 Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion, ill. by Margaret Bloy Graham (1956)
40 points
Harry the Dirty Dog is another of the few picture books that I remember from my childhood. I include it in my “Dirt and Mud” story time for my toddler story time; while it’s slightly longer than the majority of the books I include for this group, it never fails to capture their attention. And why not? A cute dog plus adventure would interest anyone. – Jennifer Schultz
All together! I’m just wild about Harry, and Harry’s wild about meeeeee…
Truth be told, Harry probably doesn’t care diddly over squat for me, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love him just the same. Far more than merely the author who keeps getting shelved next to Charlotte Zolotow on our library shelves, Gene Zion and his wife Margaret Bloy Graham created an oddly iconic figure in the mischievous little pup that manages to get himself into and out of trouble in a particularly 1950s kinda way. He was the canine Dennis the Menace of his generation, sans the cutesy bon mots.
Children’s Literature described the plot as, “Harry is a most lovable black and white dog who has a whole range of adventures when he leaves his happy home in order to avoid getting a bath. He romps with the men repairing the street, in the railroad yard, and plays tag with other dogs. Each episode results in him getting dirtier and dirtier so that when he does return home, his family thinks he is a stray dog. Now Harry faces the task of getting his owners to recognize him as their pet. After several unsuccessful attempts, Harry digs up the scrubbing brush and takes it upstairs to the tub. The soapy bath reveals Harry to the family and he once again becomes ‘a white dog with black spots’.”
Married couples abound in creating children’s picture books and these two are no exception. According to 100 Best Books for Children (yes, I quote it a lot and yes, there is a reason for that), Graham met Margret and Hans Rey of Curious George fame (it’s all connected) and was encouraged to put together an art portfolio. She did, Zion wrote the tales, and the rest is history.
It’s funny, but until I started looking closely at Graham’s work I’d never really noticed how much Harry Bliss and Steven Salerno owe to her style. It’s iconic, really. Read the book here for a lark.
The New York Times said of the title, “Harry is sure to be loved; especially by those pre-school children to whom dirt is an ever-delightful thing.”
By: Laura,
on 8/24/2011
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Having done a Storytime Corner on cats, it only makes sense that we’d have to do one on dogs, right? I’m a cat person myself, but these dog stories are completely irresistible. And to keep all your parents and kids happy, you could even consider mixing up the dog and cat stories to make an integrated “Pets” program!
STORIES:
IF YOU GIVE A DOG A DONUT by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond (On-sale 10.4.11)
THAT PUP! by Lindsay Barrett George
NO DOGS ALLOWED! by Anne Davis
TEN LITTLE PUPPIES/Diez perritos by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy, illustrated by Ulises Wensell
Usually when I do storytimes, I like to make some books available for checkout that follow the theme. Here are a few ideas of books you can display for checkout post-program:
CHARLIE THE RANCH DOG by Ree Drummond, illustrated by Diane deGroat
DOGS by Seymour Simon
HARRY THE DIRTY DOG by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham
HIP HOP DOG by Chris Raschka, illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky
I AM THE DOG by Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by Jack E. Davis
MAGGIE’S BALL by Lindsay Barrett George
ZOOMER by Ned Young
I started compiling song, rhyme, and craft ideas…and then I realized that Storytime Katie had most likely already put together something fabulous for a dog-themed storytime. And she had. Check out her
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Aline Pereira,
on 4/27/2011
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Winston of Churchill: One Bear's Battle Against Global Warming,
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Just before I left Canada, I had a quick browse through the bookstore at our local airport, thinking it might be a good idea to bring a book about Manitoba to show to kids in Japan. Winston of Churchill: One Bear’s Battle Against Global Warming by Jean Davies Okimoto, illustrated by Jeremiah Trammell (Scholastic, 2007) was prominently displayed in the kids section. I’d heard about and read the book before to my daughter based on her teacher’s recommendation, so was happy to pick up a copy.
Winston of Churchill tells the story of a “fierce, brave bear” to whom everyone listened. He lived in Churchill, Manitoba — a famed location for polar bear sightings. Winston had a message for all those sightseeing tourists: If humans didn’t stop their nasty global warming habits, then a feature of the polar bears’ natural habitat — ice, to be specific — would soon disappear. Winston rallies his polar bear community to make a protest to the tourists. Everyone thinks this is a good idea, except for Winston’s wife. She has a little something she would like Winston to consider before making his stand public. Suffice it to say, the little something has to do with Winston’s own little nasty personal habit.
I thought I would read Winston of Churchill to Japanese school children in English, but lo, to my surprise, the book had already been translated into Japanese and there were three copies of the translation in my daughter’s school library here. So much for that idea! Currently, for our night time reading, my daughter and I have been concentrating on bilingual books to keep up with her English reading skills and help orient her in basic written Japanese. We started with the well known classic Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion, pictures by Margaret Bloy Graham (Harper Collins, 1956). The Japanese translation is titled Doronko Hari and is translated by Watanabe Shigeo (Fukinkan Shoten, 1964). We will now definitely be moving on to Winston of Churchill!
